I was music major - vocal performance - 20 years ago and didn't touch music for about 15 years until recently when I was tapped to be the MD for our local, 8-18 community musical theater program. Last year, I literally had to rely on the one conducting course I had taken 20 years ago to get me through conducting our reduced 12 piece orchestration. This course was just what I needed to get back on track.

The course is very well taught and it was actually enjoyable to complete each week. Having not been in academia for 20 years, I had forgotten just what types of questions would be on quizzes but I quickly was able to get back into the groove. I definitely recommend this course - it was clearly created with the intent of being as helpful as possible and it is easy to see the level of care taken to create something that is truly useful and yet very accessible. My ONLY disappointment (as this is my first online course) is that I sort-of feel like I know the professors now, but they have no idea who I am and never will.

Thank you for a wonderful course!

At first I wondered how could there be so much to know about rehearsing ensembles. All info except a bit is valid for all ensembles from a rock group to orchestra. Dr Evan Feldman is a pleasure as an instructor as he has passion, a good delivery and lots of experience and knowledge. I liked the actual rehearsal videos as he put to practice the techniques, I only wished we could have seen the same in the choral and orchestra segments as opposed to just a dialogue with the also very knowledgeable conductors. This was professionally done and the info is so very important. I took the course as I am part of several ensembles but recently joined a university orchestra and this opened my eyes up to the process which had seemed hap hazard but clearly was not, Macro - micro, phrasing work, intonation,sectional work etc all have their place during the rehearsal.

This class was truly wonderful and Dr. Feldman did a teriffic job in presenting the information in an organized and interesting way, as well as provide practical examples and a pethora of helpful tips and tricks in rehearsals as well as regarding Conducting Technique. I'd recommend this class to any musician who wants to refresh their conducting skills or someone who wants to learn conducting for the first time. It was super and has helped improve my conducting abilities in addition to my basic musicianship in an ensemble setting tremendously- thank you so much Dr. Feldman!!

I really like the course and I am midway through. The professor simply dissects and dives into every single little thing you need to know about the rehearsing and conducting. One of really interesting ideas I learnt so far are macro-micro-macro which feels so natural once explained, but I am not sure if I would ever come up with it myself. The other interesting thing is 10 rules to assess the quality of a musical piece... Btw, I am not a conductor, neither am I going to be. I am just a decent amateur musician who is exploring the course.

i am conducting an amateur orchestra, usually we perform my arrangements of classical and folk tunes, this course help me a lot, and gave me a lot of helpful ideas and techniques that was absolutely effective with the group, specially in term of baton techniques, improving rhythm, intonation and rehearsal planning!!

very clear explication with a lot of example to demonstrate every tips, i did a very big progress in a very short time, and sure it was the best introduction to the conducting world!! thank you!!

As an amateur musician, this thoughtful and in-depth course has illuminated causes of perplexing situations that I've experienced under conductors, provided a mirror of mistakes in my own playing and outlined remedies for correction. A growing awareness provided by these video sessions will improve not only conducting skills, but sharpen my attention to playing and observing detail as well. I can't thank you enough.

A Erickson (F horn / trumpet)

This was a very instructive course that I recommend to any musician/singer/conducting student seeking to understand the inner workings of conducting, ensemble rehearsing techniques, and getting the most out of individual and group practise. The course focuses heavily on beginning and intermediate conducting technique. This course has sparked an interest in conducting and score-reading in a big way! Highly recommend this course.

This is an excellent course. I conduct a children's choir, and this course really helped me learn a lot of principles and techniques for conducting. They do a great job of covering both choral conducting and instrumental ensemble conducting, which is great because even if you only do one or the other, there are many differences worth knowing! It has made me a better, more knowledgeable conductor. Highly recommend!

This is a wonderful course for getting insights on what is Rehearsals, what to achieve and how to achieve. I've learned a lot of techniques, insights and knowledge about musical rehearsals and making music too.

I strongly recommend this to those who love making music and would like to know more about making music and ensemble music.

Thank you so much Dr. Feldman for this wonderful course.

I really enjoyed this course! The instructor kept things interesting and covered a lot of topics in a concise way. I wish there were more choral examples -- as in examples I could watch in action, not just hearing someone talk about it -- but otherwise I thought it was great. I will definitely use a lot of the things I learned here with my own ensemble.

It is definitely the best online musical course that I've ever taken. The professor is so great that he makes the video very interesting. Plenty of content and knowledge are coved in this course. I learned a lot of basic conducting skills which are fundamental to my dream of being an orchestral conductor. I strongly recommend you to take this course.

I learned and reviewed SO much from this course. From the rehearsal toolkit to tips with working on intonation and balance to tips on improving conducting, I found this course to be an invaluable professional development opportunity. Strongly recommended for all conductors who work with ensembles everywhere, at all levels.

This was a phenomenal course full of very useful info for musicians of all levels of leadership. It ranges from basic conducting, to rehearsal strategies, to score study, and it is enhanced with Dr. Feldman's interviews with the orchestra and choral directors at UNC-Chapel Hill. Could not recommend this course more highly!

The course was really a great choice in my case. I'm a music teacher – History of Music – and I'll have to conduct teenagers at the music conservatory as a part of teaching some subjects, so I found this course really helpful for a beginner in conducting like me.

I have a masters of music in conducting from ABC (American Band College)

and I felt this course added more to what I learned in that program. It was excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve there conducting techniques. Thank you so much1

Conductor Feldman is well versed in conducting technique and has a great style of passing that information on. His use of his ensembles to demonstrate really helped to show what works and how various ideas apply to conducting different groups.

A highly instructional course with plenty of professional tips about rehearsing a music ensemble. Also, this course features a well-structured programme that successfully tackles the complex world of ensemble conducting. Highly recommended!

I'm currently working as a primary school CCA violin teacher. I think it is fun to teach primary school student violin and also to conduct the Strings Ensemble. This course has taught me a lot about how to conduct and rehearse.

This course was fantastic with helping me to learn additional rehearsal techniques. While I own and direct a big band not everything can be applied to my ensemble but, it has made a great difference when working with the group.

Excelente!!! Es un curso donde se ve de manera gradual la importancia de cada uno de los aspectos necesarios para realizar ensayos exitosos con ensambles, coros y orquestas!!!! brinda muchas herramientas muy utiles!!!!

Phenomenal course. Here Dr. Feldman and his associates in the music program take more than 25 combined years of experience equipping students with core fundamentals to get started as a conductor or musical director.

This is a wonderful course for introducing and improving conducting skills. The lectures are well planned out, and the skills and techniques are reiterated for choral, and orchestral as well as a regular wind band.

a great eye opener for a chorister newbie like myself. Although I cannot fully comprehend the rich material and experience shared, the course set me on a good direction on my musical interest discovery

Very interesting and thorough course. It is complete enough as an overview and analysis of all the conducting aspects, from a conceptual, technical, historical, theorical and practical point of view.

This was an interesting and very useful course. Directors responsible for rehearsing ensembles will enjoy learning techniques, and even experienced conductors will benefit from revision and sharing.