Collegiate conducting

MASTERCLASS

APPLICATIONS CLOSED

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION

The NW ACDA 2024 conference leadership committee is delighted to announce the 2024 Collegiate Conducting Masterclass to be held at the Northwestern Region Conference in Spokane, WA. The masterclass is offered to acknowledge and develop the conducting and rehearsal skills of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students and to promote student activity at the conference. We welcome and encourage applications from students in both small and large music programs.

The masterclass will be held on Thursday January 25 at 2:00 pm in the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox and it will be led by renowned conducting-teacher, Dr. André J. Thomas. This masterclass will include four undergraduate and/or graduate students who are enrolled full-time in a music degree program. Applicants are not required to be enrolled in a conducting class at the time of application, they are only required to be enrolled in a college/university music program. A professor (ACDA Member) from their current institution who is familiar with the conductor’s work will need to provide an endorsement of the application.

The masterclass will allow for approximately 12-15 minutes of podium time during the session. Selected student conductors will prepare two pieces to be determined (updates on this soon).

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must:

Hold a current ACDA student membership (available at www.acda.org) at the time of application and the masterclass,
Be a full-time student at a college/university at the time of application,
Submit a complete application at NW ACDA 2024 Conducting Masterclass Application by 11:59 pm October 31, 2023. Applicants will be notified of acceptance by December 1, 2023.
Masterclass participants must register to attend the conference. Conference registration opens on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.

AUDITION PREPARATION GUIDELINES

Applicants will prepare and upload to YouTube a video recording (unlisted) of an audition that meets
the following criteria:

Conduct and rehearse one composition for chorus. 

Selections may be unaccompanied or accompanied. 
Excerpts of longer works may be selected. 
In support of the work of the ACDA Diversity Initiatives Committee, students are encouraged to select a work by a BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or a woman, non-binary, and/or transgender composer.
There will be no edits in the video.
The submission total length is between 5 and 10 minutes.
Applicants will identify the title and composer of their piece on the video.
Applicants will not identify themselves or the institution, nor include their name in the video title.
Applicants must use a frontal view and be visible from head to toe.
All verbal instructions to the choir must be clearly understood. The sound of the choir should be neither too loud nor too soft to be heard.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

I have submitted the application form and checked my YouTube video’s URL for accuracy.
I have set my YouTube video to “unlisted” (not “private” or “public”).
I have submitted a Faculty Endorsement Letter from one of my professors who is an active ACDA member.
I have submitted the application form and video URL by the deadline as printed in the guidelines. (October 31, 2023)

Questions may be directed to

Dr. Dean Luethi, Student Activities R&R Chair

dean.luethi@wsu.edu