Apprentice Conductor, Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival
Elizabeth Askren was chosen by Maestro Lorin Maazel as one of ten Apprentice Conductors for the inaugural edition of the Castleton Festival in Virginia’s Rappahannock County. The festival brought together nearly 200 young artists from across the globe to interact across a range of disciplines, with mentoring and performance activities at the highest level.
Over a three week period the apprentices participated in several Master Classes led by Maestro Maazel centered around the repertoire for the two Festival concerts, as well as some opera excerpts, and addressed such topics as What to Listen for While Conducting, Cue Choreography, Musical Structuring, Rehearsal Technique, How to Accompany and The Music Behind the Notes, among others. This unique opportunity allowed young conductors to experience an intensive, interactive program that combines both mentoring and performance activity in the opera and symphonic fields.
The residency for the young conductors culminated with a Lorin Maazel and Rolex Master Classes showcase concert on Thursday, July 16th, featuring a selection of symphonic and operatic repertoire. Ms. Askren performed the aria « Vissi d’Arte » from Puccini’s Tosca with soprano Jennifer Check.
Fondation des Etats-Unis
Located across from the Parc Montsouris in Paris’ 14th arrondissement, the Fondation des Etats-Unis is a private student residence and cultural center within the international community of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.
Opera Fuoco
David Stern founded the period instrument orchestra Opera Fuoco in 2003. It was after a successful residency at the Royaumont Foundation that the ensemble truly became what it is today, choosing to dedicate itself to the interpretation of operatic repertoire from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th centuries. Opera Fuoco has singled itself out for its orchestra consisting of the foremost specialists in historical performance, and especially for promoting young professional singers.
Concours FLAME
The FLAME Competition was created in 1990 in order to identify, promote and support young international talents at the beginning of their careers. Since its creation, the FLAME Competition has received more than 1500 candidates from 38 countries, and 249 pianists, violinists, violists, and singers from 16 to 30 years old have been rewarded.
