Education – Ivernia Arts

Reach for the Baton: Sandbox Sessions

Thanks to all who completed the Sandbox Conducting Session Workshops - More Will be Planned!

It was fantastic to meet and work with over 20 emerging conductors of all ages in the first two Sandbox Conducting Session Workshops in Athenry and Limerick in January 2023.

We are looking forward to planning more sessions around the country, and we will be keeping in touch with our participants via the Sandbox Sessions Conducting Facebook page and Facebook group.

Every week we will add a new topic or conductor to discover, as well as sharing information about other workshops and opportunities for emerging conductors in Ireland.

The aim is to build and grow the community of skilled conductors in Ireland, who will work with a range of groups from youth orchestras, amateur orchestra, and eventually professional orchestras. These conductors will inspire the musicians they work with to reach new heights of musical engagement, and bring lifelong engagement with the arts for musicians and audiences alike.

Workshop Repertoire & Preparation

Here’s how the participants prepared for the workshops….

Choose your music...

Choose the 1st movement of either the Mozart or the Warlock (linked below!), and then a contrasting second movement from either the Mozart and the Warlock.

For example you could do the 1st movement of the Mozart and the 2nd movement of the Warlock, or the 1st movement of the Warlock and the second movement of the Mozart!

Print out the 1st and 2nd movements of each piece so you can learn from your colleagues!

Print it out & mark it up!

Once you have picked your music, mark up your score, noting phrase lengths, dynamics, who has the melody, the secondary voice, the harmony.

Note the metronome mark and tempo, as well as the beating pattern you will use. Think about the character and articulation of the music. Does it change?

Can you start to build up an internal picture of the sound in your head?

Internalise the music completely!

Listen to many, many different recordings and versions of the music you choose. DANGER!!! DO NOT JUST LISTEN TO ONE RECORDING REPEATEDLY!!! This is a trap, which will completely shape how your version will sound.

It’s like anything, listen to lots of information and opinions to discover the possibilities, but then put the recordings away and start to make your own musical decisions!

Your Scores (repertoire!)

Here are the PDFs of your repertoire. Choose a 1st movement and a 2nd movement from either work to prepare in detail (e.g. 1st movement Mozart, 2nd movement Warlock, or vice versa. We would like you to work on music from two different eras, hence the choice! We have included the full works – so feel free to print out the full pieces, or just the 1st 2 movements of each. Don’t forget to bring it all along to the workshop! The scores (and thousands more) are freely available from the imslp website – linked below! Happy exploring!!

Some Starter Conducting Resources

Further Music Education Resources

Check out our FREE RESOURCES here

Learn to play 4 Carolan Tunes

Free access to sheetmusic and playalong videos for 4 Carolan tunes. Suitable for intermediate to advanced

ACCESS HERE

Using Conducting to Explore the Ingredients of Music

These videos and accompanying worksheets can be spread across two or more lessons. Students are introduced to the art of conducting, and through conducting a piece from Bizet’s Carmen, gain a practical understanding of the Ingredients of Music

BUY HERE

Coming Soon: Helping your School Orchestra Sound Great!

Aimed at music teachers who lead and conduct school ensembles and orchestras, this eBook and video shares the tips and tricks of a professional conductor, so that you can help your school orchestra sound great!

Chamber Music Skills

Aimed at teachers of students who are performing in groups of two or more, this concise eBook asks questions intended to help guide young musicians to successful ensemble performances. The resources encourage critical listening, critical observation and critical musical thinking. Buy Here

Zoom Conducting: Reframing the Baton

A concise PDF publication introducing a practical approach to developing musical skill in online and in-person rehearsals. Buy Here

Create your own Baroque Session

Using Raymond Deane’s A Baroque Session (with Carolan & Friends) this PDF and accompanying audio gives students the creative tools to create their own version of a movement from the piece.

GET THE FREE PDF HERE