CONDUCTING MASTERCOURSE (WORLDWIDE)
ON SELECTED ORCHESTRAL MUSIC of RICHARD STRAUSS,
SERGEI PROKOFIEV and MAURICE RAVEL

1 - 17 September 2008
in RUSE, BULGARIA (on the Danube)

with

MAESTRO JORMA PANULA

and

THE RUSE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Distinguished conductor and
conducting pedagogue, MAESTRO JORMA PANULA will lead the Mastercourse/Symposium.

Maestro Panula has conducted major orchestras on all continents and was professor of conducting in his native Finland at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (since 1973). He presently teaches conducting courses at the Stockholm Royal Academy, and formerly taught at the Copenhagen Royal Academy.

Panula is in demand as an effective teacher of conducting mastercourses throughout the world. Several of his former students are now music directors of major orchestras, including Esa Pekka Salonen (LA Philharmonic), Osmo Vanska (Minnesota Orchestra, Lahti Symphony), Jukka Pekka Saraste (Toronto Symphony), Sakari Oramo (City of Birmingham Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony), and Petri Sakari (formerly Iceland Symphony). The BBC has labeled him as one of the 60 most influential musicians alive today.

or Bulgarian State Philharmonic Ruse was established in 1948. Some of the best Bulgarian conductors have worked with this orchestra. The first Bulgarian International Music Festival was established in 1961 on the initiative of the Ruse Philharmonic. The concert stage of the Ruse Philharmonic has welcomed many distinguished conductors from abroad including Kurt Masur, Carlo Zecchi, Valery Gergiev and Evgeny Svetlanov. The repertoire of the orchestra includes all genres and styles. The orchestra has toured Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, France and Switzerland and has recorded with the Bulgarian National Radio (Balkanton Record Company), releasing numerous CDs. Most recently, the Ruse Philharmonic has embarked on a series of recordings for the Danish record label, Classico, including tenor highlights from Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Danish tenor, Stig Andersen, and conductor, Niels Borksand.

The Mastercourse will begin on the morning of 1 September 2008 and conclude with its final concert on 17 September 2007. The event will take place in the rehearsal and performance halls of the THE RUSE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA and focus on selected orchestral works of Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel. There will be 21 rehearsals and three (3) public concerts.

Fifteen (15) conductors from around the world will be selected as active participants -- These 15 should be experienced condutors who wish to deepen their knowledge of this repertoire and its interpretation with Maestro Panula. Each active participant will have daily podium time and conduct on at least one of three public concerts. Three (3) Bulgarian conductors will also be active participants and up to ten (10) auditors from around the world will be accepted. Auditors need not have significant professional conducting experience, but should be musicians with an interest in this repertoire and/or conducting technique, or others who are simply interested in the orchestral works of these great composers. Those auditors who are experienced conductors may also conduct during one or more rehearsals.

Conductors are urged to bring ALL SCORES to the Masterclass, even if they are not planning on conducting some of the works to be rehearsed and performed.

Conducting assignments for the public performances will be made by Maestro Panula. Each participant will be asked to list the works they prefer to conduct on a public concert. Efforts will be made to accommodate their wishes; however, this may not be possible and the programming decisions of Maestro Panula and/or the Masterclass administration are final.

The fee for the course is 2,650 EUR (for active participants) and 550 EUR (for auditors) excluding travel, accommodation and meals.Participants and auditors should apply for the full course -- it is not possible to register for only a portion of it.

The application form can be accessed by clicking here.

NB -- The 15 active participants (non-Bulgarians) will be the first 15 qualified conductors who:

1) Pay the course application fee (non-refundable/50 EUR) and course deposit (refundable/650 EUR) and submit their application and materials. Conductors who have attended past events produced by Blue Danube Musik Impresario do not need to re-send their materials.

2) Are formally accepted after review of their materials and receipt of application and deposit fees (total of 700 EUR)

3) Confirm their intention to participate

NB…the deposit will not be refunded if a conductor cancels (for ANY reason) after 1 July 2008. The balance (2 000 EUR) will be due in Ruse on the first day of the course (in cash and in EURO only, please). The deposit will be returned to any conductor not accepted after review of materials.

Please send the application form (click on link to view and print), your CV, and a recent video tape or DVD of your conducting (preferably with both rehearsal and performance footage and in any format) as soon as possible to:

Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmbH
32-34 Strozzigasse
A-1080 Wien (Vienna)
Österreich (Austria/Europe)
Tel/Fax: +43 1 405 40 30
info@bluedanubeviolins.com

Please send the application and deposit fees via bank wire transfer or Western Union and in EUR only.

Name of Bank: BAWAG P.S.K.
Bank Address: Josefstädter Strasse 28/A-1080 Wien
Name on account: Blue Danube Violins/Musik Impresario GmbH
Account number (Kontonummer): 02010 006 026
BIC: BAWAATWW
IBAN: AT221400002010006026
Reason for payment: Course application or deposit fee

If money is sent via Western Union, the director's name (Anthony Armore), the company's name (Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmBH) and the information below is needed:

Anthony Armore
Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmbH
Strozzigasse 32-34
A-1080 Wien
Tel: +43 1 405 40 30

Moreover, for Western Union, the sender's name, address and telephone number are also needed. The MTCN number should be sent to Blue Danube Musik Impresario via e-mail, fax or telephone at the same time, alerting us that payment has been sent.

Please note: The currency used in Bulgaria is the Bulgarian lev(a), not the EURO. However, the balance of the course fee and the optional excursion must be paid in EUR, please, to Blue Danube Musik Impresario.

Ruse, Bulgaria is easily reached by air via the nearest international airports in Bucharest, Romania and Sofia, Bulgaria (with SkyEurope and other carriers). The city is also reachable by train, auto or bus. BDMI will provide bus transport for conductors from the Sofia International Airport to Ruse on Sunday, 31 August and back to the same airport on Thursday, 18 September.

Information regarding accommodaton will be posted in the near future.

Ruse is the largest Bulgarian city on the Danube. Situated in the north-eastern part of Bulgaria, 300 km from the nation’s capital, Sofia. Ruse’s rich historical past shows that the Danube was its basis of existence; from its foundation until now, and in spite of the names the city has had through 19 centuries, it was a Danube harbor.

The city was founded at the time of the Roman emperor Vespasian during the period 69 - 79 AD as a fortress called Sexaginta Prista, meaning -- The harbor of the sixty ships. The fortress lasted for almost six centuries but perished under the storms of the barbarian invasions.

In the Middle Ages, the Ruse region was among the most developed areas of the Bulgarian state. At the time of the Ottoman Yoke, Ruse was an important fortress and the main gate to the north of the Turkish empire. It was then called Rouschouk.

In the nineteenth century, Ruse was the first town in Bulgaria to acquire a pronounced European look which illustrated its economic prosperity. The first newspaper printed in Bulgaria in Bulgarian was published in Ruse in 1865. The construction of the Ruse - Varna railway, which was the first of its kind in the Balkans, largely contributed to the growing significance of the city.

After the Liberation in 1878, Ruse remained one of the largest cities in Bulgaria and became the cradle of Bulgarian shipbuilding when the first iron ship was built there in 1881.

Ruse is the most active and authoritative cultural center on the Bulgarian side of the Danube and is the host-city of several significant and annual cultural events - The March Music Days International Festival of Symphony, Cantata and Oratorio; International Jazz Festival; Golden Rebec Folk Festival; and an International Theatre Festival. There are also state cultural institutions of regional and national importance – the Ruse Opera House; the Ruse Philharmonic; and the Ruse Dramatic and Puppet Theatres, which all successfully perform on international stages.

23 kilometers south-west of Ruse is remarkable archeological reserve - the Ivanovo Rock Monasteries. Situated at a height of 6 to 8 meters, the cells were inhabited by monks until the 17th century. Chronicles and the preserved church murals show that the community of hermits also created a blossoming literary center during the 13th - 14th centuries. The rock monasteries have been cited as important in the development of European culture and added to UNESCO’s List of World Cultural Heritage.

The Ivanovo Rock Monasteries contain some of the best frescoes of Bulgarian religious art.

7 kilometers south-west of Ivanovo is the Fortress of Cherven, dating from the Middle Ages. This fortress was one of the most important military, economical, cultural and religious centers of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (ca. 1185-1385). The ruins are restored and can be visited today.

Although the repertoire list is extensive, conductors will conduct and prepare pieces of their choice (whenever possible). They should, however, be familiar with most of the repertoire; there will be opportunities for them to "get their feet wet" with unfamiliar repertoire (to them) in a supportive and "low pressure" context.