Collaborations
The National Orchestral Institute + Festival, a program of The Clarice at the University of Maryland, trains aspiring orchestral musicians, composers, conductors and arts administrators from across the country in a month of dynamic music-making and professional exploration. Musicians are chosen through a rigorous audition process. Every year, these young artists present passionate and awe-inspiring performances of adventuresome repertoire both at The Clarice and in the College Park, Maryland community. Trailblazing conductor Marin Alsop was appointed as the first-ever Music Director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival in 2020. In addition to conducting innovative programs onstage at The Clarice, Maestra Alsop launched the NOI+F Conducting Academy for rising young conductors in 2021. In 2015, NOI+F began a partnership with Naxos to record one concert of all-American music each year—Naxos’ first partnership with a summer festival of its kind. The 2019 recording “Ruggles, Stucky, Harbison” received a Grammy nomination in the “Best Orchestral Performance” category.
In conjunction with the NDCP, NOI+F supports up to three of our Emerging Artists to attend each summer with all expenses paid - application fee, tuition, housing, travel, and a food stipend. One Emerging Artist, if accepted into NOI+F through the application and audition process, can attend and participate in the duration of the program. Another one or two Emerging Artists can audit the week of the festival when Alana Wiesing, NDCP board president and chair and NOI+F percussion faculty member, is present for masterclasses, sectionals, orchestra rehearsals and concerts, classes, private lessons, and mentorship.
The POTS! Summer Seminar is an exceptional, pre-collegiate program for young musicians seeking a unique performing experience. Participants will be immersed in percussion classes on marimba, snare drum, timpani, complimentary percussion, hand drumming, drum set, and multiple percussion, and will present full percussion ensemble concerts in front of live audiences. In addition to learning instrumental skills, students will gain important insight into audition preparation for music festivals and college auditions, careers in music, practice and organizational skills, mental preparation for peak performance, and developing important team-building skills.
Alana Wiesing, NDCP board president and chair, serves as a guest clinician. She presents virtual timpani masterclasses that are informationally comprehensive. Additionally, she works with other members of the NDCP board to compile and share presentations about equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classical music industry generally and the concert percussion community specifically. Special thanks to Lucy Tarantino, the NDCP development committee chair, for her work facilitating this content with POTS! in person.
Interested in collaborating with the NDCP? Email us at percussiondiversity@gmail.com!