As part of her mission to “keep the art evolving,” Beth Willer—Peabody’s dynamic director of choral studies—is launching a new master’s degree program in Choral Conducting that will be among the most rigorous and innovative in the country, she says.
“What we are offering is really unique,” Willer says of the two-year course of study and practice that the Vocal Studies Department will launch in the fall. “It’s going to be small, with a unique focus on contemporary music in the context of historical repertoire. And in keeping with the Peabody Voice Department’s commitment to offering students an experience reflective of the contemporary landscape for performers, it is an opportunity for us to send artistic leaders out into the world who are thinking on the cutting edge of vocal art.”
Willer, who has been engaged in an ambitious redesign and expansion of Peabody’s Choral Studies program since her arrival in 2020, is known for her directorial command and technical expertise, as well as her passion for integrating the historic choral repertoire—which she points out is uniquely expansive in the realm of classical music, spanning more than nine centuries—with the new music she champions.
“Preservation must be done by way of innovation,” she says.
Her internationally acclaimed Lorelei Ensemble showcases women’s voices both through the rediscovery and reinterpretation of historic works and through collaboration with some of the finest contemporary composers. And at Peabody, through a dramatically reimagined choral and vocal ensemble program, she and her students regularly collaborate with living composers to advance the repertoire.
The curriculum Willer has designed for the new master’s program includes a seminar in which students will “appear regularly on the podium before a lab ensemble, while I will work with them one-on-one. Beyond the seminar, they will lead the new Conductors’ Choir in rehearsal and performance with their student colleagues,” she says.
“There will also be a four-semester cycle of vocal ensemble literature with guest artist instructors, each with unique expertise in the repertoire and performance practice of a particular era. And then, of course, there is simply the wonderful opportunity to study voice and topics relevant to voice with faculty from across the Conservatory,” she says.
Willer is also excited about partnerships she is establishing with local choirs and other ensembles in the Baltimore community through which her students can get real-world conducting experience. “The innovative energy in Baltimore is palpable—it’s a great place for young musicians to launch a career,” she says.
Willer says she is delighted with the number and diversity of students applying to the program, which will accept two (and no more than four) applicants a year. “We want to guarantee each student as much podium and practice time as possible,” she says.
Applicants include students who have recently earned undergraduate degrees in voice or in music education, as well as musicians with established careers who want to return to school to study conducting, she says.
“I’ve also seen some interest from our orchestral conductors who want to more deeply explore the vocal repertoire, which is very exciting,” she says.
“There are so many wonderful opportunities for collaboration at Peabody, and I think the cross-pollination between our existing instrumental conducting program, which is very strong, and this new program for vocal conductors is going to be very fruitful.”