Orchestra for Practical Conducting Lessons (OPD)
Many years ago, the Orchestra for Practical Conducting Lessons (OPD) was founded at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT. This ensemble is the ideal working tool for the practical training of conductors. It replaces the conducting training practised worldwide, in which the orchestra is usually replaced by pianos, with work on the correct orchestral sound.
This successful model was first copied throughout Germany, then several times in Europe, and has now provided conductors with valuable practical building blocks on their way to success for many years. Up to now, the OPD has been supported financially by private sponsorship or by the support of various associations. Each player and each choir singer receives a fee per hour, with a rehearsal time of three hours.
As a rule, five rehearsals take place in the winter semester and four in the summer semester, with different instrumentations. An orchestra with a maximum of 45 musicians is available for each of the rehearsals. As a rule, five to six conducting students conduct. For the COPD (choir and orchestra for practical conducting lessons) there are also about 25 singers.
This gives the young conductors a great opportunity to expand their practical experience, which is so important for their studies, by working with an orchestra with different literature and instrumentation. In contrast to working with a professional orchestra, there is more room for experimentation in the OPD as a working orchestra; one can and may take risks and develop in this protected space.
In a classic win-win situation, on the other hand, instrumentalists get to know many works of standard literature that they will play in the orchestra later in their careers. During the rehearsals with concert literature, the students of the instrumental classes get the chance to gain experience as soloists with orchestra and conductor. The mutual perception of orchestra musician / choir singer / soloist / conductor is strongly encouraged.
It is especially important for all participants to learn how a conductor must work, why certain procedures do not work, where the instrumentalist must take responsibility. For the conductors, this is the most important part of the training, which cannot be learned in the simulation in the classroom: The direct confrontation with the orchestra apparatus and with the soloists, the differentiated listening to the overall sound in order to bring about specific changes or improvements, the psychological leadership of the group etc.
The long list of successes of the conducting students of the Department of Conducting and Opera Correpetition is proof of the excellent practical work offered at the Weimar University of Music - the OPD/COPD is an important pillar of this model. It is strongly supported by all sides - instrumentalists, singers, conductors - and a continuation of this unique cooperation is desired by all.
The Orchestra for practical conducting lessons needs your support!
For more information about the orchestra and funding opportunities, please contact the following persons.
Contact
Prof. Nicolás Pasquet
Professor of Orchestral Conducting
Principal Conductor of the University Orchestra
Hochschulzentrum am Horn
Professor Nicolás Pasquet was born in 1958 in Montevideo/Uruguay. There, he studied Violin and Conducting at the State Music Academy. Later, he completed his studies at the Music Academy in Stuttgart and Nürnberg, Germany.
In 1984 and 1986, he won the National Selection for Young Conductors of the German Council of Music, and in 1987, Mr. Pasquet was the Winner of the First Prize at the 37th International Conducting Competition in Besançon, France. In that occasion, there was given no second prize, but only two third prizes.
From then, Nicolás Pasquet has been working with several renowned German and foreign Orchestras.
Prof. Pasquet led several international concert tours to Switzerland, Italien, Portugal, South America (Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia), USA, Australia, South-Korea and Namibia, and several countries of the South East Asian continent.
In 1993, he became Chief Conductor at the Symphony Orchestra of Pécs, in Hungary. With this Orchestra, he led concert tours to Germany and Switzerland, accompanying the regular concert series in Pécs and Budapest. With the Pécs Symphony, Pasquet also recorded for the label Marco Polo the complete series of the Symphonic Works by the Hungarian composer Lászlo Lajtha (total 7 CDs). In 1998, honouring Mr. Pasquet’s support, promotion and performing of Hungarian music, he was awarded the Béla Bartók / Ditta Pásztory Prize and the Lászlo-Lajtha Prize. Both were awarded in Budapest.
From 1996, Prof. Nicolás Pasquet was Chief Conductor at the Philharmonic Orchestra in Neubrandenburg, Germany (Neubrandenburger Philharmonie). With them, he conducted concerts, concert tours in Germany and abroad and several CD recordings. There also was a regular co-operation with the Deutschlandfunk Köln (National Broadcasting) and the DeutschlandRadio Berlin (also another National Broadcasting).
Later on, Nicolás Pasquet was Chief Conductor at the Coburg State Theater Orchestra, where he was responsible for the concert series. Since then, he has had a close relationship with this Bavarian Orchestra.
Mr. Pasquet has recorded (and continues so) a large discography for the labels Marco Polo, Naxos and Beyer.
In 1994 Nicolás Pasquet was appointed Professor for Conducting at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar, Germany. Here, he coaches an international conducting course and is Chief Conductor of the symphonic orchestra. He also has led master courses in Spain, Austria, Brazil, Great Britain and Czech Republic and is a member in several national and international competition jurys. He has been Dean of the Faculty 1 (all Orchestra Instruments, Conducting, Coaching, Opera singing and Guitar) from 2006 to 2014.
Prof. Pasquet also develops an intense work with youth and student orchestras, as the Baden-Württemberg, Bavarian and Hessen State Youth Orchestras (being Chief Conductor of the latter since 2009), the Chamber Orchestra Belvedere in Weimar (with which he was two times Winner of the 1st Prize at the German Youth Orchestras Competition), and the Interregional Youth Orchestra Baden-Württemberg/Ochsenhausen (IRO), which gathers young musicians from 10 countries every Summer. Since 2012, he is Chief Conductor of the South-East Asian Youth Chamber Orchestra, which gathers young musicians of several countries of the region, having its base of work in the Mahidol University, Salaya/Bangkok (Thailand).