COURS FOR ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
Martina Franca (Taranto, Italy)
With the collaboration of the Festival della Valle d'Itria
ACADEMIC YEAR 2016 |
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
THE "RODOLFO CELLETTI" ACADEMY
The ‘Accademia del Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti”’ in Martina Franca is promoted and organised by the ‘Fondazione Paolo Grassi’, in collaboration with the Festival della Valle d'Itria. It was set up in 2010 to provide young lyrical singers with a highly specialised training on the various aspects of vocal technique and performance of Italian Belcanto repertoire (from Monteverdi to proto-
Romanticism), comprising of analysis and practice of the various styles of Western music theatre, including expressions of modernity.
The course also includes various practical workshops, applied to specific Belcanto techniques and
aesthetics: from seventeenth-century “recitar cantando” to expressions of the Apulian and
Neapolitan school; from coloratura techniques to variations in early nineteenth-century Italian Belcanto tradition. Specific artistic experience on-site, organised during the Festival della Valle
d’Itria, may present the chance for the pupils to enrich their education, thanks to the guidance of
great supervisors, prominent interpreters and concert-masters.
The course also includes a module specialising in in-depth analysis of Baroque Belcanto, with prestigious master-classes and valuable one-to-one lessons for young performers with a particular
interest in, and inclination towards, this kind of repertoire. This specific, personalised course is enriched with opportunities for practical work experiences during the 2016 edition of the Festival.
Alongside the higher education courses for operatic performers there will be a course for Assistant Conductors, dedicated to young pianists who will have the opportunity to
participate actively to the lessons, rehearsals, and the productions fo the Festival as part of their work experience.
STRUCTURE and AIMS OF THE COURSE FOR ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
The course is aimed to create new Assistant Conductors, also through the achievement of a clear awareness in relation to the needs and technical characteristics of singing, the specificities of
opera theatre, with its dramatic and musical values, as well as its professions. The course entails both classroom lessons on theory and technique, and work experience in collaboration
with the Festival della Valle d’Itria.
CALENDAR
The Music Director of the Accademia del Belcanto and of the Festival della Valle d’Itria, Fabio
Luisi, will coordinate the activities of internationally renown teachers and artists.
For the year 2016 there will be three study sessions:
• SESSION ONE: from the 16th to the 24th March 2016;
• SESSION TWO: from the 26th April to the 3rd May 2016;
• SESSION THREE: from the 7th to the 29th June 2016, which will be followed by a work
experience within the 42nd Festival della Valle d’Itria [www.festivaldellavalleditria.it]
REQUIREMENTS AND ENROLLMENT
The course for Assistant Conductors is aimed at candidates possessing artistic merit and inclination towards the profession, not to mention a solid technical and theoretical preparation,
such as to deserve perfecting and practice on the field, with the aim of professional inclusion into the profession in opera theatre.
The courses are free but places are limited, and admission is restriced through a selection.
There are three places available for the role of Assistant Conductor. Candidates who have
not been selected may take the place of selected students in case of any rejection or drop out.
The selection of the candidates will be carried out by the Judging Panel (presided by the Director
of the Academy) on the basis of demonstrable qualifications and after a public audition which will
be held in Martina Franca at the ‘Fondazione “Paolo Grassi”’ (where the Academy is based), on Tuesday the 15th March 2016 at 5pm. Details of the convocation for the audition will be
communicated directly to the candidates.
The course welcomes applicants who:
- are no older than 35 years of age;
- hold a Conservatoire or Musical Institution diploma, or level I or II academic diploma issued by an
official music Institution. Candidates who have studied in foreign institutions will only be considered
if their title is commensurate and equivalent with that of the institutions described above.
Candidates possessing professional experience as piano accompanist to opera singers will be at an advantage.
The Director has the right to admit to the courses pianists who, during ex-tempore competitions or
auditions, have shown particular artistic merit.
Applications, complete with CV, must be sent by e-mail no later than the 10th March 2016 to
the following address: accademia@fondazionepaolograssi.it
The subject of the e-mail should clearly specify “Iscrizione audizione per Maestri Collaboratori”.
The e-mail should also contain details of the repertoire the candidates have chosen to prepare for
the audition.
ENTRY TEST
Applicants will have prepared three opera arias for the audition, complete with recitative and cabaletta (where available) with the start of the singing part:
1. a piece from the opera “Così fan tutte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
2. a piece proceeding from early-19th century Italian repertoire;
3. a piece proceeding from the Baroque repertoire.
The Committee will also request first-sight music score reading of randomly-selected passages
from Italian opera repertoire.
The Committee has the right to choose whether to listen to the whole or only part of the
programme indicated in the application.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance to the classes is mandatory. Times and dates will be established together with the teachers.
Candidates who have successfully participated to the whole course will be given a certificate of attendance.
LOCATION OF THE COURSE
Lessons will take place mainly at the ‘Fondazione ‘Paolo Grassi’’ in Martina Franca. Practical work experience will take place, apart from the above-mentioned location, also in the areas dedicated to the Festival della Valle d’Itria.
Staff of the ‘Fondazione ‘Paolo Grassi’’ and the Artistic Direction will be happy to help with indications and support with solutions for accommodation at established rates.
INFO AND CONTACTS
Accademia del Belcanto "Rodolfo Celletti"
c/o Fondazione Paolo Grassi
Via Metastasio, 20
74015 - Martina Franca (TA), Italy
telephone: +39 080 4306763
e-mail: accademia@fondazionepaolograssi.it
website: www.fondazionepaolograssi.it
How to reach Martina Franca
