Beethoven Bootcamp Moves to Shenandoah Conservatory in Summer 2020

The internationally renowned Beethoven Bootcamp with Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Chair of Keyboard Division and Professor of Piano John O’Conor, Mus.D., moves to Shenandoah Conservatory, beginning summer 2020.

Beethoven Bootcamp is a one-week summer intensive that challenges students to dig deep within themselves to explore the artistry of Beethoven’s music and further refine their technique. Piano students from around the world are invited to apply to study with internationally celebrated Irish pianist John O’Conor, who is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading Beethoven interpreters. Regarded as an outstanding piano teacher, O’Conor is revered for his immensely demanding and successful approach in helping the next generation of pianists master the complexities and nuances of Beethoven’s masterpieces.

“The Beethoven Course in Positano, Italy, given by Wilhelm Kempff from 1957 to 1982 was legendary for the inspiration and knowledge of that great Maestro and Beethoven expert,” said O’Conor. “Having studied with him there I was privileged to give the course myself for 15 years after his death. Now, for the first time, I am bringing it to the United States and I feel that the course to be held at Shenandoah Conservatory in July 2020 will be a very special continuation of a wonderful tradition.”

Attendance will be limited, so interested performers and auditors should apply early.

The concept for Beethoven Bootcamp began in 1997, when O’Conor taught the Beethoven Interpretation Course in the Italian Riviera town of Positano, Italy. The course was founded by his teacher and mentor Wilhelm Kempff in 1957. In 2012, the initiative was moved to his native city of Dublin as the Beethoven Boot Camp at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. O’Conor’s Beethoven Bootcamp was also presented in Beijing, China.

In 2009, RTÉ Television produced “John O’Conor’s Beethoven Boot Camp,” a documentary by award-winning director Bill Hughes. It was filmed in Positano and received at the Dublin Documentary Film Festival with great acclaim.

Visit www.su.edu/conservatory/conferences-institutes-2/beethoven-bootcamp to learn more.