Performances + Events
Orchestral Conducting
NEC’s highly selective Orchestral Conducting program is designed to develop the artistic and leadership skills needed for a professional orchestra career.
The Orchestral Conducting curriculum addresses the vital skills required of a successful, resourceful conductor, including exploration of gesture, rehearsal style and strategies, working knowledge of multiple languages, aural and theoretical musical skills, and knowledge of orchestral literature.
Hugh Wolff
From the Department Chair
The most important feature of my orchestral conducting studio is its small size. I limit the number of students to a maximum of three in any year. This ensures that every student gets substantial podium time and the personal attention they deserve. Each student can look forward to a one-hour private lesson, a two-hour seminar on advanced conducting topics, and between 35 and 60 minutes of podium time with a student orchestra of about 40 musicians every week. Students share the podium for one concert each semester with this orchestra and can benefit from myriad other opportunities at the school. This rigor and depth set NEC apart from other schools.
Read moreAbout the Program
The two-year, graduate-level Orchestral Conducting curriculum features coursework in score reading, instrumentation, orchestration, performance practice, and a private studio to reinforce students’ understanding of the conductor’s art and craft. The Artist Diploma conductor will lead approximately ten sectionals during the school year with NEC symphonies and serve as cover conductor for several concerts yearly. They will conduct one full NEC Symphony Orchestra concert (or two half concerts) each spring semester and may conduct NEC Opera productions. The conductor will also learn fundraising and marketing skills from NEC’s Institutional Advancement Office and collaborate with NEC’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Programs and Partnerships departments on education and outreach.
The conductor will travel to Brussels occasionally to observe Hugh Wolff’s rehearsals and concerts with the National Orchestra of Belgium. Through mini-apprenticeships with partner organizations such as the Boston Pops, Boston Ballet, and the Handel + Haydn Society, the conductor will become well-versed in all the styles and genres they may encounter in the professional world. The Artist Diploma conductor will have some flexibility to continue engaging in professional activities outside of NEC.
