The Canton Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Designate Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz invite applicants for a conducting fellowship with the orchestra in the spring of 2024. The successful candidate will be invited to conduct our spring “Kinder Concert”, an educational program for children in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The fellowship is open to recent graduates of a Masters Degree program in orchestral conducting who are looking for opportunities to further their career as they begin to search for employment in the profession.

What does the fellowship entail?

• Plan and program the concert in conjunction with the Manager of Education and Community Engagement (MECE) and the Music Director Designate, including selecting repertoire and assisting with the preparation of an accompanying script.
• Conduct a rehearsal on Tuesday April 16^th, 2024 from 7:30-10:00 PM.
• Perform two concerts each day on April 17^th and 18^th, at 9:45 AM and 10:45 AM. The performance will include both conducting and reading the accompanying script.
• Have an opportunity to get video footage of both rehearsal and performance, which can be used for audition and/or private use.
• Gain a professional guest conducting credit with a union orchestra.
• Receive constructive feedback from the Music Director Designate and members of the orchestra.

Details on the music to be selected

• The orchestra shall consist of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, timpani, 1 percussionist, 4 1^st violins, 3 2^nd violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, and 1 double bass.
• The conductor is encouraged to select music from a variety of eras and national origins. This can include a few pieces that use a larger orchestra than is available, with the knowledge that some parts may be missing. The conductor may, if they so choose, lightly re-orchestrate any selections from the public domain (published in or before 1928) to compensate for this.
• Pieces that require instrument doublings (i.e. piccolo and English horn) may be considered but must be approved by the Music Director Designate.
• The conductor is requested to include at least one piece by either a woman or composer of color on this program. Some money is available for the purchase or rental of music to accommodate this.
• The conductor is otherwise required to select music either from the Canton Symphony’s library, IMSLP, or that is otherwise available to the conductor.
• Total runtime of the program is 35 minutes, which will include music, script, and demonstrations of each instrument. As such, the total amount of music to be selected shall be around 15 minutes, give or take. This has typically included 5-6 short excerpts. Cuts shall be determined by the conductor, subject to approval by the Music Director Designate.

Eligibility requirements

• Conductor must have graduated from a Master’s degree program in orchestral conducting in either 2021, 2022 or 2023. There is no maximum age limit.
• Conductor must be able to clearly communicate in the English language and read a script intended for young children.

Application Instructions

• Candidates are asked to submit the following materials:
  • Cover letter, detailing the applicant’s interest in this opportunity.
  • Resume
  • Up to 15 minutes of conducting footage, including rehearsal footage if available. This may be submitted via any electronic method, including YouTube/Vimeo links or uploads to platforms such as WeTransfer or Google Drive. Video must show the front of the conductor, as if from the perspective of the orchestra.
  • A video of yourself reading the sample script excerpt on page 3 of this document (see page 3 for full instructions).
• Applications should be submitted via email to Rachel Hagemeier, President and CEO of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, at rhagemeier@cantonsymphony.org.
• Applications must be received by 11:59 PM on Sunday December 3, 2023.

Sample Script Reading Video

            Please film yourself reading the following excerpt from this past year’s Kinder Concert script. The video must at least include your face, but can be a full body shot if you’d prefer. The script need not be memorized, but should have a fluid, polished delivery. Remember, this is a concert for young children, so your rendition should be dynamic, engaging, and enthusiastic! Submit this video in the same manner as your conducting videos, either as a YouTube or Vimeo link or an upload to a platform such as Google Drive or WeTransfer.

“We are now going to meet some of the instruments you see on the stage today. We will start with the instruments that shake, rattle, boom, and make a whole bunch of other fun sounds: the percussion family.

John over here plays the Timpani. Timpani are played by hitting them with mallets. The timpani are different sizes, so they make different pitches. The smallest timpano makes the highest sound and the largest makes the lowest sound.

Charles plays percussion instruments. Percussion instruments are played by hitting them either with a stick, mallet, or your hand, OR by hitting them against each other. The percussion family includes instruments such as drums, tambourine, cymbals, and triangle. The tambourine is played by shaking or hitting it to make a jingly sound. The cymbals are played by crashing them together. The triangle is played by hitting it with a beater. And the snare drum is played by hitting it with two sticks.

Our next piece of music is fast, like a slithering snake.  It also features the tambourine and triangle, which you just met. The tambourine makes a sound a bit like a rattlesnake. See if you can hear the rattling of the snake’s tail or the sound of it slithering through the leaves. Here is the Danse Boheme from Carmen Suite No. 2, which is based on an opera by French composer Georges Bizet.”

About Canton Symphony Orchestra

The mission of the Canton Symphony Orchestra is to perform and present orchestral music at the highest possible artistic level to enrich, entertain, educate, and challenge diverse audiences in a variety of settings. In doing so, we will serve our community, manage our resources responsibly, and be accountable to our donors, audiences, employees and volunteers. In carrying out the Association’s mission to perform and present live orchestral music at the highest possible artistic level, the orchestra will perform both standard and contemporary repertoire, with a continued focus on presenting artists of diverse backgrounds. It will continue to commission new music, showcase established guest soloists and new young talent. It will provide service to American orchestras by offering its musicians experience in performing a wide range of repertoire, under the direction of conductors of high quality.

Connections working at Canton Symphony Orchestra