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Abstract
Original Études for the Developing Conductor is a collection of supplemental études
designed to enhance contemporary conducting pedagogy by amplifying the voices of composers
from historically excluded groups. Each étude was commissioned from and composed by a living
composer, the majority of whom are woman-identifying composers and/or composers of color.
Each étude also addresses multiple specific pedagogical goals common to all conducting
classrooms.
Conducting textbooks commonly include musical examples to expose student conductors
to various musical challenges and situations. However, due to the relative ease of using only
music from the public domain, most examples found in commercially published books are
excerpts of larger works composed by deceased cisgender white men of European descent.
Often, this music bears little relation to a significant portion of the music contemporary students
engage with and perform. These excerpts also tend to be quite short (i.e., less than a minute) and
do not create cohesive, self-contained musical arcs.