2026 INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTORS GUILD
50th Anniversary Conference
January 16 - 19, 2026 
Dallas, TX
 
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Luisi, Music Director & Conductor

REGISTER NOW


2026 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

 
International Conductors Guild
Dr. Claire Fox Hillard, President

**Please note:  The International Conductors Guild reserves the right to change/modify session times and presenters.

**Registration - Stop by the registration table in the lobby - everyone MUST have a name badge
                           before entering Caruth Hall. 
 Walk-ins are welcome!

**Mentoring Sessions - sign-up in advance, or when you arrive, for one-on-one mentoring sessions with highly
                                        experienced colleagues, ready to share their knowledge with you! Mentoring sessions
                                        will be scheduled individually and throughout each day. Contact Mentorship Co-Chairs,
                                        Larry Isaacson and Peter Stafford Wilson at: [email protected]
                                       
if you have not signed up in advance. 

**Exhibitors are located in Hall. Please visit their displays throughout the sessions.

**Group Dinners and Entertainment sign up sheets are available at the registration desk 


*Thursday, January 15, 2026 -

Dallas Symphony Orchestra - Dress Rehearsal
Fabio Luisi, Music Director and Conductor

Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Myerson Symphony Hall
ICG Conference attendees arriving early to Dallas are invited to attend.

 

Friday, January 16, 2026 -

 

Conference attendees should arrive in Dallas

3:00pm - 4:30pm

International Conductors Guild -  Board Retreat and Meeting
location TBA

7:30pm

Dallas Symphony Orchestra - Maestro Fabio Luisi
Myerson Concert Hall
Bruckner -  Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1896, unfinished)

9:30pm

"50th Anniversary Get-Together"! 
Beeman Hotel Bar 

 

Saturday, January 17, 2026    All Sessions in Caruth Hall
                                                              

8:00am - 9:00am

Conference Registration  - Lobby

**Stop by the registration table in the lobby - 
everyone MUST have a name badge before
entering the Hall.
Wear your name badge at all times, please.
 

9:00am - 10:30am

Conductor Workshop with Maestro Fabio Luisi 
All attendees are encouraged to apply for this amazing opportunity!
Location TBA

10:30am - 11:00am

Break

11:00am - 11:15am

Welcome to Dallas and the 2026 Conference of the International Conductors Guild!

 - Claire Fox Hillard, President, International Conductors Guild
 - Katie McGuiness, Wildenthal Families Chief Artistic Officer,
                                               Dallas Symphony Orchestra

11:00am - 11:30am

Just Patriotic Enough:  A List of Orchestral Works for a Year-Long Celebration of America’s 250th Birthday
Major Brian Dix, US Marine Corps, retired.

11:35am - 12:05pm

The Life & Works of Crawford Gates, An American Conductor/Composer
Roberta Carpenter 

12:15pm - 1:30pm

Lunch on your own -  - 

1:40pm - 2:45pm

Conductor Roundtables - all are invited to participate

2:50pm - 3:20pm Groove meets Gesture:  A Conductor's Toolkit for Jazz Big Band Collaboration
Gregory Robbins
3:25pm - 3:55pm

JC Penney's Bicentennial Celebration: Commissioned and Licensed Musical Pieces
Janine Riverire

4:00pm - 4:30pm

A Comparative Study of  Renowned Wind Band American Conductors
Enrique Hernandis

4:30pm - 4:45pm

Break 

4:50pm - 5:20pm

Women Conductors Roundtable

5:25pm - 5:55pm

Breaking Down Barriers through Music - Dvořák to the Harlem Renaissance and the creation of uniquely American music
James Lamb

6:00pm 

  Dinner on your own
**Be sure to check the ICG Conference app and/or Group Dinner
       sign-up sheets!

 

 Sunday, January 18, 2026 - All Sessions in Caruth Hall

7:30am - 8:30am

Breakfast on your own 

8:30am - 9:00am

Registration  - continued -  Lobby

9:00am - 9:30am

"Symphony: This Will Be Our Reply" by Lucas Richman - The Making of an American Symphonic Masterwork
Noreen Green-Drew

9:35am - 10:05am

Roy Harris's Fifth Symphony:  The Interpretation, Preparation, and Performance of a Rarely Performed American Masterwork
Brad Cawyer

10:10am - 10:40am

Copland's The Tender Land: An Iowa Tribute
Rebecca Nederhiser

10:45am - 11:15pm

Mahler's 5th: Unraveling 120 years of mistakes and confusion – Breitkopf’s new Urtext edition
Nick Pfefferkorn, Breitkopf and Härtel Music Publishers

11:20pm - 11:50pm

The Sousa - ABA- Ostwald Award: What we can learn from winners of this American Wind Band Composition Award
Josh Pace 

12:00pm - 2:00pm

Lunch Break
 

2:00pm - 3:30pm Wind Ensemble - Conductor Workshop  
SMU Symphony Orchestra - Edward Cumming, Music Director & Conductor


3:30pm - 4:00pm

Break - Visit our Exhibitors 

4:00pm - 4:30pm

International Conductors Guild Annual Membership Meeting
Election of Directors
Election of Officers
Other Business
**This session is for active, paid members of the
   International Conductors Guild, only. 
 

6:00pm 

Dinner - be sure to sign up for Group Dinners at the
Registration Desk or on the app!

 

Monday, January 19, 2026 - All Sessions Caruth Hall

7:00am - 8:00am

Breakfast on your own

 
9:00am - 9:35am

Conducting to Picture: Understanding the Tools and Challenges of Conducting Live-to-Film
Angel Velez

 
9:40am - 10:10am

Surprise and Delight with the Music of Victor Herbert
Alyce Mott

 
10:15am - 10:45am

The Music of Stephen Sondheim: A Great American Composer
Charles Price

 

10:50am - 11:20am

We Can Do It!  - A History of American Women Military Band Conductors in WWII
Alexandra Zacharella

 

11:30am - 12:00pm

 50th Anniversary Conference Wrap-Up!