Welcome Prospective Conducting Students!
Indiana University's Jacobs School of Muic attracts some of the brightest, most self-motivated, and most creative musicians in the world. The Choral Department is a bustling environment with 9 choral ensembles (University Singers, NOTUS, University Chorale, Oratorio, All Campus Choir, Singing Hoosiers and Conductors Chorus, as many as 6 opera choruses, a pool of over 300 gifted singers, and one of the most comprehensive music libraries in the world. Our program prepares students to succeed in all areas of the choral field, with a faculty of choral professionals who specialize in repertoire across eras and disciplines, including choral-orchestral repertoire, new music, opera, and vocal popular music.
While at IU, students have access to an extraordinarily rich environment filled with all kinds of vocal and instrumental musicians. Our graduate conductors regularly convene ad-hoc choral-orchestral concerts, conduct premieres, assist in the preparation of opera choruses, travel, speak, compete, and perform at major festivals and conferences, and explore interdisciplinary artistic endeavors. The Choral Department regularly hosts guest artists from around the world as master class teachers. Visitors have included conductors Ann Howard Jones, Joseph Flummerfelt, Bruno Weil, Rollo Dilworth, Matthew Halls, Simon Carrington, Ragnar Bohlin, Vance George, and composer Caroline Shaw.
We strongly believe in encouraging a supportive environment where all students receive an ample amount of podium time. The daily life of graduate conducting students is intense. A typical student might spend the morning in score study and academic classes, the afternoon leading the University Chorale or Conductors Chorus, and the evening assisting in opera chorus rehearsals or conducting a community chorus or church choir.
Students who excel in our graduate conducting program are highly motivated, experienced musicians who often create their own opportunities in addition to those provided by the curriculum. Recent student projects and professional work include Music Director of the New Voices Opera, Music Director of the University Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Musical Director for the IU Summer Theater and Cardinal Stage Theater, Assistant Conductor of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Chorus, Director of the Putney School Summer Vocal Ensemble, and a choral-orchestral concert of Schubert’s Mass in G and Beethoven’s ‘Coriolan’ Overture.
We invite you to browse our website for more information on our graduate programs, the audition process, our ensembles, and our faculty and students. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. We are here to enable you to learn and create inspiring musical performances before diving head-first into the professional choral world.