Principles of opera conducting with James Henshaw & Guests

Tuesday 27th July 2021 - Friday 30th July 2021
10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Overview

For 2021, we are excited to welcome back Olivier nominated opera, choral and orchestral conductor, James Henshaw, to lead a four-day course that delves into the world of conducting opera. Open to conductors of all ages who want to explore this specialism, participants will receive a mixture of one-to-one and group masterclass sessions on technique and repertoire, plus guest seminars and discussion with some of the industry’s leading operatic experts, including MusicFest favourite, acclaimed conductor, Toby Purser. Repertoire explored over the four days will include Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Puccini’s Tosca, and Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave, plus more.

Course content

Day 1: Guest talk on singing in German, with many opportunities for student conducting and masterclass feedback

Day 2: Focus on rubato accompaniment, with guest talk on singing in Italian, with many opportunities for student conducting and masterclass feedback

Day 3: Focus on Language, and the Orchestras, with guest talk on singing in English, with many opportunities for student conducting and masterclass feedback

Day 4: Drama in Symphonic Music with guest Toby Purser, and group discussion and masterclass opportunities

About our course leader

James Henshaw is an Olivier nominated Opera, Choral and Orchestral Conductor based in London. He joined English National Opera in August 2015 and became ENO’s youngest ever Chorus Master in August 2016. He will leave to pursue a freelance career as a conductor in December 2019. During his tenure the Chorus won a 2016 Olivier Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Opera’ and ‘Best Chorus’ at the International Opera Awards. During James’s time at ENO he made his London Coliseum debut as 2nd conductor in Birtwistle’s Mask of Orpheus for which he received his Olivier award nomination. He conducted the UK premier of Jonathan Dove’s The Day After named by the Guardian as one of Classical music’s top 10 best things in 2017, Britten’s Paul Bunyan at Alexandra Palace and was due to conduct the final three performances of a new production of The Marriage of Figaro in April 2020.

Our digital summer school 2021

For 2021, we are committed to providing the world-class, MusicFest experience that you have grown to love. Although we are not able to host our summer school in-person, we are working hard to provide a selection of courses online with our internationally renowned tutors. After your place on one of our 2021 courses has been accepted and confirmed, you will be sent a course pack outlining a detailed schedule, access details for your online sessions, and further information for you to get the most out of these special opportunities.

Financial Support

Musicfest Aberystwyth welcomes bursary students from all over the world and prides itself on offering high-quality, intensive training for music students, graduates, and music professionals. We do not wish finance to be a barrier to attending our Summer School so our bursaries (funds towards the cost of fees) are available to help students, graduates and young musicians attend our courses. Friends of MusicFest provide bursaries towards MusicFest Aberystwyth course fees for students in full-time education. The number of bursaries available is limited, so it is essential you apply as soon as possible. For more information and how to apply, please visit our Fees and Bursaries page.

For more information and how to apply, please visit our Fees and Bursaries page.

Request a space on this course

You can request a space on this course here. Applications will be reviewed, and if accepted we will send full information on course joining and fee payment via email. We aim to respond within 7 days to your reservation request.

If you are booking more than one place, you will need to fill in application details for each potential student. Mandatory fields are marked with *

Bookings are closed for this event.