Jan Stulen

Besides his career as a conductor, Stulen has also been actively involved with the education and training of young  conductors. He is affiliated to both the Maastricht and Rotterdam Conservatoriums as head professor and also gives private lessons. Many of his students hold prominent positions in music, both professional and semi-professional.

Over the years he has developed a teaching method that is based on the individual capabilities of the student in which the different skills (score reading, aural training etc.) are integrated in order to “be a complete conductor’’.

With this method he makes a distinction between skills which can be learned through training, and those specific skills that should be already present, whether latent or not, and which can then be further developed.

Stulen believes that the various study areas within the training ( symphonic, wind ensemble, chorus) have a broad common basis. The genres also overlap: wind orchestra’s play transcripts of symphonic music and in the oratorio literature both vocal and instrumental components come together.

He is determined to integrate the various study disciplines to one general training with specializations. All the various elements can enrich and stimulate each other.

Ultimately, the principles of musical leadership are valid in all areas of the conducting profession.

Stulen has written a book about his experiences, collected during his many years of teaching, and his vision of the “conducting’’ phenomenon. The title of the book is “the Tao of conducting’’. An English version is to be expected shortly.