Conducting Fellowship

Application deadline: February 1

Students must be willing to comply with Chautauqua Institution’s Mandatory Vaccination Policy requiring students to provide proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be approved for a medical or religious exemption by May 1. Please email Sarah Malinoski for more information on exemption requests ([email protected]).

The David Effron Conducting Fellowship is awarded to a gifted student pursuing a career in conducting. The applicant must be enrolled in or recently graduated (within the last year) from a graduate conducting program. Timothy Muffitt will guide the studies of the conducting fellow and the conducting fellow will lead the Music School Festival Orchestra (MSFO) on a number of works. The conducting fellow also is involved in chamber music as well and is welcome to observe the rehearsals of our resident professional orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. 

In 2022, the concerts are scheduled for July 5,  July 11, July 21 (with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra), July 24 (with the School of Dance), August 8 (with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory), and August 15.

A stipend of $2000 will be awarded after the completion of the first MSFO concert in July. The conducting fellow will also receive a single room in the residence halls and a full meal plan as part of the contract agreement. There is also a $500 travel allowance awarded as well once the fellow has been selected.

Timothy Muffitt, Artistic and Music Director

Music Director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra since 2006, and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Muffitt continues to appear with other prominent orchestras around the country. Recent seasons have included St. Louis Symphony and Tulsa Symphony and return engagements with the San Francisco Symphony and the Long Beach Symphony along with his debut at The Hollywood Bowl. Other engagements have taken Muffitt to the Houston, Phoenix, Edmonton, and Spokane Symphonies, Columbus Ohio’s Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Virginia Symphony, the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra in Chicago and the Harrisburg (PA) Symphony among others.

Along with continued growth in artistic excellence, Muffitt’s work has been marked by innovative, imaginative programming. A strong proponent of community arts education, Muffitt has been very active in the venues of radio and lecture, presenting arts-enrichment programs through a variety of formats for diverse audiences.

Prominent performers and composers with whom Mr. Muffitt has worked include Yo Yo Ma, Renee Fleming, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Andre Watts, Alicia de Larrocha, Pinchas Zukerman, Van Cliburn, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, and composers John Cage, Joseph Schwantner, Ellen Taffe Zwilich, John Harbison, Joan Tower and Bernard Rands among others.