5th Walter Strauss Choral Conducting Masterclass

State Choir Turkey is hosting six talented young choral conductors for one week also this season. Young conductors have the opportunity to work with the prominent professional choir of Turkey and meet in Ankara to focus on topics on choral conducting.

The masterclass is dedicated to the veteran conductor Walter Strauss who served the choir in the 90s. The choral conducting masterclass will hold its third edition this year between 26 January - 1 February 2020.

The editions in the last years hosted Paulo Lourenço (PT), Lorenzo Donati (IT) and Ragnar Rasmussen (NO). In 2020, Josep Vila i Casanas (ES/Cat). 6 active and 24 passive students will take part this year.

Applications available at here.

More info available here.

Click for details:

Time & Venue
Start: 26 January Sunday, 11.00
End: 1 February Saturday, 17.00 (After the closing concert)

Daily Schedule
9.30 - 10.15       Conducting Technique
10.30 - 13.30    Rehearsal with State Choir Turkey
14.30 - 16.00    Conducting Technique
16.30 - 17.30      Seminar (Each day on a different topic on choral conducting)
As an addition to the programme, sessions for individual conducting, voice study, accompaniment and musical analysis  will be announced in the masterclass.

Team
Josep Vila i Casanas, choral conductor
Burak Onur Erdem, choral conductor
Filiz Balkız, pianist
İlhan Sürmen, voice pedagogue

Application and Participation

Active: 6 participants
Active participants of the masterclass will be receiving one-to-one conducting lessons for the week and will have the opportunity to rehearse with Turkish State Choir. They will also conduct one piece at the closing concert.

All the documents below should be sent to Turkish State Choir before 31 October.

CV

• Document summarizing the musical background of the conductor

Motivation Letter

• Document on why the conductor wants to take part in the masterclass (max 250 words)

 Video Recording

• Minimum 5 minutes long
• Should be shot when the conductor was rehearsing with a choir and the face & the hands of the conductor should be visible
• Video can be sent through an online platform (vimeo, youtube, wetransfer).

 Application Form

• Applications available at http://bit.ly/DCK2020EN

Passive: 24 participants
Passive participants of the masterclass will have the chance to observe the work for one week and will be able to attend group lessons.

All the documents below should be sent to Turkish State Choir before 31 October.

CV

• Document summarizing the musical background of the conductor.

Motivation Letter

• Document on why the conductor wants to take part in the masterclass (max 250 words)

Application Form

• Applications available at http://bit.ly/DCK2020EN

Please send additional documents to: cokseslikoro@gmail.com

A Capella Composition Competition

Choirs play a more and more important role in Turkey’s culture life every day. Growing numbers of festivals, newly founded choirs -specifically in universities- and associations prove that choral music has a strong future in the country.

State Choir Turkey, as the pioneering institution of choral music, is happy to take steps forward in our choral life. This time, it is felt strongly by the choir that one of our significant needs is original choral works composed by Turkish composers, taking its roots from Turkish literature and culture.

The project aims to bring new Turkish works to international choral scene. As a result of this competition led by the State Choir Turkey, successful composers and their works will take their places in the repertoires of both amateur and professional choirs.
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Application deadline: 27 September 2019

Click for details:

• The work should be written for a capella choir. Its duration has to be between 6-8 minutes.
• The work should be original. Folk song or any other arrangements are not valid.
• The work should be produced by the composer within the last 6 years. The work should not be awarded a prize before in a national/international competition.
• If there are copyrights for the text, the author’s written permission will be necessary.
• Each composer can apply with only one work.
• ​The work should be sent in an electronic format like Sibelius or Finale. No page should contain the name of the composer. The jury will receive the works anonymously.
• The jury consists of national and international choral composers, academicians and choral conductors. The jury’s decision is final.
• The jury may give special prizes other than first, second, and third prize.

The competition has the highest composition awards within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Three pieces will be given prizes. The works with first, second, and third prize will be performed by State Choir Turkey.

First Prize 12.500 TL
Second Prize 10.000 TL
Third Prize 7.500 TL

Also, a maximum of five works can be awarded mentions up to 3.000 TL.