The Pierre Monteux School provides training and practical experience to enable conductors to competently handle any conducting situation, to help instrumentalists meet the many demands of orchestral playing, and offers an unrivaled opportunity to learn a large and varied repertoire over the course of its six-week program. The school’s reputation attracts musicians from across the country and around the world. During its history, the school has trained thousands of conductors and instrumentalists. Among the school’s alumni are conductors Thomas Baldner, Anshel Brusilow, Marc David, Leon Fleisher, Neal Gittleman, Adrian Gnam, David Hayes, Sara Jobin, Erich Kunzel, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Ludovic Morlot, Xavier Rist, John Morris Russell, Werner Torkanowsky, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Hugh Wolff, Barbara Yahr, Christopher Zimmerman, David Zinman, and musicians in orchestras and other music ensembles throughout the world.

All musicians are full-time, active participants. Players rotate within their sections but do not rotate out of the orchestra, as in some other summer programs. Conductors receive weekly rehearsal time on the podium and occasionally perform in concert, at the discretion of the music director. All conductors are also required to play in the orchestra. This unique aspect of the school gives conductors the opportunity to learn from both sides of the podium, fostering a positive, non-competitive environment in which conductors and instrumentalists work and learn together. The school accepts approximately twenty conductors and forty instrumentalists to make up a 60-member orchestra. The orchestra includes full woodwinds (triple or quadruple), brass, percussion, harp and keyboards, and a string section approximately the size of a large symphony orchestra.

The school's rigorous weekly schedule, equivalent to that of a full-time orchestra, prepares musicians for a professional career. Each week's schedule includes seven symphony masterclass rehearsals and both symphonic and chamber music concerts conducted and performed by participating musicians.

Each summer's curriculum covers a broad repertoire of some 60 works encompassing the full scope and variety of the symphonic literature, including pops. Repertoire will be assigned to conductors on a weekly basis. Conductors should bring scores for the entire curriculum. Approximately half of the curriculum will be performed, the remainder studied and read in rehearsals.

In addition, Artist-in-Residence Peter Slowik will join our program during the first week to offer a variety of additional professional development opportunities, including: mock auditions; chamber music, strings, and solo master classes; orchestral audition preparation classes; and interactive sessions with conductors and ensembles to help them “learn the language” of string players, enhancing their vocabulary of techniques and terminology.

The Pierre Monteux School 2008 season consists of six full weeks from Monday, June 16 through Sunday, July 27, 2008. (Musicians arrive on Sunday, June 15 and leave on Monday, July 28.) Each week’s schedule consists of seven masterclass orchestra rehearsals, held on Tuesday through Saturday mornings (9:00am-12:30 pm) and on Tuesday and Friday evenings (7:00-10:00 pm). Orchestra concerts are presented each Sunday afternoon at 5:00 pm and are led by enrolled conductors. Chamber music concerts, featuring ensembles organized by program participants, are presented each Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm starting in the second week. Musicians are strongly encouraged to broaden their experience by participating in these weekly chamber music concerts. Sectional rehearsals, seminars, and score study sessions are scheduled on an ad hoc basis. Mondays are free days except in the first week, which follows a modified schedule.

During the first week, Artist-in-Residence Peter Slowik  will join our program to offer a variety of additional professional development opportunities, including: mock auditions; chamber music, strings, and solo master classes; orchestral audition preparation classes; and interactive sessions with conductors and ensembles to help them “learn the language” of string players, enhancing their vocabulary of techniques and terminology.