Choral Conducting

The curriculum is competence-oriented. After completing the programme, students should:

• master the technique of conducting with confidence and be able to present themselves professionally
• conduct a choir or ensemble with confidence and artistic expression
• have a comprehensive repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day
• have historically sound knowledge of performance practice and stylistics
• have acquired comprehensive knowledge of music theory and musicology and are able to apply this knowledge in practice
• have a profound knowledge of the human voice in all its aspects
• be familiar with rhetoric and articulation
• have a basic knowledge of the relevant languages Italian and French
• have the ability to motivate
• have the ability to communicate and work in a team
• be free and independent in their artistic work
• have mastered the basics of academic work and be able to analyse, interpret and write up artistic content in a well-founded manner
• develop their individual interests beyond their own subject area through targeted in-depth study within the framework of the (free) electives, in the spirit of lifelong learning.

The six-semester Bachelor's degree program in Choral Conducting is modular in structure. A module is the combination of teaching and learning content into thematically and didactically meaningful units of study. The names and content descriptions (study objectives) of the individual modules as well as the number of ECTS credits to be achieved for each module and the type of performance assessment are specified in the curriculum. The module descriptions refer to the corresponding learning outcomes and competencies. The bachelor program Choral Conducting is a face-to-face program and cannot be offered - not even in parts - as a distance learning program. The courses from the Central Artistic Subject (ZKF) as well as the other Individual Artistic Instruction (KE) or Artistic Instruction (KU) are designed to build up on each other. A prerequisite for enrollment in courses from the ZKF or KE/KU is a positive evaluation of the previous semester in every semester except the first. The same applies to piano reduction opera and oratorio literature (KE). Piano reduction of opera and oratorio literature can only be taken in combination with ZKF.

Link to the semester schedule

The prerequisite for admission to the Bachelor's degree programme in Choral Conducting is passing the entrance examination. For this, an online application is first required, for which an application video must also be submitted. If the application documents are assessed positively, an invitation to the online interview (Partial Examination A) will follow.

ATTENTION:

• The assessment of the application videos takes place after the application deadline and can take 2-4 weeks!
• You can only apply for studies for which you have not yet obtained a degree!

Application video
On the basis of the videos sent in, a pre-selection will be made by the examination board. The following excerpt from the BA Choral Conducting examination programme must be uploaded to a video platform of your choice:

• Conducting with choir or (vocal) ensemble (consisting of at least 5 ensemble members) of a work of choice, briefly showing the ensemble but mainly the face and body of the applicant.

Please ensure in advance that the persons captured on video and audio have given their consent to the audio and video recordings and submission as part of the admission examination. In this respect, the University Mozarteum Salzburg is to be fully indemnified and held harmless.

The duration of the video should be approx. 8-10 minutes.
Important information on video uploads can be found HERE, as well as the data protection information. The guidelines mentioned there are to be observed urgently!

The entrance examination

If you have received an invitation to the entrance examination on the basis of your application video, you will have to take the following partial examinations:

A - Online interview to determine artistic aptitude

In the online interview with the examination board on motivation, background, previous studies and expectations, the submitted video will also be discussed. For this purpose, you will receive an appointment and a link to a video conference tool in advance. Please ensure that you are available with a good internet connection at the specified time (probably mid-April); a PC/laptop with camera/microphone is also required.
The interview will take place via ZOOM and will last approximately 10 minutes.

After passing part A, admission to part B-F will be granted.

B - Choral Conducting Examination

Conducting prepared works (10-20 minutes):

• Two vocal works (one of them a capella), which will be announced to the candidates when they register for the entrance examination (e.g. Goffredo Petrassi: Nonsense (1952), one chorus from Haydn: Creation).

Playing a piano reduction from opera or oratorio literature (10-15 minutes):

• Performance (playing and singing) from the piano of a short opera scene from a German, Italian or French opera (e.g. an accompagnato recitative, an aria or an ensemble from an opera).
• sight-reading an excerpt from an opera or oratorio from the piano score

C - Music Theory & Aural Training

Composition: (120 minutes, written):

• Setting a basso continuo
• Harmonising a chorale melody in baroque style
• 2-part counterpoint (Renaissance: Cantus firmus movement, Baroque: Invention)
• Analysis in relation to form, harmony, compositional technique

Ear training: (60 minutes, written):

• 1-part freitonal
• 2-part classical (e.g. minuet by Mozart or Haydn)
• Sound progression
• 3-part polyphonic (exposition of a baroque fugue)
• 4-part homophonic

Oral examination aural training (approx. 10 minutes):

• Singing from the sheet
• Sound error listening
• Tapping 2-part rhythm (by ear and notation)

An example of the exam as well as further help for preparation (only basics!) can be found HERE.

D - Examination compulsory subject piano:

• Performance of two prepared piano pieces of medium difficulty, one of them from the 20th century.
  _{(e.g.: J.S. Bach: two or three-part Invention or Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Mozart, Haydn or Beethoven: one movement of a classical sonata, Bartok: Mikrokosmos, Kurtág: Játékok).}
• Playing a piece from the sheet
  _{(difficulty level lower intermediate, e.g. Bach: Klavierbüchlein Anna Magdalena Bach, Schumann: Album für die Jugend, Bartok Mikrokosmos Bd. II)}

E - Examination Compulsory Subject Singing

• Performance of two songs or arias of medium difficulty from different stylistic periods, including one piece from the Romantic or Modern periods. With the exception of the modern piece, the programme must be performed from memory. The sheet music is to be brought along.

_{Literature examples: Heinrich Schütz: from Kleine Geistliche Konzert: Bringt her dem Herren; John Dowland: Fine Knacks for Ladies; Alessandro Scarlatti: Giàilsoledal Gange / Se Florindo è fedele; Ludwig van Beethoven: Mailied; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Zufriedenheit (Was frag ich viel) / Zauberer; Franz Schubert: Liebhaber in allen Gestalten / An Silvia; Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Bei der Wiege / Winterlied; Robert Schumann: Frühlingsgruß; Clara Schumann: Sie liebten sich beide; Johannes Brahms: Sonntag / Deutsche Volkslieder / Vergebliches Ständchen; Hugo Wolf: Der Musikant; Samuel Barber: The Daisies; Wolfgang Fortner: Lied vom Weidenbaum; Hanns Eisler: from Hollywood Elegies: The City / In the Hills; Benjamin Britten: Morning, Night}

F- German language skills

• Required language level: at least A2 before the end of the 2nd semester (Common European Framework of Reference CEFR 2001)
• Information on the German examination and the recognised certificates can be found HERE

Dates & timetable

The dates of the entrance examination as well as important deadlines can be found in the current schedule. 
Time schedule:

• Examination registration during the application period online via the registration portal for university applicants
  (ATTENTION: Registration only possible if documents are complete, including video!)
• If the application video is positive: Invitation to the on-site entrance examination
• Participation in the on-site admission test in May/June
• if you pass the admission test: invitation to enrol for the degree programme
• Enrolment during the general admission period

Different examination method

Please note that the University Mozarteum Salzburg offers various support options for the admission examination and during your studies if you have a disability or a chronic illness.

If this applies to you and you would like to take advantage of counselling, please contact Claudia Haitzmann: claudia.haitzmann@moz.ac.at or +43 676 88122 337.

Students of the Bachelor's program are recommended to complete a semester abroad. Semesters 4 and 5 of the degree program are particularly suitable for this. In addition to the subject-specific competencies, the following qualifications can be acquired through a study period abroad:

• Acquisition and deepening of subject-specific foreign language skills
• Acquisition and deepening of general language skills (language comprehension, conversation, etc.)
• Acquisition and deepening of organisational skills through independent planning of everyday study life in international administrative and university structures
• Getting to know and studying in international study systems as well as broadening one's own subject perspective
• Acquisition and deepening of intercultural competences

The recognition of examinations taken during studies abroad as compulsory subjects, elective subjects or free elective subjects is carried out by the Director of Studies. The documents required for the assessment are to be submitted by the applicant immediately after the stay abroad.

Details at International Affairs.