FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more photos, additional information or to schedule interviews, contact

Cheryl Waldner
Communications Coordinator
204-949-3970
communications@wso.mb.ca

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is integral to Winnipeg's rich cultural life, delighting more than 100,000 audience members each year with innovative programming and musical excellence. The WSO presents educational programs for more than 25,000 students annually and tours outside the city reaching out to communities across Manitoba.

WSO Cultivates New Conductors with
International Conducting Symposium

Winnipeg, MB – January 12, 2009 – The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is in the middle of of its third International Conducting Symposium, being held January 10-13, 2010 at the Centennial Concert Hall.

Out of numerous applicants of all skill levels, 12 participants were chosen - hailing from Canada, the United States, Finland, and France - to take part in the intensive four-day workshop that has a strong career focus on conducting. Applicants were chosen by Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra music director Alexander Mickelthwate and WSO artistic staff.

Full participants are given the opportunity to conduct the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, plus 2 additional sessions with duo piano and string quartet. The symposium also includes sessions on how to obtain management and how to program a season, plus musician feedback, portfolio review, score study, media skills and instruction from renowned Los Angeles acting coach, Debbie Devine (acting coach of Jack Black, among others).

Faculty for the symposium includes one of the world’s top conducting instructors, Larry Livingston, Professor of Conducting, USC Thornton School of Music; Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director of the WSO; Alexis Hauser, Conductor, McGill Symphony Orchestra, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal; Richard Lee, Resident Conductor of the WSO; Stephen Lugosi, Vice President Conductors and Artists, Thea Dispeker International Artists Management Agency, New York NY; Debbie Devine, acting coach, Los Angeles, CA; Morley Walker, Arts Columnist, Winnipeg Free Press; Trudy Schroeder, Executive Director, WSO; Jean-François Phaneuf, Director of Artistic Operations, WSO and James Manishen, Artistic & Operations Associate, WSO.

Repertoire for the Symposium will include: Tchaikovsky:  Symphony No. 4 complete; Mozart: Symphony No. 41 Mvmts 2 and 4; Brahms: Symphony No. 4 Mvmt 4; Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 Mvmt 4; Verdi: La forza del destino: Overture and Vincent Ho: Aboard the Amundsen.

Click here to listen to Alexander Mickelthwate interview Josh Roach, a symposium participant. Recorded live for Musically Speaking with the WSO on January 10 on CJOB at 4 PM.

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