Application for the Contemporary-Conducting Program 2023

Dates
Friday, 11 August - Sunday, 3 September, 2023

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) under the guidance of guest conductors Susanna Mälkki, Ilan Volkov, and Enno Poppe, and under the supervision of course director Baldur Brönnimann. They will also conduct the performances within the Composer Seminar (led by Wolfgang Rihm and Dieter Ammann, played by IEMA-Ensemble) and interact with other visiting conductors of the Lucerne Festival. These practical experiences will be complemented by video analysis and lectures / coaching on aspects of contemporary music, programming, and career development.

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, and Casa da Musica who might provide further professional opportunities for the participants of the Contemporary-Conducting Program. 

Repertoire
We will work on the following repertoire:
- Cox: New Work 
- Ruzicka: Spiral
- Lewis: Minds in Flux
- Poppe: Speicher I-VI / Fett
- Spahlinger: passage/paysage
- Webern: Passacaglia op. 1
- Strawinsky: Le Scare du printemps
- New pieces by the participants of the Composer Seminar

Profile of Participants
– Advanced conducting students and professional conductors
– Age limit: 32 as of August 1, 2023 (not older than 32 years on August 1, 2023)
– Course language: English

Documents to be submitted online
– Photo (headshot) 
– Curriculum vitae in English (maximum of two pages)
– Video of at least two different works, preferably 20/21st century - Video must be from the front and show the conductor clearly
– a 2 min motivation video (headshot)
– any other supporting material (optional)
 
Application deadline
Monday, 12 December, 2022 (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 will be announced by mid of January 2023. 

2nd round: live audition for selected candidates in Europe and USA. The audition will take place between February 20th and 25th, 2023 (final date will be announced by mid of January). Please note that the costs for the live auditions (2nd round) are not covered by Lucerne Festival. Accommodation and travel expenses must be paid and organized by the applicant.

The results of the final selection will be announced by end of February 2023. 

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
The Lucerne Festival Academy will cover the travel expenses for each active participant for the Academy in summer 2023. Not to the live auditions (2nd round). 

Accommodation
Lucerne Festival Academy will arrange and cover the costs of accommodation for each active participant in a local host family in Lucerne during the Academy 2023. Not for the live auditions (2nd round). 

Meals
Each active participant will receive a per diem for the main meals during the Academy 2023. Not for the live auditions (2nd round). 

Scores
Each participant must provide his/her own scores.

Contact
academy@lucernefestival.ch

The closing date for applications is 12.12.2022.