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2026 INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTORS GUILD
50th Anniversary Conference
January 16 - 19, 2026
Dallas, TX
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Luisi, Music Director & Conductor
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 Auditorium. 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 the Gene and Jerry Jones Grand Atrium. 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 - 10:00am - 12:30pm
Fabio Luisi, Music Director and Conductor
Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Meyerson Symphony Center
2301 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Please contact the ICG office if you would like to attend the dress rehearsal on Thursday, Jan. 15.
ICG Conference attendees arriving early to Dallas are invited to attend.
Friday, January 16, 2026 -
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Conference attendees should arrive in Dallas
Use Dallas Love Airport for flights, if possible
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1:00pm - 3:00pm
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ICG Board Members - Conference Set-Up
Caruth Auditorium
Southern Methodist University
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3:00pm - 4:30pm
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International Conductors Guild - Board Retreat and Meeting
Caruth Auditorium
Southern Methodist University
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7:30pm
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Dallas Symphony Orchestra - Maestro Fabio Luisi
Meyerson Symphony Center
2301 Flora Street Dallas, TX 75201
Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1896, unfinished)
***Order discounted tickets after receiving your conference registration receipt.
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9:30pm
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"50th Anniversary Get-Together"!
The Beeman Hotel Bar
6070 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75206
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Saturday, January 17, 2026 - All Sessions in Caruth Auditorium
| 8:00am - 9:00am |
Conference Registration - Lobby
**Stop by the registration table in the lobby -
everyone MUST have a name badge before entering Caruth Hall.
Wear your name badge at all times, please.
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8:30am - 10:00am
**Please be prompt!
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Orchestra Conductor Masterclass
Grammy Award-winning conductor - Maestro Fabio Luisi
Southern Methodist University Symphony Orchestra
Edward Cumming, Director
Strauss - Till Eulenspiegel
Bradley Cawyer, Conductor
Kamna Gupta, Conductor
Mengru Zheng, Conductor
Caruth Auditorium - SMU Campus
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10:00am - 10:45am
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Break |
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11:00am - 12:15pm
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Wind Ensemble Masterclass - NEW!
Bobby R. Francis, Texas Christian University
Edward Cumming, Southern Methodist University
SMU Wind Ensemble
Lincolnshire Posey - P. Grainger
Josh Pace, Conductor
Ronald Atienza, Conductor
Caruth Auditorium - SMU Campus
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12:20pm - 1:40pm
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Join everyone in the Gene & Jerry Jones Grand Atrium for a catered lunch.
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1:45pm - 2:00pm
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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
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| 2:00pm - 2:30pm |
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.
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| 2:35pm - 3:05pm |
The Life & Works of Crawford Gates, An American Conductor/Composer
Roberta Carpenter
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| 3:10pm - 3:45pm |
Conductor Roundtables - all are invited to participate
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| 3:50pm - 4:20pm |
Groove meets Gesture: A Conductor's Toolkit for Jazz Big Band Collaboration
Gregory Robbins |
| 4:25pm - 4:55pm |
JC Penney's Bicentennial Celebration: Commissioned and Licensed Musical Pieces
Janine Riveire
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5:00pm - 5:30pm
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Breaking Down Barriers through Music - Dvořák to the Harlem Renaissance and the creation of uniquely American music
James Lamb |
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5:35pm - 6:05pm
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"Symphony: This Will Be Our Reply" by Lucas Richman - The Making of an American Symphonic Masterwork
Noreen Green-Drew
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| 6:30pm |
Dinner on your own
**Be sure to check the ICG Conference app and/or Group Dinner
sign-up sheets!
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Sunday, January 18, 2026 - All Sessions in Caruth Auditorium
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7:30am - 8:30am
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Breakfast on your own
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8:30am - 9:00am
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Registration - continues - Lobby
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8:30am - 9:30am
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Mahler's 5th: Unraveling 120 years of mistakes and confusion – Breitkopf’s new Urtext edition
Nick Pfefferkorn, Breitkopf and Härtel Music Publishers
**It is suggested that you bring your Mahler 5 score to this session.
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9:35am - 10:05am
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Roy Harris's Fifth Symphony: The Interpretation, Preparation, and Performance of a Rarely Performed American Masterwork
Brad Cawyer
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10:10am - 10:40am
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Surprise and Delight with the Music of Victor Herbert
Alyce Mott
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10:45am - 11:15am
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Copland's The Tender Land: An Iowa Tribute
Rebecca Nederhiser
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| 11:20pm - 11:50pm |
The Sousa - ABA- Ostwald Award: What we can learn from winners of this American Wind Band Composition Award
Josh Pace
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| 12:00pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch Break
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| 1:40pm - 2:10pm |
Women Conductor Roundtable
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| 2:15pm - 2:45pm |
The Music of Stephen Sondheim: A Great American Composer
Charles Prince |
| 2:50pm - 3:20pm |
We Can Do It! - A History of American Women Military Band Conductors in WWII
Alexandra Zacharella |
| 3:25pm - 4:00pm |
Break - Visit our Exhibitors
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4:00pm - 4:30pm
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The International Conductors Guild -
A 50 Year View of the International Conductors Guild
Julie Sorensen and Jan Wilson
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4:35pm - 5:05pm
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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.
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5:15pm -
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Dinner Break - be sure to sign up for Group Dinners at the
Registration Desk or on the app!
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8:00pm
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Optional Event -
Plano Symphony Orchestra
Hector Guzman, Music Director and Conductor
Robinson Fine Arts Center, Plano, TX
SOUND AND VISION: A MULTI-SENSORY JOURNEY
Will require an Uber ride to get to Plano from Dallas
10 comp tickets will be available at the box office
If more than 10 are used, they're offering a $20/ticket rate
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Monday, January 19, 2026 - All Sessions Caruth Auditorium
| 7:00am - 8:00am |
Breakfast on your own
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| 9:00am - 9:30am |
A Look a Florence Price’s Symphony in D Minor
Matthew Lovelace
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| 9:35am - 10:05am |
"The Third Army March - new band and orchestra editions"
Silas Huff
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| 10:15am - 10:45am |
A Conversation with Maestro Edward Gardner, Chief Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Claire Fox Hillard and Peter Stafford Wilson
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11:00am - 12:00pm
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50th Anniversary Conference Wrap-Up!
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