ConductIT – School Band conducting, level 2 (VCI204)

Content

ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 2 is a course for students who already have substantial experience in the field of music performance, for instance as performers, educators, or conductors and who seek a course in school band conducting. The course of study involves several different topics, e.g. conducting practice, conducting technique and theory, as well as entrepreneurship and career development.

The conducting practice will consist of UiS-organized sessions on-campus (Dirigentuka - five days in August, two or three weekend sessions on-campus) and home assignments where students are expected to facilitate access to their own conducting practice with an ensemble that is relevant for this course, at home and organized by the student. The number of such sessions is to be set by agreement between teacher and student. Many students are already conductors of one or more ensembles, in which case using them as a home practice ensemble is a good solution.

The websites www.conductit.eu and http://digitaleskolekorps.uis.hopto.me/ contain a wide array of study materials on conducting. In this course the students will study selected chapters of the material and will be required to submit associated written assignments.

The course of study may include work in the following subjects:

• Conducting/instruction
• Practice (on-campus and with the students’ own group/ensembles at home)
• Knowledge of ensembles
• Knowledge of instruments
• Aural training
• Music theory
• Score study
• Knowledge of repertoire
• Knowledge of pedagogy and psychology
• Leadership and management
• Connecting with society and local communities

Learning outcome

After completing and passing the examination for the course, candidates will have acquired the knowledge, skills and general proficiency that will enable them to:

General proficiency

• understanding the importance of the various roles of the conductor, such as being a musical leader, social facilitator, and organizer
• understanding how to work with children, youth, their parents and in your local community

Knowledge

• broad knowledge of the fundamental development stages among children and youth, ages 6-19
• broad knowledge of basic group phycology concepts and how to create a good learning environment in the ensemble
• broad knowledge of individually adapted teaching methods, and how to teach groups that are at several stages of development and age
• broad knowledge of how the instruments and of particular challenges for beginners

Skills

• broad use of planning relevant tools to better the organization of teaching and conducting
• being able to significantly contribute in your school band’s planning and organization, for example in recruitment, creating learning and teaching plans, organizing the teaching and collaboration with municipal art schools or other forms of education partners
• having broad skills in assessing the quality and suitability of repertoire, and how to find and adapt repertoire to your group
• knowing and being able to use several effective methods for rehearsing repertoire and training young musicians

Required prerequisite knowledge

General qualification requirements for admission to the ConductIT study program:

• Higher Education Entrance Qualification ("Generell studiekompetanse")
• English language proficiency is required. Scandinavian language proficiency is recommended because some of the conducting practice sessions will be with Norwegian youth in a setting where speaking and understanding Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language) is an advantage.

Required prerequisite knowledge for ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 2

Applicants will be reviewed by the faculty conducting audition committee to determine if their prerequisite knowledge qualifies for admission to this specific course. This evaluation is based on the applicants’ submitted audition materials, such as their documented educational background, CV, application text, and videos.

To qualify for the course ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 2, the applicant must normally have completed and passed the course ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1. The submitted application material should include a motivation letter that outlines the applicant’s personal development goals. The application should also briefly outline a plan for how the student will organize access to their own ensemble(s), as required in this course (see below). It is possible to grant admission to students who have not completed ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1, provided that they can document that they have acquired prior learning and work experience which is similar (Norw. "realkompetanse"). In such an evaluation, the applicant must show that they have substantial general musicianship training and prior experience in the school band genre, for instance, through prior training or education or through practice as a performer, educator, conductor, composer or similar. The submitted video should be representative of the applicant’s current level of conducting. In the evaluation process, the committee will assess if the applicant successfully can engage in and complete this course.

Recommended prerequisites

Exam

Coursework requirements

Course teacher(s)

Study Adviser:

Course coordinator:

Method of work

Forms of work

The course consists of the following forms of work

• Participation at Dirigentuka and on-campus weekend sessions.
• Individual on-line lessons based on video recordings of students own conducting practice (recordings from Dirigentuka, weekend sessions, students home assignments and/or any other relevant practice)
• Self-study of content at www.conductit.eu
• Conducting practice "at home" with the students’ own ensemble(s)
• Participation in discussions and submission of written assignments

Course assessment

Procedures for student assessment within the course have been drawn up by the faculty and adapted for this type of performance course. The course assessment is in accordance with the University of Stavanger’s quality system.

Open for

Course assessment

Literature