Choral Conducting, M.M.

Yes! Every student accepted into the Master of Music full time degree program in Choral Conducting receives a graduate assistantship for each of their two year residency. Unique to that Assistantship reward is to be the Graduate Assistant conductor for one of Westminster’s renowned choirs.

Graduate Conductors are on the podium preparing programs every semester! The course entitled Mastersingers consists of all graduate conductors, plus other singers, that form a high level chamber ensemble. Each semester consists three week cycles where two conductors share a program conducting three pieces each cycle. This is a “living” laboratory where principles of rehearsal technique and vocal technique for choirs are taught.

Absolutely, yes. In fact, in 1978 Westminster was the birthplace of the choral warm-up. The legendary Frauke Haaseman brought the essentials of the warm-up to America from “stimmbildung” practices in Germany. James Jordan has continued to refine the work of his teacher, Ms. Haasemann, aligning choral warm-ups with Voice Science. His book, The Essential Choral Warm-Up: Science, Method and Pedagogy, co-authored with Westminster colleague Sean McCarther, presents a choral/vocal pedagogy that aligns itself with good vocal technique.

The answer is either “no” or probably not.” Westminster’s tradition is for graduate conductors to be not only artistic, musical conductors, but to be pedagogues. James Jordan’s career has been devoted to writings concerning how singers actually learn music. As a student of the 20th century leader in the psychology of music, Edwin Gordon, Westminster graduate students gain real understandings about music teaching and learning, rather than rehearsal “tricks” or quick fixes that do not result in long term music skill building by singers.

All graduate students conduct a Westminster ensemble for their graduate recital! That ensemble is always the ensemble that you GA for, so that you develop not only a connection to the singers on a human level, but understand how they have been taught.

The short answer is yes! Past students have “double majored” in Voice Pedagogy, Voice Performance, and Music Education. While students have done this in the past, it does result in a very tight schedule for your two year experience at Westminster.

YES! All second year Graduate students study privately each of their two semesters. In the first year, All conducting majors take Conducting I and Conducting II which build basic conducting technique, analysis skills and score learning techniques. Learning how to listen, react and breathe is at the core of a Westminster conducting education.

Singularly unique to the Westminster graduate conducting experience is an in depth understand of Gregorian Chant. Philosophically, Gregorian Chant is the foundation of all musical phrasing principles and an understanding of musical line and sound “architecture.” James Jordan is the author of the major pedagogical book relating chant to conducting and ensemble musicianship in Discovering Chant (GIA).

The Princeton area has many lucrative church jobs as paid singers, or in some cases, choir directors. The money-making potential is only limited by your time and schedule.

Yes, the learn more about the Office of International Admissions here.