Conducting and Rehearsing the Instrumental Music Ensemble - by John F Colson (Paperback)

About the Book

Conducting and Rehearsing the Instrumental Music Ensemble is the most comprehensive guide on the rehearsal process for conducting instrumental music ensembles. Ideal for the advanced instrumental music conductor seeking to look beyond basic conducting technique, this work brea...

Book Synopsis

Conducting and Rehearsing the Instrumental Music Ensemble is the most comprehensive guide on the rehearsalprocess for conducting instrumental music ensembles. Ideal for the advanced instrumental music conductor seeking to look beyond basic conducting technique, this work breaks the multidimensional activity of working with an ensemble, orchestra or band into its constituent components.

Review Quotes

[The book is] a comprehensive and successful advanced conducting course. . . .Is this book a worthwhile read for anyone who is not an aspiring conductor? I think it is. Basically it's all about achieving a good musical performance; whichever side of the podium you are, the fundamentals are the same.

Conducting and Rehearsing the Instrumental Music Ensemble is a richly detailed and well-organized book that is intended to be a study guide for the maturing conductor. . . .This extensively researched book can be used either in an intermediate college course or as supplemental self-study material.

Designed specifically for the advanced instrumental music conductor, this volume goes beyond the basic materials and breaks new ground in conducting and getting the most out of your orchestra. The 18 chapters are arranged into five parts: The Rehearsal Scenario; the Conductor in the Rehearsal Process; Technical Priorities and Teaching Strategies; Musical Priorities and Teaching Strategies; and the Conductor in the 21st Century. The author adeptly addresses such issues as the infrastructure of rehearsal, with an emphasis on an integrated approach; technical priorities (e.g., intonation, rhythm patterns, articulation); and musical priorities (e.g., tempo, style and interpretation, dynamics). Conductors will be especially interested in his chapter on the expectations of twenty-first century conducts, which addresses the challenges of conducting contemporary music and modern-day concert performances. Nine appendixes conclude the work and provide outlines of rehearsal problems and technical problems, evaluations, creating a rehearsal process, and class activities and discussions. A work on the cutting edge of instrumental music, this book will be a valuable addition to university libraries with advanced music programs.


In music education, few subjects are as challenging to teach as conducting. Music majors might be given just one semester of technique, and even more extensive music programs face limitations in preparing students to conduct. Though most textbooks provide beginning basic baton technique, instruction on more advanced topics, such as developing rehearsal strategies and ensemble technical and stylistic capabilities, is often quite limited. (There is just not enough time to thoroughly prepare each student for what is a career-long learning experience.) Such topics are at the very heart of Colson's book, which includes clusters of chapters on rehearsal scenarios and processes, teaching strategies, stylistic approaches, and ongoing professional development. Colson (emer., South Dakota State Univ.) aims this study at those who are inexperienced in applying the basic baton skills they have learned. Accordingly, it will help people who are preparing for student teaching or internships, or entering the first years of their professional conducting careers. Rich in content, clearly and meticulously organized, and easy to read, this book will be helpful for any inexperienced conductor facing the professional podium experience for the first time. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, professionals.

About the Author

John F. Colson is Professor Emeritus of Music at South Dakota State University. He has also been the Conductor and Music Director of the South Dakota State University-Civic Symphony Orchestra for 34 years.