Application - Lucerne Festival

Application for the Contemporary-Conducting Program 2025

Dates
Friday, 15 August - Monday, 8 September, 2025

Program
The Contemporary-Conducting Program is a three-week-long development program for young, talented conductors with a particular focus on contemporary music. The four selected conductors will become part of the whole Lucerne Festival Academy experience. They will work with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) and the Ensemble of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) under the guidance of guest conductors Jonathan Nott, David Robertson, Elena Schwarz and Vimbayi Kaziboni and under the supervision of course director Baldur Brönnimann. The participants of the Contemporary-Conducting Program will conduct the performances within the Composer Seminar (led by Dieter Ammann and Unsuk Chin). There will also be interaction with personalities from the music business and the business world in order to broaden and support the career development of the young conductors. These practical experiences will be complemented by video analysis and lectures/coaching on aspects of contemporary music and programming.

The Contemporary-Conducting Program is aimed at young, aspiring professional conductors and should serve as a platform for a future conducting career. We believe in the importance of contemporary music for the development of young conductors and are looking for curious, talented, and interesting conductors with a strong interest in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Our commitment to the development of young conductors is shared by our institutional partners Klangforum Wien, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and new Donaueschinger Musiktage who might provide further professional opportunities for the participants of the Contemporary-Conducting Program.

Repertoire
We will work on the following repertoire:
- New pieces by the participants of the Composer Seminar
- New pieces by Dai Fujikura, Marco Stroppa, Dieter Ammann, Olga Neuwirth, and Chaya Czernowin
- Galina Ustvolskaya: Symphony No. 2
- Pierre Boulez: Répons | Figures-Doubles-Prismes | Notations I-IV and VII
...and some more.

Profile of Participants
– Advanced conducting students and professional conductors
– Age limit: 32 as of August 1, 2025 (not older than 32 years on August 1, 2025)
– Course language: English

Documents to be submitted online
– Photo (headshot)
– Curriculum vitae in English (maximum of two pages)
– Video of at least two contrasting works (at least one from the 20th/21st century)
– Video's must be from the front and show the conductor clearly
– a 2 min motivation video (headshot)
– minimum one name of a referee (name / position / email)
– any other supporting material (optional)

Application deadline
Monday, 2 December, 2024 (23:59 CET, Swiss time)

Audition
The course management and coach Baldur Brönnimann will decide on active participation in a two-stage audition process.

1st round: selection by application and video material. The results of the selection for the 2nd round will be announced by end of January 2025.

2nd round: live audition for selected candidates in Europe (Lucerne) and USA (New York). The audition will take place in Lucerne between February 24th and 27th, 2025 and in New York between March 1st and 2nd. Please note that the costs for the live auditions (2nd round) are not covered by Lucerne Festival. Accommodation and travel must be paid and organized by the applicant.

The results of the final selection will be announced by mid of March 2025.

There is no right of legal appeal. No correspondence will be conducted regarding the decisions.

Course fee
There is no fee for active participation in the Contemporary-Conducting Program.

Travel
Lucerne Festival will organize and cover the travel expenses for each active participant for the Academy in summer 2025. Not to the live auditions (2nd round).

Accommodation
Lucerne Festival will arrange and cover the costs of accommodation for each active participant in a local host family in Lucerne during the Academy 2025. Not for the live auditions (2nd round).

Meals
Each active participant will receive a per diem for the main meals during the Academy 2025. Not for the live auditions (2nd round).

Scores
Each participant must provide his/her own scores for the 2^nd round (live auditions). For the Academy, Lucerne Festival will provide scores if needed.

Contact
academy@lucernefestival.ch

DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
By submitting the application documents, the applicant confirms that he/she has been informed of Lucerne Festival's privacy notice. The privacy notice is available at the following link.