International Conductors Guild 

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra


Conductor Training Workshop

October 19-23, 2026

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
Little Rock, AR

Maestro Geoffrey Robson, Music Director and Conductor 
with
Dr. John Farrer
Dr. Julius P. Williams

REPERTOIRE:
Antonin Dvořák - Serenade (for Strings), op. 22, B. 52, E major <1875>
Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 5 in B-flat, D. 485
Jessie Montgomery - Strum for string orchestra  - 
(2006, rev. 2012)
 

Apply now for the International Conductors Guild - Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Conductor Workshop with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Robson, Music Director & Conductor, held Monday, October 19, 2026 through Friday, October 23, 2026 with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Little Rock, Arkansas. This workshop will be held in the ASO's beautiful, newly built Stella Bolye Smith Music Center and will include a comprehensive week of technique, repertoire discussions, in-depth score study, and career advice and discussions.  You will not find a more comprehensive, top-quality, conducting workshop anywhere!

 MAESTRO GEOFFREY ROBSON
 Named winner of the 2017 Respighi Prize in Conducting by the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Geoffrey Robson has   emerged as a force of artistic leadership throughout the United States and the state of Arkansas.

  The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has named Maestro Robson as its sixth Music Director after a four-year nationwide     search. Prior to his recent appointment, his tenure as the Arkansas Symphony’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor   was a significant success. His dynamic leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in national and state-wide   visibility for the organization. The orchestra’s Bedtime with Bach online concert series received nationwide acclaim and   was featured by the Washington Post and the Kelly Clarkson Show

  Over the past three years, he has played an integral role in the planning, development, and design of the new  ASO   Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, which officially opened in September 2024. His influential leadership helped secure     funding and community support for the orchestra’s $11.7 million dollar project. 

During his tenure with the ASO, Robson has conducted critically acclaimed and sold-out masterworks, pops, chamber, and educational concerts throughout the state. His innovative programming has brought new audiences into the hall and made all feel welcome, and has inspired and energized the orchestra. Robson envisions his role in the community as a connector, bringing the community closer together and making it more inclusive.  

In 2021, he conducted and served as executive producer for the recording of Florence Price’s Concerto in One Movement with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, featuring pianist Karen Walwyn. This was the orchestra’s first commercial release in over 20 years. He has conducted numerous ballet and opera productions including The Nutcracker, La Bohème, and Madama Butterfly with the Plano (Texas) and Waterbury (Connecticut) symphonies and Opera in the Rock (Little Rock). As a founding member of The Chelsea Symphony (New York), he conducted numerous sold-out performances and served as artistic advisor, ensuring the growth and success of the organization.  

A champion of new music, he collaborates with and explores the music of renowned living composers. In 2016, he conducted the San Juan (Colorado) Symphony in the world-premiere of James Stephenson's Concerto for Hope with celebrated trumpeter Ryan Anthony. He served as arranger, conductor, and violinist for the world-premiere of Billy Blythe, a one-act opera based on the life of the young Bill Clinton, by Bonnie Montgomery. He conducted the premiere of Into the Beautiful North by Joe Brent, performed by the 9 Horses trio, as well as the premiere of Richard III, A Crown of Roses, A Crown of Thorns, an opera by Karen Griebling. In 2021 and 2022, he secured co-commissions of new works by Tania León and James Lee III, which were performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. 

An active violinist, Robson is an avid chamber musician and regularly collaborates with musicians across the country. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Faulkner Chamber Music Festival. In this role, he curates a summer concert series and serves as director of the chamber music camp for students. 

He served as concertmaster of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and as Assistant Concertmaster of the Waterbury Symphony. He is also recognized for his skill and versatility as a fiddle player and has established himself as a highly sought-after studio musician. He writes and performs string and orchestral arrangements for recording artists to assist them in achieving their goals in the studio. His arrangements have also been featured on numerous Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performances. 

Robson studied orchestral conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City under the tutelage of David Hayes and holds violin performance degrees from Yale University and the Michigan State University Honors College. Primary violin teachers include Erick Friedman, Dmitri Berlinsky, James Krehbiel, and I-fu Wang.  He studied conducting at Yale University with Lawrence Leighton Smith, Edward Cumming, and Shinik Hahm. Other notable teachers include John Farrer, Neil Thomson, Joana Carneiro, Dirk Brossé, Salvatore Di Vittorio, and Larry Rachleff.


 DR. JOHN FARRER   

 Dr. John Farrer was Music Director of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, California for over 30 years, was   formerly President of the Conductors Guild and has been Music Director of the Roswell Symphony Orchestra for   over 40 years. He is also Music Director of the Santa Maria Philharmonic. Dr. Fareer is co-founder of the London  Conducting Workshop with Maestro Howard Williams.

 Dr Farrer is a frequent guest with orchestras in England, and visits London on a regular basis in the capacity   of guest conductor. As senior guest conductor of the English Sinfonia he has toured with the orchestra   throughout England and northern France. His eight recordings with the London Philharmonic, Royal   Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony and English Sinfonia have received high praise from critics around   the world. He has been associated with the San Francisco Symphony as a cover conductor for the orchestra's subscription concerts. 

Dr Farrer was a speaker in the San Francisco Symphony's series of Inside Music talks, led the orchestra in Concerts for Kids, and conducted a programme at Stern Grove which attracted 20,000 listeners. Mr Farrer is also a member of the music advisory committee of the Young Musicians Foundation of Los Angeles, and has been appointed a national trustee of the National Symphony Orchestra of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.  

Maestro Farrer recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of California Fine Arts System. Dr. Farrer served as President of the Conductors Guild and now holds the title Emeritus President of the International Conductors Guild.


 DR. JULIUS WILLIAMS

Julius Williams is an award-winning conductor, composer, recording artist, eduator, author and pianist and has been named one of Musical America's Top 30 Professionals of the Year in 2022. His career has taken him from his native New York to musical venues around the globe, and he has been involved in virutally every musical genre. Maestro Williams' Carnegie Hall conducting debut was with the "Symphony Saint Paulia" inaugural concerts in New York City.  He has conducted American orchestras in Dallas, Buffalo, New Jersey, Oakland, Hartford, New Haven, Akron, Vermont, Knoxville, Sacramento, Paducah, Norwalk, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Savannah, the Harlem Symphony, Color of Music Festival Orchestra, and the New Works Orchestra.  Dr. Williams was Music Director of the Washington Symphony (1998-2003) which was the official orchestra of Washington, DC.  He was also the Conductor of the Pulitzer Prize performance of the Anthony Davis Opera, "Central Park Five/Five" originally premiering and preparing the work for the Trilogy: An Opera Company, in NJ.  His past positions include Artistic Director of the Music Festival of the Costa del Sol, Spain, and Artistic Driector of the School of Choral Studies of New York State Summer School of the Arts for ten seasons.  He has conducted on tour the Oberlin Conservatory Opera and Cleveland Opera Theater receiving rave reviews for the performances of the opera, "Harriett Tubman" and the world premiere of the opera "Edmonia" at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan which was broadcast on Michigan Public Television. 

Dr. Williams conducted a Gala performance with the Dallas Symphony at the Black Academy Third Annual Riverfest Festival in Dallas Texas. In the past, he has served as Assistant Conductor to the late Maestro Lucas Foss with The Brooklyn Philharmonic and with the American Symphony in New York. He is currently Artistic Director and Conductor of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra in Boston and Music Director and Conductor of the Trilogy An Opera Company in New Jersey, he served as Composer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra" Composer In Residence, Project” (2018-20).  He also serves as a cover (understudy) conductor to the Boston Pops Orchestra (BSO) in Boston and has served as a cover conductor to the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Most recently he was the conductor of the Academy Award eligible film Sky Blossom. he was guest conductor of the Color of Music Festival in South Carolina featuring the wonderful artist Vanessa Williams. In 2022 he appeared with the Inner City Youth Orchestra at the League of American Orchestras National Conference and also with the National Chorale and Orchestra at David Geffen Hall in New York.  Recent past seasons included performances as guest conductor at the Isabella Gardner Museum Boston Series, OneWorld Festival Orchestra in Virginia, the Color of Music Festival Orchestra in Sacramento, the Monteux Festival in Maine, a gala performance with the group “Sweet Honey and the Rock” at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Celebrity Series of Boston with the Berklee Contemporary Orchestra.  Julius Williams’ discography includes the critically acclaimed “Symphonic Brotherhood” a collection of African-American symphonic music, “Shades of Blue," “The New American Romanticism," Somewhere Far Away, Places in Time, The American Soloist and Midnight Tolls, all available on the Albany Records label. “Moments of Arrival”on Centaur Records and “The Bird That Wants to Fly” a children's opera on Naxos/ Roven Records. 2024-25 saw his newest recordings Alone/Together The Dreams & Diversity of the American Composer, and A Legacy of African American Classical Spirit, released on the Albany Record /Parma Label.

Dr. Williams is presently Professor of Composition and Artistic Director/conductor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and Music Director of Trilogy An Opera Company. Julius Williams’ educational consulting and speaking engagements have included, this year (2024) in Spain served as President of the Internationally Judge at the International Wind Band Contest for the "City of Valencia”. Maestro Williams has performed and recorded with The Prague Radio Symphony, and The Moscow Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil, José Joaquín de Olmedo in Ecuador, Principal Military Orchestra of the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation, The Dvorak Symphony Orchestra, The Volvodanksa Symphony of Serbia, The Dubrovnik Symphony of Croatia, The Brno State Philharmonic, The Bohuslav- Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Music Festival of the Costa del Sol, Spain. A prolific composer, Maestro Williams has created works for virtually every genre of contemporary classical performance, including opera, ballet, orchestra, chamber ensemble, chorus and solo voice, dance, musical theatre and film.  

Dr. Williams is the Immediate Past President of the International Conductors Guild serving as President for four years and he is also Chair of the League of American Orchestras Conductors Constituency and a mentor for the League. additionally, he has served on The Advisory Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts ,and Adjudication Committee for the Fulbright Awards,Adjudicator for ASCAP, Adjudicator Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Educational Consultant to the Norwalk Symphony in Connecticut and He regularly serves as Guest Curator and Host for the Sirius XM Radio Program “Living American” Program.

WORKSHOP REQUIREMENTS

All participating conductors must be Members of the International Conductors Guild -
                         Click here for HOW TO JOIN  or RENEW

Regular membership is $120/year, Student membership, $25/year, and Senior membership, $100/year.

All applicants must apply via our Online Application Portal which requires a $40 non-refundable application fee.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS: Friday, October 2, 2026

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE 

Monday, October 19, 2026
   10:00am - 12:30pm -  Group Technique class
   12:30pm - 2:00pm - Lunch 
   2:00pm - 4:30pm - 2 piano session - Schubert

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
   
10:00am - 12:30pm - Two pianos session - Montgomery
   12:30pm - 2:00pm - Lunch
   2:00pm - 4:30pm - Two pianos session - Dvořák

Wednesday, October 21, 2026
   10:00am - 12:30pm - String quartet session - Montgomery
   12:30pm - 2:00pm - Lunch
   2:00pm - 4:30pm - String orchestra session - Dvořák/Strum

Thursday, October 22, 2026
   10:00am - 12:30pm - Off podium workshop session
   2:00pm - 4:30pm - Full Orchestra session - Schubert

Friday, October 23, 2026
   
1:30pm - 4:00pm - Dress Rehearsal - Full Orchestra - All Repertoire
   7:30pm - Concert - Full Orchestra
 

REPERTOIRE   

Antonin Dvořák - Serenade (for Strings), op. 22, B. 52, E major <1875>
    I.   Moderator
    II.  Tempo di valse
    III. Scherzo Viviace
    IV. Larghetto
    V.  Finale:  Allegro vivace

Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 5 in B-flat, D. 485 <1816>
   I.  Allegro
   II. Andante con moto
   III. Menuetto: Allego molto
   IV. Allegro vivace

Jessie Montgomery - Strum for string orchestra (2006, rev. 2012)
   
WORKSHOP TUITION

Ten conductors will be selected as active participants for this workshop.  Auditors are welcome. 

  • Participating Conductor:  $2,650 (USD)
  • Auditor Conductor:  $800 (USD)

Each participant will be responsible for their own travel to and from Little Rock, as well as local transportation, and hotel accommodation. We will provide a list of reasonable hotels and other accomodation to the participants.

APPLY HERE

 

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact
Jan Wilson, Executive Director, at the International Conductors Guild: 
 
[email protected]
(202) 643-4791