Reina Sofía School of Music launches orchestra conducting course

Madrid’s Reina Sofía School of Music has announced the expansion of its academic offering with the creation of a new 'Zubin Mehta' Chair in Orchestra Conducting. Led by conductor Nicolás Pasquet, the course will begin accepting students in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Applications for the new course will open in October. Although the chool has confirmed that students will be required to attend auditions it is still working to define the admission process. The new course’s study programme and the orchestras which will be available to students for their practice are expected to be released in the coming months. 

Pasquet’s experience includes chief conductor roles with Hungary’s Symphony Orchestra of Pécs, the Philharmonic Orchestra in Neubrandenburg and the Coburg State Theater Orchestra. Alongside his new role, Pasquet will continue to hold the position of professor for conducting at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany, as well as teaching masterclasses internationally.

The Uruguayan conductor will work closely with associate professors Jordi Francés, who is a conductor and music education specialist, and Miguel Ángel Cañamero, choral conducting specialist, deputy director of the Spanish National Choir and director of the Canary Islands International Music Festival.

The new course is made possible by a donation from Aline Foriel-Destezet, a philanthropist who has supported leading classical music organisations including the London Philharmonic Orchestra  and the DFestical d’Aix-en-Provence. Students who complete the course will be able to move on to study a postgraduate diploma.