A world-class choir in London
Young conductor mentoring scheme
ANNOUNCEMENT - Young Conductors workshop
Crouch End Festival Chorus will be running Symphonic Choral Conducting Workshops for young conductors on Saturday 10 February 2024.
Talented young musicians aged between 18 and 35 are invited to apply for this exciting opportunity.
Twelve participants will have the opportunity to conduct an SATB choir of 36 experienced choral singers with a piano accompanist.
Under the guidance of our Music Director David Temple MBE, attendees will work on either Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ or Tippett ‘A Child of Our Time’.
We encourage applications from both experienced and inexperienced conductors who have an interest in symphonic choral music.
Workshop details
Union Church, Weston Park Road, Crouch End, London, N8 9PX
Nearest train stations are Crouch Hill (Overground) or Finsbury Park (Victoria, Piccadilly and Thameslink).
Saturday 10 February 2024
Session 1: 10.30am to 1.00pm
Session 2: 2.00pm to 4.30pm
Six places are available for each session.
When applying please state which session you would prefer to attend.
Music scores
The workshop will focus on Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ (Ricordi Edition) or Tippett ‘A Child of Our Time’ (Schott Edition).
When applying give your preference on the application form for which of these two pieces you would like to work on.
We recommend that participants provide their own copies of the score to allow them to keep their own markings and notes from the session.
If you are not able to bring your own score, we will facilitate a loan copy for you in advance of the day.
Application form
Please use the following link to apply for a place in this workshop.
APPLICATION FORM https://forms.gle/pLiAhX14eA46Ycys6
You will need to fill in the application form and provide a short video of you conducting.
(The video can show you conducting any kind of choir, orchestra, band or other musical ensemble).
Closing date
All application forms & supporting materials must be submitted by 23:59 on Sunday 3 December 2023.
Queries
Contact Paul Winter at paul.winter@cefc.org.ukif you have any questions about this event.
Young Conductors 2022-23
Two talented young conductors joined us from September 2022 on the third year of our Young Conductors Mentoring Scheme.
Seven musicians, shortlisted from 22 applicants, were invited to audition for the scheme. They were asked to prepare extracts from two pieces of music (Beethoven Mass in C and Bernstein Chichester Psalms) and conduct a choir of 24 Crouch End Festival Chorus singers.
The successful conductors are 26-year-old Klaudia Zajac and Daniel Rodriguez Tijaro, 25.
Klaudia Zajac was born in Poland where she obtained a BA in Music (Krakow Academy) before obtaining a Masters in Choral Conducting (Royal Conservatory of Brussels). Since then, she has worked as a conductor with several choirs and orchestras such as Nova Era Vocal Ensemble (Portugal), Hochschule Hannover Concert Choir and orchestra (Germany), and North Czech Philharmonic (Czech Republic). Klaudia is currently working with three choirs in Brussels.
Klaudia said: “I am so pleased to have a place on the next Young Conductors scheme with Crouch End Festival Chorus and David Temple. One should never stop learning and so I am impatiently looking forward to learning from such a great conductor.”
Daniel Rodriguez Tijaro was born in Colombia, where he obtained the Order of Merit when graduating with a B.A in Music and Choral Conducting (Javeriana University of Bogotá, 2019). He was Assistant Conductor with the Javeriana Chamber Choir and Cantoría Infantil of Colombia, before being appointed Musical Director of the Gaitana Representative Choir in Fundación Nacional Batuta (2016-2021). He was recently awarded a MA in Choral Conducting at the University of Birmingham.
Daniel said: “I cannot express how grateful and thrilled I am to be part of this extraordinary mentoring scheme. The mentoring from David Temple will change my life positively, I am sure of that. Crouch End Festival Chorus is an amazing choir to be associated with and to have the opportunity to learn new skills which keep changing people lives through choral music. I am prepared to give my best, to explore and why not, to share a small pinch of that Colombian ‘flavour’ that I proudly carry wherever I go!”
The young conductors will work with Crouch End Festival Chorus, one of Britain’s leading symphonic choirs. The choir has a reputation nationally and internationally for innovation, versatility and an eclectic repertoire, which is regularly demonstrated in concert halls, arenas and recording studios in our own promotions and in commercial engagements.
The two selected musicians will have free mentoring sessions for an academic year with conductor David Temple, MBE. This will consist of two sessions with David each month, and the opportunity to help David take some choral rehearsals. In addition, the musicians will have the opportunity to attend a half-day conducting workshop with the choir to practice their skills.
The scheme is open to talented and committed musicians aged between 18 and 35, from any background and with any level of training, who want to make conducting, especially choral conducting, their career. Applications for the 2023-24 programme will open in early 2023.
Here is what our Young Conductors alumni say about the scheme.
Charlie Perry (2020-21)
“I can’t begin to express how insightful, beneficial and enjoyable my year with CEFC has been. Working with a choir that are so willing and capable to throw themselves into absolutely anything from film scores to early music has taught me so much about what singers and conductors can achieve - even more so considering the circumstances of this last year.
Learning from David has been one of the great pleasures of my career as a musician so far: his unique way of approaching repertoire and rehearsal has given me a vast amount of confidence approaching and understanding large choral works (Monteverdi, Ellington, Mozart, Glass and Stravinsky to name but a few!). I feel a totally different musician to the one I was when I started on the scheme and would highly recommend it to any young conductor.”
Elliot Mercer (2020-21)
“It has been a brilliant year working with the CEFC. Sitting in rehearsals and hearing their quality is so inspiring, let alone having the opportunity to lead rehearsals and experience their work first-hand.
David's mentoring sessions have been so inspiring. You get everything from invaluable tips and tricks about repertoire and rehearsal to rigorous analysis of a particular gesture, and everything in between! David is a font of knowledge, and it has been great to discuss interpretation, repertoire, best practice when working with different choirs, what to do when in front of an orchestra, how to manage a successful ensemble from every angle and so much more. Working with David and the CEFC gives you access to the highest level of music-making and how best to up your game as a musical leader.“
Mariana Rosas (2019-20)
“Having the opportunity to work with David Temple and CEFC is a truly amazing opportunity to discover the "behind the scenes" of a choir, and personally, it has helped me develop my skills as a conductor, reflect on different points of view and incorporate new approaches to my conducting. I highly recommend this scheme.”
Mariana won 2nd place in the 2021 DIMA International Music Competition for choral conductors.
Matthew Quinn (2019-21)
“The CEFC young conducting scheme provides an excellent balance of practical experience and teaching/feedback. It has helped me take my conducting, rehearsing and preparation skills to the next level and prepared me for the world of being a freelance conductor!“
Matthew recently won a place on The Sixteen’s Genesis programme.
Young Conductor Mentoring Scheme Enquires:
Contact: Paul Winter - Scheme Co-ordinator paul.winter@cefc.org.uk