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| Degrees Available | About the Conducting
Program
| Conducting Faculty |
Degrees Available
- Master of Music (Choral, Orchestral or Wind)
- Doctor of Music (Choral, Orchestral or Wind)
About the Conducting Program
 Collaborating and performing with outstanding performers is an important part
of the conducting experience at Northwestern. Students engage in rigorous
academic coursework, participate in twice weekly seminars with their principal
teachers, and receive opportunities to conduct the school's major ensembles.
There are 16 officially sponsored ensembles at Bienen, with each offering
three major performances each academic year.
The school's close proximity to downtown Chicago allows
for a wide range of musical enrichment activities for both players and conductors.
Students may attend performances by such world-class organizations as the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as at the Ravinia
Festival and Millennium Park. Countless other cultural organizations throughout
the area offer additional opportunities.
Chicago and the surrounding suburbs house many
community, regional, and professional orchestras. These organizations give
our conducting students the ability to gain professional  experience while
studying at the Bienen School of Music. This is not only vital to the educational
process, but also to establish the contacts needed for post-graduate success.
All entering doctoral students receive the equivalent of full tuition funding.
The Conducting faculty lead the 16 officially sponsored ensembles at Northwestern
University. Each ensemble offers approximately three major performances
each academic year.
Contact for further information:
[ Back to Top ]
Conducting Faculty
Stephen Alltop
Senior Lecturer, Conducting and Ensembles/Piano
swa440@northwestern.edu - 847-491-2299
DMus, Northwestern University
Recent Activity
Conductor, harpsichordist, and organist. Director of music, Alice Millar Chapel; harpsichord instructor, chamber music coordinator. Music director, Cheyenne and Elmhurst Symphony Orchestras, Apollo Chorus. Associate Conductor, Peninsula Music Festival. Winner, 2001 Community Orchestra of the Year (Elmhurst) and 1996 Programming of the Year Awards, Illinois Council of Orchestras. Guest conductor across the United States and in Italy. Performances as harpsichordist and organist with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Baroque Ensemble, Omaha Symphony, and Symphony II. Recordings on Albany, Cedille and American Gramaphone. 
Daniel J. Farris
Senior Lecturer, Conducting and Ensembles
d-farris@northwestern.edu -
847-491-3412
MMusEd, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Director of Athletic Bands. Director,
National High School Music Institute. Conductor, "Wildcat" Marching
Band and Concert Band. Teaches courses in conducting and marching
band techniques. Former Assistant Director of Bands and Marching Band Director,
Illinois State University and University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Former director
and consultant, Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Band. Former teacher
in Minnesota and Wisconsin public schools. Member, College Band Director National
Association, National Band Association, International Association of Jazz Educators.
Honorary member, Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Kappa Psi. 
Robert A. Harris
Professor, Conducting and Ensembles
robahar@northwestern.edu - 847-491-3498
PhD, Michigan State University
Director, choral organizations. Active as choral conductor, composer, clinician,
and adjudicator throughout the United States and abroad. Has served as visiting
professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, University of Texas at Austin,
and University of South Africa in Pretoria. Former member and cochair, choral
panel, National Endowment for the Arts. Recipient, Bienen School of Music Exemplar
in Teaching Award and Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award. Compositions
for chorus published by Oxford University Press, Boosey and Hawkes, Walton
Music, Mark Foster, Alliance Music, and J. S. Paluch. 
Robert G. Hasty
Senior Lecturer, Conducting and Ensembles
hasty@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5707
DMus, Northwestern University
Recent Activity
Associate director of orchestras. Conductor, Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia,
and Summer Orchestra. Teacher of graduate and undergraduate conducting courses.
Teacher, adjudicator, clinician, violinist. Music Director, Merit Symphony
Orchestra, Chicago, IL. Conductor, National High School Music Institute Orchestra.
Former conductor, La Primavera Orchestra, Irvine Youth Symphony, Metropolis
Youth Symphony. Former vice president of string education, Southern California
School Band and Orchestra Association. Music researcher investigating critical
listening while conducting; presented at the international meeting of the European
Society for Cognitive Sciences of Music. Studied conducting with Victor Yampolsky
and violin with Alice Schoenfeld.
Ryan Nelson
Assistant Professor, Conducting and Ensembles
rtnelson@northwestern.edu -
847-491-3412
DMusA, University of North Texas
Recent Activity
Associate director of bands. Director, Contemporary Music Ensemble. Conductor, Symphonic Band. Coordinates undergraduate conducting curriculum and teaches courses in music education and wind literature. Guest conductor, clinician, and arranger. Former director of bands and music department chair, Beaver Area School District (Pennsylvania) and assistant conductor, Bach Choir of Pittsburgh. Contributor, Teaching Music through Performance in Band (GIA Publications). Saxophonist and pianist, North Texas Klavier Wind Project and GIA TMPB recordings. Member, College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference. Studied conducting with Brady Allred and Eugene Migliaro Corporon. 
Frederick Ockwell
Associate Professor, Opera/Conducting and Ensembles
f-ockwell@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5442
MA, University of Washington
Specialist in orchestral and opera conducting. Fulbright scholar, conducting, Cologne, Germany. Former member, Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Former assistant conductor, Cologne Opera Studio and Hamburg State Opera. 
Mallory Thompson
Professor, Conducting and Ensembles
m-thompson2@northwestern.edu - 847-491-3412
DMusA, Eastman School of Music
Recent Activity
Coordinator, Conducting and Ensembles. Director of Bands; conductor of Symphonic
Wind Ensemble and the Waa-Mu Show, graduate and advanced undergraduate conducting,
conducting program coordinator, Charles Deering McCormick Professor. Frequent
guest conductor and conducting teacher including Aspen, Interlochen, Dallas
Wind Symphony, United States Army Band. Recordings with Summit Records. Former
faculty member, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University
of South Florida, Oberlin Conservatory.
Amy Goodman Weller
Lecturer, Conducting and Ensembles
a-weller@northwestern.edu - 847-491-7575
Biographical Information to come.
Victor Yampolsky
Carol F. and Arthur L. Rice Jr. University Professor in Music Performance,
Conducting and Ensembles
vyampolsky@northwestern.edu - 847-491-4755
Recent Activity
Director of orchestras. Music Director: Peninsula Music Festival. Honorary director, Scotia Festival of Music, Music director Emeritus and Principal Guest Conductor: Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Guest conducting appearances throughout the United States and abroad. Member, Conducting Continuum Committee, American Symphony Orchestra League. Recordings on Pyramid and Kiwi-Pacific labels. Formerly assistant concertmaster and assistant conductor: Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and principal second violin: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Honorary Doctor of Letters: University of Nebraska at Omaha. Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts: Doane College, Crete, Nebraska. [ Back to Top ]
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