a tempo summer2007

Prestigious Thelma Robinson Award Presented to Octavio Más-Arocas

Octavio Más-Arocas

Octavio Más-Arocas, a doctoral student from Spain currently enrolled at the College of Musical Arts, has been awarded the 2006 Thelma Robinson Award.

The award was presented to Más-Arocas at the Conductor Guild’s Conductor Training Workshop on January 19 in Toronto.

Más-Arocas, who holds a diploma in conducting from Accademia Musicale Pescarese in Italy and a master’s degree from Bard College in New York, has conducted in Europe and North and South America. The winner of numerous competitions, he was the 2005 prize winner of the Third European Conductors Competition. He currently studies with Emily Freeman Brown, professor of music performance studies and director of orchestral activities at the University.

The Thelma Robinson Award, sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs, a philanthropic non-profit music organization, is given once every two years to honor the most promising participant in the Conductors Guild Conductor Training Workshop, and to assist with career-related expenses or advanced study.

The award was based on Más-Arocas’ participation in the Cabrillo Festival Guild Conductor Training Workshop this past summer and includes a cash prize of $1,000.

The Conductors Guild is comprised of close to 2,000 members including conductors, students, institutions, libraries and individuals interested in the profession of conducting. The Guild is designed to enhance professionalism by providing information and knowledge regarding conducting and to support growth in orchestras, bands, choruses and other ensembles.

The Conductors Guild Workshops are designed to provide specific and insightful information on all matters to each participant, incorporating all areas of the profession.