History of the
Rose City International Conductor's Workshop
About the orchestra
In the winter of 2005 the musicians of the Rose City
Chamber Orchestra approached their guest
conductor
Ken Woods to see if he would be
interested in starting a new summer institute for young
conductors.

After
Christopher Zimmerman, Chair of Orchestral
Conducting at the Hartt School of Music and
Benjamin Zander joined the faculty, the first Rose City
International Conductor's Workshop attracted
applicants from throughout the US and Spain,
Germany, Canada, South Korea, Argentina, Mexico
and the United Kingdom.

The first four-day workshop took place on the
University of Portland campus. When Maestro Zander
fell ill at the last minute,
Raymond Harvey, Music
Director of the Kalamazoo Symphony joined the
faculty.

In 2006 the workshop moved to the campus of Warner
Pacific College, in the leafy neighborhood of
Portland's Southeast side, and in 2008 to it's current
home at Lewis and Clark College. In 2008, the RCICW
was the subject of a feature by Oregonian music critic
David Stabler, and in 2009, there are plans for a
documentary by OPB.

Cheered by the success of the workshop, and
invigorated by the experience of working with so
many talented young conductors, the musicians of
the orchestra look forward to a long future for the
workshop, and have made it their goal to make the
Rose City International Conductor's Workshop one of
the finest conductor training programs in the world.
The Rose City Chamber Orchestra first came
into being in spring of 1998. A small group of
musicians, greater Portland community,
decided to venture out on their own and
establish a small chamber orchestra together.
The goal of the musicians in the Rose City
Chamber Orchestra was (and continues to be)
to achieve the highest quality musical
experience to be enjoyed by both performers
and community. The "premiere" concert was
performed by the orchestra on April 5, 1998
and conducted by Tim Hankewich, former
conducting apprentice for the Oregon
Symphony, and now Assistant Conductor for
the Kansas City Symphony. The "premiere"
concert was a huge success, and the Rose City
Chamber Orchestra was well on its way to
becoming one of the most talked about and
highly respected chamber orchestras in
Portland.

The Rose City Chamber Orchestra is unique
because the orchestra is run by the musicians
themselves. All members of the Rose City
Chamber Orchestra are empowered in all
decision-making processes to the extent that
each individual wishes to be. Those decisions
range from the conductors engaged to the
music performed. Everyone has a voice.

The orchestra does not have a permanent
music director.  Each concert features a
different conductor, or the orchestra may
choose to play without a conductor on
repertoire that benefits from the unique
communication and intimacy that results from
a concert sans chef. When we do have a
conductor, the orchestra has been extremely
fortunate to engage excellent leaders from
across the country. Kenneth Woods was
appointed Principal Guest Conductor in May
of 2005.
-Student Comments on the Workshop-
Faculty available to us? Yes. Absolutely! It was great
to have the teachers be so approachable.
I really had a great experience in Portland last
week, and wanted to thank you again for your
helpful instruction and for your part in putting
together the workshop.  This experience has
encouraged me to apply in the fall to DMA
programs in conducting.
The best organized and most helpful conducting
workshop I have been to.
Fantastic choice of repertoire- I loved working on
the Don Giovanni Excerpts with the singers!
I loved the intensity- not a wasted minute in four
days
Thanks for all your work! It was a great workshop!
The orchestra was so supportive and the teachers
were incredibly accesable and supportive
Sixth Annual
Rose City International Conductor's Workshop
July 5-11, 2010
Portland, Oregon
The mission of the Rose City
International Conductor's Workshop is
to provide professional training at the
highest level to emerging conductors
from all over the world
.
Please feel free to browse the
welcome pages from past seasons
2006
2007
2008
2009
You can see past years' repertoire,
soloists and more.