Royal Northern Sinfonia
Repertoire (excerpts)
Schumann – Overture, Scherzo and Finale
Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht
Haydn Symphony No.104
Lekeu Adagio for Strings
Mendelssohn Symphony no.1
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence
Schubert Symphony No.3
Coleridge-Taylor Four Novelettes
Royal Philharmonic Society
We are pleased to present a new chapter of our Women Conductors programme. Having so far helped over 500 women nationwide to further their conducting skills at different levels, this new phase is specifically for female conductors based in the UK and Ireland committed to making this their primary vocation, with some experience of conducting professional or high-level student/non-professional orchestras.
We are presenting this opportunity in partnership with Sage Gateshead. Over a period of two years, it will involve several encounters with the full orchestral forces of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, with residual support from the RPS and RNS, and dedicated mentoring from Alice Farnham, Founder and Artistic Director of the Women Conductors programme.
It is principally a chance for participants to spend quality rehearsal time with one of the UK’s foremost professional orchestras. At its heart, everyone involved will also spend time reflecting together on the age-old relationship between a conductor and an orchestra, considering fresh approaches to bring out the best in one another.
In Autumn 2021 we opened applications and, from those, formed a cohort of seven exceptional conductors chosen to take part. Over several two-day courses between January 2022 and June 2023, they will spend dedicated time conducting the orchestra with coaching from Alice and guest experts, delve into multiple aspects of orchestral conducting, embracing a range of repertoire and formats. Between these sessions in Gateshead, the cohort will have contact time with Alice and with select RNS players, and residual career support from RPS and RNS staff.
The cohort has been chosen as they are all at very promising stages in their careers as conductors. As the courses progress, they will account their progress here on our website and social media, and we are giving each a dedicated RPS website page to showcase their achievements to date and tell you more about themselves.
Our WoCo Gateshead 2022-23 conductors are:
Please do click each of their names to read more about them.
We hope that orchestra managers, promoters and artist managers nationwide will follow their progress, and join us in helping them attain further opportunities and establish fulfilling careers. We are so pleased to tell you more about them, and further talents besides: there are indeed many more dearly dedicated and promising women conductors whom we couldn't offer places on this course who have met in our other courses over the last few years. Do contact us and we can tell you more.
WoCo Gateshead 2022-23 is kindly supported by the North Music Trust. We are also grateful to ABRSM and a number of individuals for their ongoing support of the RPS Women Conductors programme.