Weilerstein Wins Dudamel Fellowship

NEC’s Joshua Weilerstein ’09, ’11 M.M. Named Dudamel Conducting Fellow with Los Angeles Philharmonic

Member of Conservatory’s Prestigious Orchestral Conducting Program Also Named Assistant Conductor for 2011 Aspen Music Festival.

Joshua Weilerstein, a second year Master’s Degree candidate in orchestral conducting and violin, has been chosen one of four young conductors to take part in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Dudamel Fellowship Program.  Already a member of the inaugural class (of two) in NEC’s prestigious Orchestral Conducting Program directed by Hugh Wolff, Weilerstein has been the recipient of several honors in the last year recognizing his artistry and conducting promise.  In 2009, he won the Malko International Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen, and the Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize from the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Festival and School. Returning to Aspen this summer, he was recently awarded the Aspen Conducting Prize and invited to become Assistant Conductor for the 2011 festival.

The Dudamel Fellowship Program was launched in conjunction with Gustavo Dudamel’s 2009—10 inaugural season as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Beginning this fall, Weilerstein and three other conductors will take part in separate four to six-week residencies during which they will develop their craft and enrich their musical experience through personal mentorship and participation in the LA Phil’s orchestral, education and community programs.

The fellows will work alongside Dudamel, musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with students in key Philharmonic education programs. They will hone their skills through observation and application, such as conducting Los Angeles Philharmonic youth concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, leading Los Angeles Philharmonic Neighborhood Concerts, participating as a cover conductor, and serving as mentors themselves in LA Phil education programs such as Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA).  Weilerstein’s residency is scheduled for February 11—March 7, 2011 and will include conducting gigs on February 19 and 26.

The fellowship will serve as a reunion of sorts between Weilerstein and Dudamel, who have worked together before in the context of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. In 2007, Weilerstein was invited to appear as violin soloist with the orchestra and later that same year, he was invited to become its first non-Venezuelan guest member, joining the first violin section on the orchestra’s acclaimed American tour conducted by Dudamel.  This past year, Weilerstein conducted the SBYOV in a concert featuring his sister, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, as soloist.

For further information and a video, check the NEC Website.

(Joshua Weilerstein conducting at Aspen Music Festival. Photo by Alex Irvin)

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 720 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world.  Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars.  Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide.  Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.

The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions.  On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors.  Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.

NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 106-year old, beautifully restored concert hall.  These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes.  Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.

NEC is co-founder and educational partner of From the Top, a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.

Contact: Ellen Pfeifer
Public Relations Manager
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-585-1143
Ellen.pfeifer@necmusic.ed