Dr. Stephen Alltop, a member of the conducting faculty at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and Director of Music of Alice Millar Chapel, is a seasoned professional in a number of musical aspects. One of those aspects includes being a clinician for traveling student groups looking to sharpen their musical skills.
Having received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate from Northwestern University, Dr. Alltop has 30 years of conducting high-level university ensembles, honors ensembles and All-State choirs and orchestras. He has also served as Music Director and Conductor for a number of professional ensembles.
Dr. Alltop shared a bit about what students experience when they visit Northwestern’s Alice Millar Chapel for a clinic.
“Generally, the groups that visit our beautiful Alice Millar Chapel enjoy an opportunity to perform in a fabulous acoustic space surrounded by some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows in the country,” Dr. Alltop shared. “Ensembles usually perform repertoire they’ve been preparing for concerts or contests. Often, at the end of the clinic I’ll give students a chance to hear the huge pipe organ that is such a special feature of the Millar Chapel.”
During the clinic, Dr. Alltop listens closely with the scores and then offers suggestions how the ensemble’s performance could improve.
“Areas such as diction, projection, energy, pitch accuracy, intonation and interpretation are often addressed,” he said, noting that sometimes, they’ll try different formations to allow the musicians to better see and hear each other. “The most common recommendation I make is to study and follow the score and the composer’s markings as closely as possible.”
Dr. Alltop loves seeing how excited students are to not only gain some new musical knowledge in a beautiful space but also the memories he knows they’re creating by visiting a vibrant city like Chicago. He notes he also sees educators benefitting from the experience, as well.
“Music educators often value a chance to get feedback not just for their students, but to gain new ideas from a very experienced conductor.”
Courtesy of ETI.
