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I am currently a first year performance major and the details surrounding how one actually becomes a conductor are rather fuzzy. I have asked professors and have been told that conductors usually reach a very high level on their instruments first. That I understand. The only conducting courses available to undergraduate students are music education courses and they don't go very in depth. Since they are courses outside my program, I can only sign up after all the music ed. majors have signed up first, which may or may not leave room for me.

What really baffles me is the requirements for admittance into a graduate program for conducting. They greatly vary from school to school, some require score reading at the keyboard, some require sight singing, some require an honors degree in music beforehand, and they all require a video of the person conducting an ensemble. Of course the person has to have had experience conducting before going into the program, but how do I go from playing in ensembles to conducting them?

How is conducting taught? How do I know which schools are good for conducting? Will I still be able to study my principal instrument? Do I need to be a stellar piano player? How am I going to get experience?

Should I go to the school (for grad studies) that is in the city that I hope to work in, even if it is considered "inferior" to the school that I am attending now?

Thanks.

violadad

There's a previous discussion on undergrad conducting here Undergraduate Orchestral Conducting

It's probably a tougher field to break into than trying to win an orchestral chair. Serious preprofessional study can be at the grad level or in the form of a GPD (graduate professional diploma, often AFTER an MM), an AD (artists diploma, in lieu of or in addition to an MM), at one of the few internship/training orchestras, or being taken under the wing of an established conductor.

I would suggest talking to as many current or recent grads of the programs that interest you, and pick their brains as to backgrounds, how they got there, formal/informal training, etc. The schools should be able to provide names of current/former students willing to share their experience with you. Try and establish a dialog as well with a few of the department heads at the schools that you will apply to and get their overviews as well.

You will need all of the skills you mention in your opening post, a tremendous talent and quite a bit of luck, and exposure. There are also a few competitive summer programs/festivals that would enable you to hone experience and develop skills.

Good luck.