Faculty
Miguel Harth-Bedoya , Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras, Professor of Conducting
Audition Requirements
Anyone entering the Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting degree should demonstrate strong musical talent that projects naturally from the podium. A solid foundation in musical knowledge is required. This includes fluency in reading all clefs and transpositions, score terminology in multiple languages, form analysis, aural skills (including the ability to write down dictations in multiple voices), proficiency in sight-singing using fixed 'Do' and rhythmical solfege, keyboard skills (including figured bass, reading Bach chorales in four clefs, open score reduction), and score analysis appropriate for the study and interpretation of orchestral works. Applicants must have a broad knowledge of the orchestral repertoire.
Applicants for the MM in Orchestral Conducting degree are encouraged to submit the following materials with their application as soon as possible and no later than December 1, 2025 by 11:59 PM (EST), for an initial skills assessment/screening:
- a resume
- a video demonstrating their musicianship performing on an instrument or voice between 5 and 10 minutes
- a compilation video between 20 and 25 minutes featuring excerpts of conducting footage of themselves (camera from the orchestra’s perspective) both rehearsing and performing a variety of repertoire that demonstrate the candidate’s strengths. Please include repertoire, ensemble, and the date of the recording.
From that initial screening, an online interview will provide further assessment, and will include a discussion of the required audition repertoire. Then, a small number of finalists will be invited to campus to take further exams, interview with the conducting faculty, and audition with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles as needed.
The repertoire for the conducting portion will include selections from Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Stravinsky The Rite of Spring (Nos. 104-121), Gershwin An American in Paris, Nicky Sohn The Blue Hour, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, and recitatives from Verdi's Rigoletto ("Pari siamo"), Bizet’s Carmen (“La belle, un mot”), Haydn’s The Creation (“Gleich öffnet sich der Erde Schoß”), and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (“Man of God, now let my words be precious”), for which the applicant, in addition to conducting, will have to sing the recitatives in Italian, German, French, and English respectively.