Throughout my conducting carreer, I have been teaching both individuals as well as groups the art of conducting. Not only as a professor of and to students at a conservatoire, but also privately.
The special thing is, that every musician can learn certain elements of the conducting profession relatively quickly, such as conducting technique, studying a score and knowledge of instruments and repertoire. These components can be dealt with very well in a one-to-one lesson situation. Other parts require an experience in working with an orchestra, such as rehearsal technique, imagination of the sound, group dynamics, social and psychological approach, orchestral and interpretative traditions, etc.
Without losing sight of the last group of components, in my individual conducting lessons I emphasise the first group, starting with conducting technique as a solid basis. Based on my handbook A complete conducting technique , all facets of the manual process are covered.
Nowadays, in their daily lives dozens of (former) students make use of the conducting technique I taught them . These include young musicians who wanted to prepare themselves for an entrance exam for conducting, conservatoire students with an instrumental principal subject who wanted to immerse themselves in conducting, experienced orchestral musicians who wanted to stand in front of an orchestra, choir conductors who wanted to develop their instrumental skills, orchestral conducting students who wanted a helping hand, graduate orchestral conducting students who wanted to be coached, music school teachers who lacked the necessary basis to lead an ensemble, composers who wanted to be able to conduct their own compositions etc.
The conducting profession is multifaceted and everyone comes to the lessons with a different background, knowledge and experience. For this reason, I always make sure my lessons are tailor-made and that the lesson plan drawn up always applies only to the student in question. In the past, students sometimes came for just one lesson, others took a package of lessons with one particular subject and some even came for years on a weekly or monthly basis.
In recent years, it has been necessary to teach online. At first, nobody believed it was possible, but now it turns out that this way of teaching definitely has its positive sides. Lessons in conducting technique, for example, can be given online easily, but it is also possible to conduct particular repertoire and to solve certain technical problems in a composition (e.g. fermatas, tempo changes, upbeats).
It is for this reason that, in addition to the usual in person lessons, I now offer online conducting lessons. Are you interested in one of these two forms? Then send me a message via info[at]renegulikers.nl. We can then discuss the costs, the number of lessons and the course of the lessons. Don’t hesitate to just inquire.
Do you prefer a more intense period of lessons, please check out my masterclasses in conducting technique and score study: International Masterclass Conducting Technique, or first read the report of the latest masterclass or the reports of all previous editions of the IMCT
Former student Thomas Nettle (London), currently studying orchestral conducting in Oslo, about his in person and online lessons with me during a period of two years:
“Professor Gulikers managed to transition effortlessly into teaching over zoom, and over the course of the year that we had lessons digitally, I really feel my conducting improved immeasurably. Without his expert teaching I am certain I would not have managed to get into the top level conservatories that I did. He was able to give precise and exacting feedback which instantly made sense to me and has helped me immensely. We also managed to do a great deal of excellent work on stick technique, in part thanks to his fantastic handbook, but also due to his eye for detail. I would absolutely recommend lessons with him, both online and in person.”
Thomas Nettle
Jan Gorjanc (harpist and choir conductor) about the content of the lessons conducting technique:
“He breaks down a ’simple’ 4/4 pattern into its fundamental components, which are vital for the understanding of how conducting ‘works’, yet this part is so often rushed through or skipped. Indeed every move is precisely graphically analysed and explained, and the basic principles are integrated into the entire spectrum of gestures, ranging from a simple 2/4 bar to a complex 11/8 bar with a fermata on the 7th note, followed by a short caesura … Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend this to conductors at all levels.”
Jan Gorjanc
René is an incredible pedagogue …” Oscar Vaurs
“René admirably adapts his teaching to every level, gives confidence and security but also pushes for more.”, Debora Ziemer
“… the best teacher I ever had”, Kay Salomon
“Apart from being an excellent teacher, René is also an outstanding mentor”, students 2020 Royal Conservatoire The Hague
“René is a talented and experienced professor who skillfully improves everyone’s conducting technique and vision on music.”, Mark Braafhart
“… a very experienced teacher …”. Myrthe van Dijk
“René Gulikers knows how to motivate experienced conductors as well as starting conductors (professional musicians who want to start conducting)”, Lonneke Regter
“René Gulikers is a wonderful teacher, who inspires as well as uplifts conductors in their own personal needs and wishes.”, Meija Blok