conductors training workshop

“..the Cabrillo Festival is an asset to be cherished...It's the ambiance that opens the door to musical adventurousness.”

--San Jose Mercury News

A New Professional Education Program
Marin Alsop’s commitment to music education in general, and to the training of young conductors specifically, led to a conversation in 1999 with the (then) President of the Conductors Guild (CG), Wes Kenney, a long time Festival-goer. Those discussions have fostered a collaboration that we are very proud is entering its second season. A Conductors Training Workshop takes place this summer as a joint project between the Conductors Guild and Cabrillo Music Festival, July 28 through July 29 on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.

Seven participants and 13 auditors will work extensively with faculty and members of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra over three days. Maestra Marin Alsop invited a teacher and mentor, Maestra Gustav Meier, who she is honored to have join her as faculty for this exciting new program.

Gustav Meier
Gustav Meier, a member of the Distinguished Visiting Faculty in Graduate Conducting at The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He received his diploma from the Zurich Conservatory in Switzerland and undertook additional studies at Academia Chigiana Siena. Meier serves as Music Director for the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra in Michigan and Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut. He has regular appearances as guest conductor in Europe, South and Central America, China, Canada, and throughout the United States. Meier was former director of the Conductors Seminar at Tanglewood from 1980-1996, and former faculty at Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His awards include the Luise Vorgerian Teaching Award from Harvard University, the 1996 Ditson Prize for a commitment to consistently perform works of American composers, and the Max Rudolf Award in 1999 from the Conductors Guild. He teaches regular master courses in such cities as Kiev, Bejing, Mexico City, and Adelaide.

Conductors Guild
The Conductors Guild was founded in 1975 at the San Diego Conference of the American Symphony Orchestra League, and it continued for a decade as a subsidiary of that organization. In 1985, the Guild became independent. The Conductors Guild is the only music service organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of the art of conducting, and to serving the artistic and professional needs of conductors. The Guild is international in scope, with a membership of over 2,000 individual and institutional members, representing all fifty states and more than thirty countries, including conductors of major stature and international renown. Membership is open to all conductors and institutions involved with instrumental and /or vocal music, including symphony and chamber orchestra, opera, ballet/dance, chorus, musical theatre, wind ensemble and band. The Conductors Guild (http://www.conductorsguild.org) sponsors numerous conductors training workshops, seminars, and symposia throughout the year, as well as publishing and disseminating publications and sharing resources.

Special thanks to:
Harlan Parker, President, Conductors Guild
Wes Kenney, Past President, Conductors Guild
Virginia Allen, Conductors Guild Board of Directors
Barbara Schubert, Conductors Guild Advisory Board
Kevin Paul, Conductors Guild Administrative Director
And members of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra

Additional thanks to:
Larry Brezicka, CMF Orchestra Manager
Nancy Moore, Conference & Event Management Coordinator, UCSC
Thomas Listmann, Music Operations Manager, UCSC