ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1 (VCI104)

ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1 is a course designed to offer flexible school band conducting training to music students, music educators and music professionals. The course is one of the specializations within the ConductIT study program, which consists of a number of individual courses in conducting. The ConductIT courses are open to international applicants, and the teaching is offered in English.

ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1 is a course for students who already have experience in the field of music performance, for instance as performers, educators, or conductors and who seek a course in school band conducting. The course of study involves several different topics, e.g. conducting practice, conducting technique and theory, as well as entrepreneurship and career development.

The conducting practice will consist of UiS-organized sessions on-campus (Dirigentuka - five days in August, two or three weekend sessions on-campus) and home assignments where students are expected to facilitate access to their own conducting practice with an ensemble that is relevant for this course, at home and organized by the student. The number of such sessions is to be set by agreement between teacher and student. Many students are already conductors of one or more ensembles, in which case using them as a home practice ensemble is a good solution.

The websites www.conductit.eu and http://digitaleskolekorps.uis.hopto.me/ contain a wide array of study materials on conducting. In this course the students will study selected chapters of the material and will be required to submit associated assignments.

The course of study may include work in the following subjects:

• Conducting/instruction
• Practice (on-campus and with the students’ own group/ensembles at home)
• Knowledge of ensembles
• Knowledge of instruments
• Aural training
• Music theory
• Score study
• Knowledge of repertoire
• Knowledge of pedagogy and psychology
• Leadership and management
• Connecting with society and local communities

Students who complete and pass ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 1 may apply for the course ConductIT - School Band conducting, level 2.

After completing and passing the examination for the course, candidates will have acquired the knowledge, skills and general proficiency that will enable them to:

General proficiency

• understanding the importance of the various roles of the conductor, such as being a musical leader, social facilitator, and organizer
• understanding how to work with children, youth, their parents and in your local community

Knowledge

• basic knowledge of the fundamental development stages among children and youth, ages 6-19
• basic knowledge of basic group phycology concepts and how to create a good learning environment in the ensemble
• basic knowledge of individually adapted teaching methods, and how to teach groups that are at several stages of development and age
• basic knowledge of how the instruments and of particular challenges for beginners

Skills

• basic use of planning relevant tools to better the organization of teaching and conducting
• being able to contribute in your school band’s planning and organization, for example in recruitment, creating learning and teaching plans, organizing the teaching and collaboration with municipal art schools or other forms of education partners
• having basic skills in assessing the quality and suitability of repertoire, and how to find and adapt repertoire to your group
• knowing and being able to use several basic methods for rehearsing repertoire and training young musicians

General qualification requirements for admission to the ConductIT study program:

• Higher Education Entrance Qualification ("Generell studiekompetanse")
• English language proficiency is required.

In order to register for the exam, the student must have been present at the on-campus sessions, lessons, and must have completed the assignments.

In situations where the student is unable to participate in compulsory activities or has challenges with self-study, alternative work requirements can be agreed directly with the course coordinator to the extent that this is practically possible and deemed academically justifiable.

Forms of work

The course consists of the following forms of work

• Participation at Dirigentuka and on-campus weekend sessions.
• Individual on-line lessons based on video recordings of students own conducting practice (recordings from Dirigentuka, weekend sessions, students home assignments and/or any other relevant practice).
• Self-study of content at www.conductit.eu
• Conducting practice "at home" with the students’ own ensemble(s)
• Participation in discussions and submission of assignments

Course assessment

Procedures for student assessment within the course have been drawn up by the faculty and adapted for this type of performance course. The course assessment is in accordance with the University of Stavanger’s quality system.