Instrumental Conducting Symposium

We are currently unable to offer on-campus housing at this time. However, Shenandoah University has a partnership with a number of area hotels to provide special university rates. We recommend The George Washington Hotel, which is a beautifully restored 1910 luxury hotel close to the Old Town Winchester Walking Mall and is the place that Shenandoah usually houses guests—composers, conductors, etc. There are also two hotels within walking distance to campus: Hampton Inn and Aloft Winchester. Please reference your work at Shenandoah when making your reservation – that is all that these hotels need to give you the “Shenandoah rate.” Click here for more information on these hotels and more.

Social time is a major part of a conducting symposium week. I believe I’ve gained as much from other participants at symposia as I have from clinicians. Being available for dinners with your fellow conductors (or drinks afterwards) is a great way to get the most out of your week. Even for those who live within commuting distance, I’d encourage you to think about a night or two in which you might share a hotel room with someone and stay out in Winchester. Learn more about Winchester here.

I don’t know, but I suspect they might! If you’d like to put yourself out there as interested in sharing a room, just email me directly at trobblee@su.edu with the subject line “Room Sharing” and I’ll have one of my staffers put a list together that can be shared between interested participants.

The ensemble will consist of all of the participating conductors and observers, augmented by a number of Shenandoah Conservatory students. I’ve found that being part of the ensemble conducted—besides merely conducting it—really makes us all attuned to the impact of our conducting and makes for the best learning. Although you’ll be playing, it is always nice to have a pad of paper and pen nearby to write down comments from the clinicians; watching others can be the most helpful learning experience.

Most of you will play on your primary instrument (so maybe get back in shape now!); my staff and I will contact directly anyone that we need to play on their second instrument. For those that don’t own their instrument (like basses or timpani) we’ll see what we can do to help you.

You will conduct on each of the full symposium days. The repertoire you choose is ultimately up to you—you may want three pieces to vary your experience, or you may choose to repeat a piece to see how things are developing. I would encourage you to think about some variety of tempos, volumes, etc. The old audition-grouping of a technical and a lyric piece works here too. I chose the repertoire to reflect multiple levels of literature—choose what serves YOU best.

You will not be asked to rehearse the group, exactly. The focus of your podium time is on physical technique, interpretation, and personal engagement. Clinicians will decide how to best get at those goals. However, you will probably be asked what you heard or what you were listening for. There are 24 or so participants in the symposium. All participants conduct each day. Times on the podium will range from 8 to 12 minutes. Due to these time limits, plan on conducting one piece or one movement from one piece per day. Be prepared to conduct the whole movement or work; though you will likely be stopped, the clinician might ask you to jump to a different section of the work. As the week progresses, participants often find it helpful and refreshing to choose an alternate starting point to a movement (development, 3rd or 4th strophe of a folk song, etc.) so as to break the monotony or to address a different aspect of the piece. Participants might also choose to conduct the same piece or movement a second time during the week in order to focus on a certain issue.

You’ll conduct the full ensemble three times and also conduct a small break-out group of the participants during our “small group sessions.” These will be directed toward a specific area of technique and will involve us all conducting very short excerpts that you’ll receive on Sunday night (no need for extra preparation—use your time on your full band works).

Scores from JW Pepper can be purchased through the 2025 Shenandoah University Conducting Symposium collection (use promo code FSCSUCONDUCT2025 to receive free shipping). Scores from Gateway Sheet Music can be purchased by selecting the Shenandoah Instrumental Conducting Symposium option on the Conducting Symposiums web page.

In general, most retailers should have scores available for purchase. Scores from Gateway Sheet Music can be purchased by looking for “Shenandoah” under “Education and Events.” Scores from JW Pepper can be purchased by searching for conducting courses and symposiums. Some scores (e.g., from more active living composers) may be better sought out from their own websites. Jeff Girard at Midwest Sheet Music has them all stocked and can be found at midwestsheetmusic.com/conducting-symposiums/band/VA/.

Bringing all the scores is certainly recommended, but not required. Jeff Girard at Midwest Sheet Music has them set aside and easy to order through his online store.

Yes, it is available. Students wanting to receive graduate credit may enroll via Hornet Central. The rate will be $250.00 per credit for SCS sections (Summer 2022). More information coming soon.  

It’s really up to you — some prefer more professional, some more casual. It is slightly helpful to wear a solid colored top — so that your baton stands out in your videos. One note: like other large campuses, heat and air conditioning at Shenandoah can sometimes fluctuate. Dressing in layers on the stage may protect you if the AC gets excited and tries to freeze us out on the stage!

It will be a mix. The clinicians will present some topics, we’ll have some directed discussions, we’ll have some open reflection time, and we’ll do some Q&A. We’ll have question sheets for you to write down questions you’d like addressed during these sessions.

We will help the group put a dinner plan together each night. We tend to frequent restaurants in the Winchester walking mall; it’s a great place for a night out. I hope you’ll plan to join your colleagues for meals, even if you’re commuting. On Tuesday night, we’ll have a group dinner (BBQ) at our old stone house in Paeonian Springs (between Leesburg and Waterford). It’s a bit of a drive (about 45 minutes) so we’ll try to put some carpools together. It’s a great chance to have dinner with the clinicians and the SU players and to enjoy some time together. Do bring a swimsuit—the pool will be ready! For history buffs, our home was built in 1725 by Quakers who moved down from Pennsylvania (but don’t worry, it has indoor plumbing).