Instruction for Conductors
Conductors at the Choral Institute at Oxford receive focused podium time in an intensive masterclass situation with the singers from The Westminster Choir on literature that has been assigned to each conductor by Dr. Jordan. The choir is divided during the earlier parts of the Institute to allow for feedback for each conductor and working through initial issues of artistry and technique. Conductors rotate every other day between critique and instruction by both James Whitbourn and James Jordan. Each of the conductors conducts a performance of one of their pieces in the final concert of the Institute. All masterclasses are recorded for the conductors. Conducting podium time is guided through principles detailed in text by James Jordan, Sound as Teacher. The pedagogy in that volume is unique to the Choral Institute at Oxford.
Conductors also attend a Conductor’s Seminar each morning where score study and pertinent issues are discussed. Each student will be asked to come to the Institute with analysis of their pieces completed with copies for the participants. The analysis may take the form that each conductor is comfortable with. While any system of analyzing a score is acceptable, students are asked to prepare a Herford Style Graph of their work. Detailed information on the “How T” of constructing such an analytical graph can be found in the chapter on Herford Analysis James Jordan, Inward Bound (GIA).