Geoffrey Robson will be on the podium tonight at New York's Carnegie Hall, conducting the Chamber Orchestra of New York in a piece for strings by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Robson, associate conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, won the New York orchestra's inaugural Respighi Prize in Conducting on Monday night at its New York Conducting Workshop, which started June 1 and wrapped up Tuesday at the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center on Long Island.
The prize includes the opportunity to conduct the ensemble in Mozart's Adagio and Fugue during its season finale in Carnegie's Weill Hall.
The workshop included 16 conductors from at least six different countries and all over the United States, who were accepted based on resumes and videos of conducting performances, Robson said.
Robson conducts most of the Arkansas orchestra's pops concerts and an occasional Masterworks program, and also the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra. When he's not on the podium, he plays in the orchestra's violin sections.
"From the feedback I received, I think one of the elements that helped to put me over the top was the depth of my knowledge of string instrument techniques, and my clear and accurate communications with the orchestra," he said.
The workshop curators included four internationally renowned conductors -- Dirk Brosse, the music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; John Farrer of the London Conducting Workshop and the Royal College of Music in London; Salvatore Di Vittorio, the music director of the Chamber Orchestra of New York; and, initially, Robson said, Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore and Sao Paulo symphony orchestras.
The four coached and analyzed the participants' technique over three days as they conducted the chamber orchestra in works by Mozart (Adagio and Fugue and Symphony No. 29), Edvard Grieg (Holberg Suite), Ottorino Respighi (Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3) and Antonin Dvorak (Serenade for Strings). They chose Robson as the prize winner.
"It has been a fabulous experience, and we have all developed a friendly and collegial rapport that is very refreshing," Robson said. "The insight everyone received was valuable and fascinating."
Metro on 06/08/2017