The program is committed to musical excellence with a curriculum designed to build a well-rounded choral conductor/teacher, using the musical and personal strengths of the graduate choral conducting student.

By the completion of the program, the student will have developed advanced conducting skills and techniques that are appropriate to a variety of musical needs. The student will learn effective rehearsal techniques, score preparation, and become a knowledgeable scholar of important choral scores representing repertoire of various music periods and secular and sacred styles.

The program accepts a limited number of students who pursue a variety of professional goals, including education and directors of choral/instrumental ensembles. Students who are full-time music educators at the middle/high school levels are considered if they have three years prior teaching experience and are presently conducting an ensemble(s). Students who are not public school educators must show a minimum of three years of full-time music/conducting employment and be presently conducting a high school, religious, or community ensemble.

A personal audition is required for admission into the choral graduate conducting program.

Aspirations for Student Achievement:

• Develop the necessary analytical and theoretical skills to successfully analyze choral scores and prepare scores for effective rehearsals.
• Develop historical skills to examine scores and documents to confirm historically informed decisions and apply the appropriate performance practice issues for different eras.
• Develop the necessary linguistic skills to be proficient in English, German, Latin, and French and be competent in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) when necessary.
• Develop technical skills to conduct community, professional, school, church, and university choirs on different levels domestically and internationally.
• Develop the skills to achieve effective and efficient rehearsal techniques by utilizing the appropriate verbal instruction and proper visual conducting presentation.
• Understand the origin and the history of choral music from the Renaissance to present by examining the canon of the choral repertoire and attaining knowledge of the background of main choral genres.
• Develop a clear understanding of how the voices work, especially in choral settings, to achieve the necessary blend, balance, and sound, and provide vocal instruction to ensemble members.
• Research and prepare to program appropriate repertoire for choral concerts on different levels.
• Attain competent instrumental conducting technique to lead rehearsals and performances in major choral-orchestral repertoire such as oratorios, cantatas, requiems, and symphonic masses.
• Understand the current trend of choral profession by studying the living composers, their compositions, and the entrepreneurial aspect in the choral music industry.

The program offers students the opportunity to conduct a broad range of ensembles in preparation for their career. The art of conducting is examined from the perspective of gesture and movement, score study/analysis/ear training, and rehearsal techniques and strategies. For students focused on orchestral conducting, this is a program of advanced study in repertoire and advanced orchestral techniques with a strong supporting program of theoretical and analytical studies.

The conducting degrees accept a limited number of students who pursue a variety of professional goals, including education and directors of choral/instrumental ensembles. Students who are full-time music educators at the middle/high school levels are considered if they have three years prior teaching experience, and are presently conducting an ensemble(s). Students who are not public school educators must show a minimum of three years of full-time music/conducting employment and be presently conducting a high school, religious, or community ensemble.

A personal audition is required for admission.

Aspirations for Student Achievement:

• Develop the skill, intellect, and musicianship necessary among those who wish to become the next generation of leaders in the field of conducting.
• Develop a method of score study to help in all educational and professional settings.
• Develop the skills necessary to lead ensembles in their specific discipline (band or orchestra, including theatrical accompaniment) with best-practice rehearsal strategies and methodology.
• Conduct repertoire in all three disciplines of varying difficulty levels, spanning many genres and time periods.
• Integrate best-practice rehearsal strategies with sound conducting technique in order to inform instruction with conducting gestures.
• Develop the ability to think abstractly, analyze complex ideas or phenomena, synthesize or generalize knowledge across disciplines and sub-disciplines, interpret and apply scholarly findings to specialized topic areas, and communicate ideas effectively in both oral and written forms.
• Develop an awareness of substantive publications in the field of music and conducting.
• Describe the contemporary role that programming and assessment design plays in the teaching-learning process.

The program offers students the opportunity to conduct a broad range of ensembles in preparation for their career. The art of conducting is examined from the perspective of gesture and movement, score study/analysis/ear training, and rehearsal techniques and strategies. For students focused on band conducting, this is a program of advanced study in repertoire and advanced wind/percussion techniques with a strong supporting program of theoretical and analytical studies.

Graduate band/wind conducting students are also an integral part of the Athletic Bands Program, assisting with rehearsals and games and learning the administration of an athletic bands program.

Details about applying to this program are available at: music.colostate.edu/graduate-wind-conducting.

Aspirations for Student Achievement:

• Develop the skill, intellect, and musicianship necessary among those who wish to become the next generation of leaders in the field of conducting.
• Develop a method of score study to help in all educational and professional settings.
• Develop the skills necessary to lead ensembles in their specific discipline (band or orchestra, including theatrical accompaniment) with best-practice rehearsal strategies and methodology.
• Conduct repertoire in all three disciplines of varying difficulty levels, spanning many genres and time periods.
• Integrate best-practice rehearsal strategies with sound conducting technique in order to inform instruction with conducting gestures.
• Develop the ability to think abstractly, analyze complex ideas or phenomena, synthesize or generalize knowledge across disciplines and sub-disciplines, interpret and apply scholarly findings to specialized topic areas, and communicate ideas effectively in both oral and written forms.
• Develop an awareness of substantive publications in the field of music and conducting.
• Describe the contemporary role that programming and assessment design plays in the teaching-learning process.