It was absolutely an inspiring experience – more than a musical approach to the conductor’s duty, more than a theoretical explanation of why do we exist as conductors. Each day there was a new goal to achieve from our mind and from our bodies, everything together in order to ‘be the music'.

deep and profound, and yet accessible, it's an extraordinary progression through the essence of Western tonal music.

It opened my ears to a whole new world of sound and listening. It was hard, but worth it...this is a fantastic course with a world-class teacher.

It was the first time I have ever been moved by my own conducting.

Markand gave me a view of conducting that came from the music and a technique that enables me to connect with the orchestral sound - in other words, as he often said, to ‘become the music’!

Incredibly enlightening; I have seen tremendous growth in my whole musical endeavor.

Markand Thakar's passionate and thoughtful approach to music making continues to be an important part of who I am as a musician. I am very grateful for his guidance to help me find, in his words, 'the music inside me.' I owe him a lot.

Maestro Thakar is patient, brilliant, and very musical. The energy he set was always positive and gave us confidence. What I learned from him went way beyond music.

My time with Markand Thakar was invaluable. His remarkable ability to teach young conductors gave my entire approach to music a whole new dimension. I am a better musician because of it.

a total game changer, it completely transformed my understanding and conducting of all music.

Lessons with Markand are always intense; he is dedicated to and concentrated on each conductor’s strengths and weaknesses. Markand pursues music-making of the highest quality and he demands and inspires the same in his students. I am incredibly fortunate to have Markand Thakar as a teacher and mentor.

Markand Thakar teaches from the inside out: from within the score, and from within the student. His demanding but responsible pedagogy, imbued with the spirit of the great Sergiu Celibidache, leads his students toward mastery of the energies that shape authentically musical performances.

Brilliant and insightful, Markand shares his depth of knowledge and his meticulous Celibidache technique with passion.

I just wish it was longer – the two hours go by so quickly.

I appreciated very much Markand’s detailed and individualized feedback. I learned and improved a lot in just a few days…I loved it!

Honestly I think I’ll be a different person after this workshop. I love that we strive to understand the purpose of music and to find a meaningful experience in the sound. I felt a lot more confident, not just as a musician, but especially just as a person.

it's made me a drastically better musician, and totally changed how I study scores.

While Markand is honest, he is also supportive, and creates a healthy, positive learning environment... a wonderful & meaningful learning experience!

This has been a wonderful experience, and I feel that I have improved! I only wish this workshop were longer.

Markand challenges students to immerse themselves in the music, and to be driven by the experience. His emphasis on internalizing a score truly helped me in opening my ears and building my podium presence.

Maestro Thakar’s deep dives into musical analysis gave me a renewed confidence in my own abilities to craft coherent and authentic interpretations.

identifying problems and working on resolving those problems – without giving up on the artistic side (shaping phrases, etc…) – brilliant! It is the very best workshop I have taken part in.

I came to this workshop with a lot of awful new habits from working with young student orchestras. Markand worked on me like a sculptor; getting rid of the tension, unnecessary gestures, etc., to simply being pure and finding the magic. to allow myself to just BE the music, really opened my body, my mind and most importantly, my love towards music.

Every single item on my list of things I hoped to gain was noticed, analyzed and addressed in a most efficient, but kind way by the maestro – including strategies for continued progress. Markand is truly a master pedagogue.

Mr. Thakar’s holistic and profound approach to conducting and the music making process gives his students the confidence to reach that place within: a free mind and body allowing them to give and receive. The message is clear: it is not only about music and conducting, it is about connecting and influencing and being better human beings.