The course is divided into three phases:

1st Level Ordinary Course: July 4 – 8 (Instructor: Luciano Acocella)
Opera Workshop on “Don Pasquale” by G. Donizetti: July 10 – 22 (Instructor: Daniele Gatti / Co-instructor: Luciano Acocella)
2nd Level Master Course: July 23 – 28 (Instructor: Daniele Gatti / Co-instructor: Luciano Acocella)

At the end of the three periods, the following performances are scheduled as part of the Chigiana International Festival 2024:
July 8, 9:00 PM, Teatro dei Rozzi, Siena: Final concert of the Ordinary Course.
July 20 and 22, 8:30 PM, Teatro dei Rinnovati, Siena: Staging of “Don Pasquale” by G. Donizetti, with the singers of the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, directed by Lorenzo Mariani, set and costumes by William Orlandi and Francesco Bonati, lights by Marco Filibeck, Cathedral of Siena Choir “Guido Chigi Saracini,” choir master Lorenzo Donati, Senzaspine Orchestra of Bologna.
July 28, 9:00 PM, Teatro dei Rinnovati, Siena: Final concert of the Master Course.

For admission to the course, candidates must pass two tests:
1) Evaluation of qualifications and video documentation (results will be communicated after May 15);
2) Practical test with an orchestra.

ADMISSION

Evaluation of qualifications and video documentation
For this initial selection, candidates must submit to the Chigiana Academy by May 15, academic and artistic qualifications demonstrating the level of studies and ongoing conducting activities, a video (YouTube, Vimeo, and other digital platforms, as well as private videos) of good quality made in the last three years, lasting no less than 20 minutes with complete pieces (not fragments), indicating the date and place of recording and a photograph of the candidate. The information must be summarized in the synthesis form to be attached to the registration form. The relevant fee for the evaluation of qualifications, €28, must also be received.

The Academy’s office will communicate the results of this first test to all candidates.

Practical test with the orchestra
The live practical test, with the Senzaspine Orchestra, will take place on July 4 at 2:00 PM at the Teatro dei Rozzi in Siena.
To be admitted to the test, the registration fee of €68 must already be paid. For the live practical test, candidates must present the following repertoire:

Beethoven Egmont Overture op. 84
Brahms Serenade in D major op. 11

There will be a single selection for attendance throughout the course (Ordinary Course, Master Course, Opera Workshop).

REPERTOIRE – 1st Level Ordinary Course

The study program during the Ordinary Course is as follows:

Beethoven Egmont Overture op. 84
Beethoven Coriolan Overture op. 62
Brahms Serenade in D major op. 11

The study program during the Opera Workshop is as follows:

Donizetti “Don Pasquale”

2nd Level Master Course

REPERTOIRE – 2nd Level Master Course

The study program during the Master Course is as follows:

Beethoven Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 36
Ravel Ma Mère l’Oye
Stravinsky Concerto in E-flat major “Dumbarton Oaks”
Ligeti Ramifications

The best students of the course, selected by the instructors, will be recommended to the partner institutions of the Chigiana Academy for the Orchestra Conducting course: ORT – Orchestra della Toscana, OPV – Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orchestra Filarmonica A. Toscanini di Parma, Teatro Massimo di Palermo e Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, for possible inclusion in their programming.

For students who have already submitted the course registration in previous years, it will be sufficient to send only updated documentation in the “personal information” section of the online registration form.