CMO Consortium launches masterclass series

Florence Lockheart
Thursday, August 17, 2023

Designed to give emerging talent the opportunity to learn from established conductors worldwide, without the barrier of travel, this year’s series will see conductors Leonard Slatkin, Frédéric Chaslin and John Axelrod offer their expertise

The series will kick off next month with a duo of masterclasses by American conductor Leonard Slatkin ©David Duchon Doris
The series will kick off next month with a duo of masterclasses by American conductor Leonard Slatkin ©David Duchon Doris

The Conductors Masterclass Online (CMO) has launched its 2023 series of Great Maestro Masterclasses. Designed to give emerging talent the opportunity to learn from established conductors worldwide, without the barrier of travel, this year’s series will see conductors Leonard Slatkin, Frédéric Chaslin and John Axelrod offer their expertise on repertoire ranging from Gershwin to Puccini.

The series will kick off next month with a duo of masterclasses by American conductor Leonard Slatkin, music director laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, directeur musical honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon, and conductor laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Focusing on Copland's ‘Appalachian Spring’ (16 September) and Gershwin's ‘An American in Paris’ (23 September), each masterclass is open to 100 conductors of any age, nationality or gender.

CMO founder and artistic director John Axelrod said: ‘There is a huge global demand for conducting training. Masterclasses with orchestras are the norm as I have done in Bucharest and Sapporo, but during Covid, I saw the opportunity to provide online masterclasses for conductors. Since 2020, over 100 conductors have benefitted from CMO online training, with some going on to win competitions and jobs.’

Himself the principal conductor of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra and artistic and musical director of the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Axelrod will lead a masterclass focusing on Bernstein later this year (21 December) with additional dates to be announced. French conductor Frèdèric Chaslin is set to focus on Puccini in his November masterclasses.

Alongside the online masterclass series, CMO Consortium also runs in-person sessions as well as career consultation, mentorship and advice around the tasks modern conductors are often required to tack including administrative planning, commissioning, promotion, competition preparation, recording options, tax and travel.