Conducting Minor (B.Mus.) (18 credits)
Offered by: Performance (Schulich School of Music)
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
The B.Mus. Minor in Conducting contains two streams—orchestral conducting and choral conducting—which offer students an opportunity to develop technical skills in orchestral or choral conducting and rehearsal techniques. Students are admitted by audition and upon successful completion of the conducting entrance exam for the Minor. Enrolment is limited and is not open to U0 students.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Course (4 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUIN 384 | Conducting Minor Project. | 1 |
Conducting Minor Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Conducting project including selection, preparation, rehearsal and performance of 10-15 minutes of choral or orchestral music. | ||
3 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 580 | Rehearsal Techniques for Conductors. | 1.5 |
Rehearsal Techniques for Conductors. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploration of rehearsal techniques used by conductors and coaches in a variety of different settings (at McGill and in the larger Montreal community) including orchestra, orchestra sectionals, contemporary music ensembles, wind ensembles, early music ensembles, choral ensembles, jazz ensembles, chamber music ensembles, and opera through observation and discussion. | ||
Complementary Courses (14 credits)
14 credits from one of the two streams
Orchestral Stream
4 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 315D1 | Introduction to Orchestral Conducting. | 2 |
Introduction to Orchestral Conducting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Emphasis on classical repertoire (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven). Practical analysis and score preparation, style, and interpretation. Development of clear and expressive technique. Some practical experience. | ||
| MUPG 315D2 | Introduction to Orchestral Conducting. | 2 |
Introduction to Orchestral Conducting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUPG 315D1 for course description. | ||
Large Ensembles
4 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 573 | Baroque Orchestra. | 2 |
Baroque Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Open to singers and instrumentalists, this ensemble specializes in chamber music primarily of the Baroque era. | ||
| MUEN 590 | McGill Wind Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Wind Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Large ensemble for wind instruments. | ||
| MUEN 594 | Contemporary Music Ensemble. | 2 |
Contemporary Music Ensemble. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for contemporary music - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 595 | Jazz Ensembles. | 2 |
Jazz Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for jazz - instruments and voice. | ||
| MUEN 597 | McGill Symphony Orchestra. | 2 |
McGill Symphony Orchestra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ensemble for orchestral instruments. | ||
6 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUCO 261 | Orchestration 1. | 3 |
Orchestration 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of the instruments of the western orchestra, including performance techniques, used in different combinations. Score reading and notation. Analysis of excerpts of the repertoire from the point of view of instrumental writing and timbral combination. Reduction of orchestral scores for piano; scoring and transcription of piano works for different ensembles. Instruments studied: strings, harp, woodwinds, standard keyboards. Orchestration: scoring for string quartet, string ensembles, woodwind quintet and ensembles, small orchestra. | ||
| MUCO 360 | Orchestration 2. | 3 |
Orchestration 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Reduction of orchestral scores for piano. Scoring and transcription of piano works for different ensembles. Instruments studied: brass and percussion. Orchestration: brass ensembles, percussion ensembles and combinations. Scoring for full orchestra. | ||
| MUHL 383 | Classical Music. | 3 |
Classical Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The period covered will be from approximately 1740-1828, from the schools of the Italian keyboard composers, opera buffa and seria, and composers centred at Mannheim, Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna, through the Viennese Classic period of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to the death of Schubert. | ||
| MUHL 384 | Romantic Music. | 3 |
Romantic Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The Romantic style as traced by an analysis of works by the major composers of Lied, symphony, symphonic poem, chamber music, and opera. | ||
| MUHL 385 | Early Twentieth-Century Music. | 3 |
Early Twentieth-Century Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development of European, Russian, and American music from the 1890s until the early 1940s, tracing its roots in late 19th-century Romanticism and following its evolution in central Europe, France, and the United States. The music of major innovators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ives, and Varèse will be discussed. | ||
| MUHL 387 | Opera from Mozart to Puccini. | 3 |
Opera from Mozart to Puccini. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mozart's operas and the seria, buffa, and Singspiel traditions. Ottocento opera, grand opera, and cross-fertilization between France and Italy. German Romantic opera. Wagner. Eastern European opera. Verismo and fin-de-siècle opera in Vienna and Paris. Sociology of opera. Emphasis on critical understanding of music's role in articulating drama. | ||
| MUHL 388 | Opera After 1900. | 3 |
Opera After 1900. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Major early twentieth-century works by Debussy, Strauss, Schreker, Bartók, Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Opera in Europe between the Wars including operas of Berg, Milhaud, Krenek, Hindemith and Weill. Politics, sociology, and literature in relationship to musical style. Approaches since 1945 in selected works by Britten, Henze, Zimmermann, Ligeti, Somers and Glass. | ||
| MUHL 391 | Canadian Music. | 3 |
Canadian Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Survey of music in Canada from the 16th Century to the present. Current musical organizations and institutions, and contemporary Canadian music will be stressed. Time permitting, brief reference will be made to the folk music of indigenous and immigrant groups. | ||
| MUHL 392 | Music since 1945. | 3 |
Music since 1945. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Appearance and evolution of such post-war phenomena as total serialism, "chance" music of various kinds, and electronic music as seen in major figures such as Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage and others in Europe and the United States. Important developments during the 1960s. Rise of "minimalism" and "neo-Romanticism" during the 1970s and 80s. | ||
Choral Stream
4 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUPG 316D1 | Introduction to Choral Conducting. | 2 |
Introduction to Choral Conducting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Group conducting tutorial. Technical and interpretive development and preparation of the conducting minor project. | ||
| MUPG 316D2 | Introduction to Choral Conducting. | 2 |
Introduction to Choral Conducting. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUPG 316D1 for description. | ||
Large Ensembles
4 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUEN 563 | Jazz Vocal Workshop. | 2 |
Jazz Vocal Workshop. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Vocal workshop for jazz musicians. | ||
| MUEN 572 | Cappella Antica. | 2 |
Cappella Antica. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ensemble of 8 to 12 voices specializing in early music. N.B. This ensemble may substitute as a Basic Ensemble in programs that specify Choral Ensemble, with Departmental approval. | ||
| MUEN 593 | Choral Ensembles. | 2 |
Choral Ensembles. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students enrolling in Choral Ensembles will be assigned to one of the above groups. | ||
6 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUCO 261 | Orchestration 1. | 3 |
Orchestration 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of the instruments of the western orchestra, including performance techniques, used in different combinations. Score reading and notation. Analysis of excerpts of the repertoire from the point of view of instrumental writing and timbral combination. Reduction of orchestral scores for piano; scoring and transcription of piano works for different ensembles. Instruments studied: strings, harp, woodwinds, standard keyboards. Orchestration: scoring for string quartet, string ensembles, woodwind quintet and ensembles, small orchestra. | ||
| MUCT 235 | Vocal Techniques. | 3 |
Vocal Techniques. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development of basic singing skills through group voice lessons, lectures, and Choral Lab performances. Emphasis will be on: text production, breathing, projection, clarity of vowels and consonants, the International Phonetic Alphabet, and definition of voice categories. Simple diagnostic teaching skills will be developed through observation of group voice lessons. | ||
| MUHL 377 | Baroque Opera. | 3 |
Baroque Opera. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. History of opera from its origins in the musical, literary, and philosophical models available to the Florentine Camerata to the end of the baroque. The development of opera will be studied from the perspective of artistic style and in the light of historical, political, social, and economic conditions. | ||
| MUHL 380 | Medieval Music. | 3 |
Medieval Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The medieval style - an intensive study of one or more selected topics from the repertoire. Possible subjects include liturgical chant, Notre Dame, the medieval motet, secular developments, and instrumental literature. | ||
| MUHL 381 | Renaissance Music. | 3 |
Renaissance Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Sacred and secular musical genres of the 15th and 16th Centuries. Various phases of imitative practice, cantus firmus and parody techniques. The emergence of homophonic textures in peripheral areas of the repertoire. Selected problems in the fields of theory, bibliography and aesthetics. | ||
| MUHL 382 | Baroque Music. | 3 |
Baroque Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A detailed examination of several selected areas of Baroque music. Topics will be drawn from different geographical regions (e.g., Italy, France, Germany, etc.) and encompass church, chamber and theatre music, as well as performance practice. Each topic will be related to general musical developments of the period. | ||
| MUHL 383 | Classical Music. | 3 |
Classical Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The period covered will be from approximately 1740-1828, from the schools of the Italian keyboard composers, opera buffa and seria, and composers centred at Mannheim, Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna, through the Viennese Classic period of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, to the death of Schubert. | ||
| MUHL 384 | Romantic Music. | 3 |
Romantic Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The Romantic style as traced by an analysis of works by the major composers of Lied, symphony, symphonic poem, chamber music, and opera. | ||
| MUHL 385 | Early Twentieth-Century Music. | 3 |
Early Twentieth-Century Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development of European, Russian, and American music from the 1890s until the early 1940s, tracing its roots in late 19th-century Romanticism and following its evolution in central Europe, France, and the United States. The music of major innovators such as Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Ives, and Varèse will be discussed. | ||
| MUHL 387 | Opera from Mozart to Puccini. | 3 |
Opera from Mozart to Puccini. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mozart's operas and the seria, buffa, and Singspiel traditions. Ottocento opera, grand opera, and cross-fertilization between France and Italy. German Romantic opera. Wagner. Eastern European opera. Verismo and fin-de-siècle opera in Vienna and Paris. Sociology of opera. Emphasis on critical understanding of music's role in articulating drama. | ||
| MUHL 388 | Opera After 1900. | 3 |
Opera After 1900. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Major early twentieth-century works by Debussy, Strauss, Schreker, Bartók, Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Opera in Europe between the Wars including operas of Berg, Milhaud, Krenek, Hindemith and Weill. Politics, sociology, and literature in relationship to musical style. Approaches since 1945 in selected works by Britten, Henze, Zimmermann, Ligeti, Somers and Glass. | ||
| MUHL 390 | The German Lied. | 3 |
The German Lied. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Survey of the German Lied from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, focusing on songs and song cycles by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Topics include text, musical form and text-music relationships, melodic style and harmonic organization, accompaniment, and performance practice. | ||
| MUHL 391 | Canadian Music. | 3 |
Canadian Music. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Survey of music in Canada from the 16th Century to the present. Current musical organizations and institutions, and contemporary Canadian music will be stressed. Time permitting, brief reference will be made to the folk music of indigenous and immigrant groups. | ||
| MUHL 392 | Music since 1945. | 3 |
Music since 1945. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Appearance and evolution of such post-war phenomena as total serialism, "chance" music of various kinds, and electronic music as seen in major figures such as Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage and others in Europe and the United States. Important developments during the 1960s. Rise of "minimalism" and "neo-Romanticism" during the 1970s and 80s. | ||
| MUHL 591D1 | Paleography. | 1.5 |
Paleography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The theory and practice of musical transcription for the period 1100 to 1600. Black modal notation, Franconian notation, French and Italian Ars Nova notation, Mannerism, white mensural notation, proportions, and lute and keyboard tablatures will be studied. | ||
| MUHL 591D2 | Paleography. | 1.5 |
Paleography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See MUHL 591D1 for course description. | ||
| MUPG 209 | Introduction to Lyric Diction. | 1 |
Introduction to Lyric Diction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rules of lyric diction and the sounds of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). | ||
| MUPG 210 | Italian Diction. | 2 |
Italian Diction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of International Phonetic Alphabet. Study of Italian pronunciation in singing using song and opera texts. | ||
| MUPG 211 | French Diction. | 2 |
French Diction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of French pronunciation in singing using song and opera texts. | ||
| MUPG 212 | English Diction. | 2 |
English Diction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of International Phonetic Alphabet. Study of Standard English pronunciation in singing using song and opera texts with a special emphasis on problematic vowels, diphthongs and consonants. | ||
| MUPG 213 | German Diction. | 2 |
German Diction. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of German pronunciation in singing using song and opera texts. | ||
| MUTH 202 | Modal Counterpoint 1. | 3 |
Modal Counterpoint 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Polyphonic techniques of the Renaissance period studied through analysis of works by Palestrina and others and through written exercises in two to three voices. | ||
| MUTH 204 | Tonal Counterpoint 1. | 3 |
Tonal Counterpoint 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The contrapuntal techniques of Baroque composers studied through detailed technical analysis of their works and through written exercises in strict style. | ||
| MUTH 302 | Modal Counterpoint 2. | 3 |
Modal Counterpoint 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Continuation of Modal Counterpoint I. Study of more advanced techniques through further analysis and written exercises in three or more voices. | ||
| MUTH 304 | Tonal Counterpoint 2. | 3 |
Tonal Counterpoint 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Further analysis and written exercises with special emphasis on fugal techniques in free style. | ||