In Wednesday’s (7/20) Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), Anna Reguero writes, “ ‘If you don’t want that much, don’t go through full Christmas tree. Just do half Christmas tree,’ said Neil Varon. He wasn’t talking about decorating for the holidays. He was giving advice to Chaowen Ting, a student conductor, on pulling back an orchestra at the end of a musical phrase in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7. … Varon, professor of conducting at the Eastman School of Music where he leads both of the school’s student orchestras, runs the school’s Summer Conducting Institute, now in its sixth year. For five days during the summer, advanced and promising young conductors from around the country come to Rochester for a chance to learn from Varon, a seasoned conductor with major credits conducting orchestras in Germany, and a chance to practice their skills with a professional orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra chooses five of the 10 participants to conduct a concert, which this year is on Thursday evening in Kodak Hall. The program will include movements of major symphonies by Brahms, Dvorák, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. Opportunities for budding conductors to conduct professional orchestras are rare, … says Varon.”
Posted July 20, 2011
