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benslow music, benslow lane hitchin, hertfordshire sg4 9rb

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(9am - 5pm weekdays)

BOOKING FORM Name Address Telephone Email Course Title Course Code Start Date Finish Date Deposit/Fee Room Type Single or Double ? Sharing with (name) Room supplement Optional Insurance Total
INT CONDUCTING SUMMER SCHOOL

+44 (0)1462 459446


25% discount for under 27s Bursaries are available for those in genuine financial need

13/1S6 5 AUGUST, 7PM 9 AUGUST, 4.30PM

international conducting summer school


BENSLOW MUSIC

christopher gayford

Please state any dietary or accessibility requirements. Grade/Standard Date of Birth if under 27 Please enclose a cheque made payable to Benslow Music Trust or complete the credit card details below: M/Card Card number Valid from Iss no. Visa Maestro/Switch Other

www.benslowmusic.org info@benslowmusic.org

5 - 9 august 2013

Expiry Sec no.

Signature Name and address of cardholder if different from course applicant

Benslow Music, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9RB


Benslow Music Trust is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 408404. Registered Charity no. 313663 VAT Registration no. 456 0345 57

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international conducting summer school


Chris Gayford helps all conductors, whether or not they have
previous experience, achieve remarkable results by working on score-learning, interpretation, gesture, rehearsing techniques and self-confidence, using examples from the choral, and orchestral repertoire. Some pieces will be specified in advance so that you can do some initial preparation. All participants are asked to bring any instruments that they might play with them so that the group can form ad hoc ensembles. Course members each receive a ticket to the public concert which Summer School tutors give on Tuesday.

quotes from past students


Chris directed a truly memorable course leaving me with new friends and new skills in the art of conducting Totally full on and the most amazingly different musical experience

Resident: 510 Non-resident: 410 Under 27s Resident: 382.50 Non-resident: 307.50 Who can benefit?
How much can you learn about something as complex as the art of conducting in a few days? Some skills can be acquired relatively quickly by most people, in particular, the mechanics of the gestures involved. Even if you have never conducted before, you can learn to use the core language of gesture on a short course. You can also learn about various rehearsal techniques, and explore listening, interpretation and leadership. Embarking on any course, without knowing the tutor, other students on the course or perhaps even the venue is quite nerve-wracking. Each person has different needs, and the idea that a course could cater to both novices and advanced students simultaneously may seem far-fetched, but remarkably, the courses have been very successful in achieving this. Perhaps its partly to do with the fact that regardless of the level of each individual student, weve always made chasing peak musical experiences our goal. Some people are interested in conducting but dont actually want to conduct. Perhaps you play in an orchestra and have always wondered how it works. Such people are very welcome to attend and help create the chamber ensemble that the conductors work with to develop their skills. If you do work with conductors, just imagine how your experience will change once you actually understand what the gestures mean! Its a peculiarity of the world of music that conductors dont explain how the gestures work, so getting a deeper understanding of this mysterious language could change your experience as a performer.

Christopher Gayford was born in Wilmslow in 1963, and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music with Timothy Reynish. He has conducted a wide range of repertoire and worked with many major orchestras and opera companies, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, where he held the post of assistant conductor, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish, Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North and Scottish Opera. As a founder member of the new music group Psappha, he was involved in education project work that now forms one of his chief areas of interest. He has conducted the City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra since 1994. From 2000 until 2003 Christopher worked on a project called Feeling Sound, which was hosted and partially funded by Trinity College of Music. The project set out to see if there was a missing link in our understanding of listening. He led a series of three Feeling Sound concerts at the Barbican with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, during which he conducted Mozarts last three symphonies.
Internationally, he has taken part in master classes with Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Ilya Musin and Peter Eotvos and competed in two international conducting competitions. In Cadaques, he won second prize, and in Besancon, joint first prize. These successes led to concerts in Spain, France and Austria. Of his debut with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Wiener Zeitung commented: in Elgars Serenade for Strings, he showed how it is possible to produce elegant music in an apparently effortless manner, with precisely the right degree of tension and masterly shaping of the sound: a beautiful performance. From the British press: Orchestral playing and choral singing under Christopher Gayford were superb. Sunday Telegraph. Christopher Gayford conducted with both tact and dramatic verve, securing vital performances from both chorus and orchestra. The
Times.

booking information
Accommodation
We provide a selection of standard and en-suite bedrooms. Supplements for en-suite rooms (per night per person).
Single en-suite: 22.50 Double en-suite sharing: 15

Supplements payable per night per person for single occupancy of double rooms.
Standard double room: 5 En-suite double room: 27.50

You are advised to reserve your preferred room type at the time of booking.

Deposit

A non-returnable deposit of 60 is payable at the time of booking. The balance must be paid six weeks before the course begins.

Insurance

Structure

The structure of the sessions usually involves introduction to a concept, such as starting and stopping, followed by small group work on very specific elements. Then the whole group reassembles and creates a chamber ensemble which people then take it in turn to conduct.

Insurance is available at the time you settle the balance of your account for a premium of 16. Should you need to cancel for a range of specified reasons, it entitles you to a refund less deposit and insurance premium of all monies paid. The specified reasons and other details are available on request and are published on our web site.

Bed and Breakfast Travelling

Standard

The courses are suitable for conductors of any standard, but if you are a novice, a general level of musical competence is needed. You should have as a minimum an ability to read music fluently, i.e. ABRSM Grade 6 or above on one instrument or voice. Both choral and orchestral repertoire will be covered, and the central work well focus on is Beethovens 9th Symphony.

We can offer bed and breakfast facilities before and after your course or at any other time subject to room availability. Please ask us. Benslow Musics campus is a five-minute walk from Hitchin train station, which is served by fast, frequent trains from Cambridge, Peterborough and London Kings Cross. Road access from the A1(M) and the M1 is swift, and we are within easy reach of Luton and Stansted airports.

It was astonishing how well Christopher Gayford balanced the works delicate textures and drew much distinguished playing from the orchestra. The Times. Gayford, deploying a firm, precise stick technique, kept his players beautifully aligned. Daily Telegraph.

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