ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the choral conductor role, the conditions of its legitimacy and the musical-technical competences which are involved in it. The need for a conductor derives from functions which are better filled from a single point of control rather than left to ensemble members on their own. The four (simultaneous) functions are here labelled artist, craftsman, mentor and manager. This chapter establishes a holistic model of conductor competences comprising three layers of mastery—musical-technical, situational-relational and existential—integrated by way of a coherent conductor body and artistic reflexivity. The main categories of musical-technical competence are gestural proficiency, score proficiency, aural awareness and error detection.
