
DENVER PHILHARMONIC INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTING WORKSHOP, CONCERT and COMPETITION

WHERE: Denver, Colorado, USA
WHEN: February 27 - March 4, 2023
FACULTY: Maestri Lawrence Golan and Diane Wittry
ENSEMBLE: The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra
DESCRIPTION:
Come to the "Mile High City" Denver, CO, to study the art of conducting and great repertoire with two amazing faculty. This workshop includes:
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Score study, career development and programming classes
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Four full orchestra sessions or 3 string ensemble sessions, depending on the level of participation
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Video reviews with faculty
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Appearance on final public performance for all participants
Only 14 active participants will be accepted, six PLP and eight GLP participants. One competition winner, at the discretion of the faculty, will be selected to return the following season to guest conduct a piece on a subscription concert.
• Platinum Level Participants (PLP): conduct one movement of a concert piece
• Gold Level Participants(GLP): conduct one movement of the public pre-concert string performance.
• One competition winner will be selected to return the following season to guest conduct a piece on another subscription concert.
REPERTOIRE:
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Debussy: Danses sacrée et profane (Rebecca Moritzky, Harp)
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Beethoven: Overture to Egmont
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Grieg: From Holberg’s Time
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Florence Price: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major (A. K. Barnett-Hart, Violin)
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Montgomery: Starburst (String Version)
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Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G Major

MAESTRO LAWRENCE GOLAN
Acclaimed for his imaginative programming, evocative command of distinctive styles and composers, and vibrant performances, American conductor Lawrence Golan is Principal Guest Conductor of the Bayerische Philharmonie in Munich, Germany. He is also Music Director of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra in Washington state, the York Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania, and in Colorado, the Denver Philharmonic as well as the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at the University of Denver. A dynamic, charismatic communicator and popular collaborator, Golan has conducted throughout the United States and in Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Concerts of note this 2022-23 season include Yakima Symphony Orchestra’s season opening concert featuring the World Premiere of Golan’s own Fantasia for Orchestra, and the symphony’s February performance featuring photographer and multimedia artist Nicholas Bardonnay in a concert juxtaposing Mozart’s Divertimento in D (with Golan playing violin and conducting) and Symphony No. 40 with two works by Revueltas and two works by Moncayo. The orchestra also presents an all-Rachmaninov concert and two thrilling pops concerts: one featuring the film Nosferatu and the other “West Side Story Retold” with the Yakima Symphony Chorus and Chorusmaster Justin Raffa. The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary season features several special performances: the opening night concert offers Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony as well as the Colorado premiere of Golan’s Fantasia for Orchestra; its May celebratory concert features highlights from the orchestra’s first performance in 1948 including Sibelius’ En Saga. The York Symphony Orchestra marks the opening night of its 90th season with Beethoven’s Consecration of the House. It also presents “Copland & Bartók: American Voices” in November, featuring Henry Fogel as narrator for Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and composer/musician Jill Haley’s National Parks Suite featuring the artist as soloist. York’s season concludes with Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, featuring the York Symphony Chorus and Chorusmaster Kathleen Shannon. Guesting highlights include conducting the November 2022 Finals of the Spanish Composers International Piano Competition in Madrid, Spain, and returning to Arizona in December to lead the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in The Nutcracker with Ballet Tucson. Upcoming summer 2023 engagements include the State Symphony Orchestra of Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan, the Hotchkiss Music Festival in Madrid, Spain, and a return to the Bayerische Philharmonie in Munich as well as to the María Herrero International Piano Competition’s jury panel in Granada.
An award-winning recording artist, Mr. Golan has made several recordings, both as conductor and as a violinist, including two from the 2021-22 season: the Yakima Symphony Orchestra with the Villalobos Brothers and Centaur Records’ release of Lawrence Golan, Fantasia.. Also a successful author/composer/arranger, Golan has works and books published by Albany Records, Spurwink River Publishing, Mel Bay Publications, Ablaze Records, LudwigMasters, Notation Central, and Globe Edit. Golan's recording as a violinist called “Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman,” won two Global Music Awards.
Golan served as Principal Second Violinist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (1989-1990) and then Concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra for eleven years (1990-2001), before focusing his career on the podium. A native of Chicago, Lawrence Golan received his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Master of Music in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University School of Music and his D.M.A. in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In 1999 he was awarded Tanglewood Music Center’s Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship, and in 2002, Aspen Music Festival’s Conducting Fellowship.

MAESTRA DIANE WITTRY
Internationally acclaimed conductor, DIANE WITTRY, maintains a dual career as an esteemed music director and guest conductor throughout the world. Named as one of the “Top 30 Professional Musicians” by Musical America Worldwide and as the “Outstanding Alumnus” of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Diane Wittry brings a proven track record regarding her ability to inspire musicians and to build an orchestra artistically and organizationally.
A frequent guest conductor of professional orchestras across the country, Diane Wittry has conducted orchestras in 11 countries throughout Europe and Asia, including China, Poland, Canada, Bosnia, Russia, Slovakia, Japan, Italy, as well as her regularly scheduled concerts with orchestras in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In the United States, Diane Wittry has led performances by the Symphony Orchestras of Milwaukee, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, as well as The Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, among others; while her international engagements include concerts with the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia, the Zabrze Philharmonic in Poland, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Russia’s Maikop and Sochi symphony orchestras, Slovakia’s State Orchestra-Kosice, Italy’s Sinfonia Dell’Arte di Firenze, Canada’s Niagara Symphony, and Japan’s Osaka Symphony Orchestra. She has also conducted at the music festivals of Ojai (CA), Penn’s Woods (PA), and I-Park (CT).
As the Music Director of the Allentown Symphony, PA , a professional orchestra that performs about 24-28 concerts a year, Diane Wittry has established a reputation for her creative programming and innovative approach to concert formats. She has been described as “a conductor who specializes in finding creative ways to make the music fresh, accessible, and exciting.” Wittry has been a tireless advocate for the development of extensive educational programs and is very involved with the Allentown Symphony’s El Sistema Program for under-served youth.
Diane Wittry is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Garden State Philharmonic, NJ, a professional orchestra comprised of New York and New Jersey based musicians that performs regularly at the New Jersey Shore and throughout the State. The GSP also supports a community chorus, a youth chorus, and a three-tier Youth Orchestra program.
Other orchestras that Diane Wittry has been the Music Director and Conductor of include the Norwalk Symphony (CT), the Ridgewood Symphony (NJ), the Southern California Sinfonia (CA), the Lamar Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony of Southeast Texas (TX), where her work garnered the League of American Orchestra’s Helen M Thompson Award.
As a conducting teacher, Diane Wittry, has been a guest lecturer at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University Steinhardt School of Music, as well as other Universities and Colleges. She has taught graduate level orchestral conducting at Rutgers University (NJ) and is sought after as a clinician and adjudicator.
Wittry taught national and international conducting courses and workshops through the International Conductors Institute, the Czech Republic International Conducting Workshop, the South Carolina Conductor’s Institute, the Monteux Conducting School and Festival, the New York Conducting Institute, the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute, the Texas Conductor’s Workshop, and the Beyond the Baton Conducting Seminars and Workshops. She has served as a National Conducting Mentor for regional music directors in their first or second year through the League of American Orchestras, as well as being a frequent faculty member for the League’s National Leadership Academy. Wittry is currently co-chair of the Conductor Constituency Group through the League of American Orchestras nationally. She is also a part of the National Conducting Mentoring Committee through the Conductors Guild and a guest speaker at national conferences.
An award winning author and scholar, her book, “Beyond the Baton“, (Oxford University Press) (www.BeyondtheBaton.com) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has become a standard, both nationally and internationally, in the field. Her most recent book “Baton Basics – Communicating Music Through Gestures” (Oxford University Press) is being used by conducting classes across the country.
Over the years, Diane Wittry has received many honors and awards, including the American Symphony Orchestra League’s national Helen M. Thompson Award for outstanding artistic leadership of a regional orchestra. She has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times and Newsweek. Ms. Wittry received an Outstanding Achievement Award, Allentown, PA, the Women of Excellence Award in Beaumont, Texas, the Arts Ovation Award in Music and the Woman of Distinction Award from Allentown, PA., and she is only the third American to be named – in recognition of her leadership in the arts and humanities – the recipient of the prestigious Fiorino Doro Award from the City of Vinci, Italy.
Recently, Diane Wittry has also established a reputation as a composer. Her orchestral piece, “Mist” was premiered by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and is available for streaming at Amazon.com in a recording by the Slovak State Philharmonic . Her other orchestral compositions: Lamentoso, after the rain, Concerto for Home-made Instruments, Ode to Joy Fanfare, Leaves, and Summer Sun, have all received multiple performances. Her music is published by the Theodore Presser Company, and Subito Music.
TUITION, LODGING
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Tuition, Platinum Level Participant (6 only) $1240 (US)
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Tuition, Gold Level Participant (8 only) $750 (US)
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Tuition Auditors: $250 (US)
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Accommodations: are the responsibility of the attendees. There is a discount rate available at the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Denver (3 blocks from the workshop venue). Traditional Room - $129; Deluxe King - $149. Includes WiFi, breakfast buffet, IHG rewards.
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NOTE: The $30 cost of the Florence Price score rental and shipping will be collected at the same time as the tuition fee from all participants.
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Participants and Auditors who play in the preconcert string ensemble receive a $150 discount.
APPLICATION INFO
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Highest priority to applications received by Dec 1, 2022.
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Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2022 and will continue until all spots have been filled.
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Tuition must be paid in full by January 1, 2023.
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Cancelation Policy: If a canceling participant’s spot is filled by a new student, a tuition refund will be given. If a canceling participant’s spot is not filled, they get a credit for the following season’s DPO Conducting Workshop.
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There is a $100 non-refundable application fee.