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Symphonic Band Conducting Practicum, Allison Schmidtke

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Most music education majors take a year-long sequence of conducting classes in their junior year, about two years before we student teach. Unfortunately, of necessity, these conducting classes are rather contrived. Over the period of each quarter, we conducted our ensemble of cooperative, musically mature peers through about five eight- measure exercises focusing on a specific skill. Of course, since actual technique is only one (small) aspect of work on a podium, we were also introduced to the process of score study with its multitude of layers such as consideration of harmonic structure, stylistic elements, orchestration, context (historical influences, information …