Masterclass in Conducting with Tengku Irfan: Exploring Copland’s Appalachian Spring
Join acclaimed Malaysian conductor and pianist Tengku Irfan in a dynamic conducting masterclass centered around Aaron Copland’s iconic Appalachian Spring. This session offers an extraordinary opportunity to delve into one of the most evocative American works of the 20th century — known for its lyrical charm, rhythmic vitality, and emotional depth.
Designed for aspiring conductors and advanced music students, the masterclass will explore key elements of gesture, score interpretation, ensemble leadership, and the art of shaping sound. Participants will gain insight into the nuanced layers of Appalachian Spring under the guidance of a musician whose musicality and clarity have captivated audiences worldwide.
Don’t miss this chance to deepen your interpretive skills and refine your technique through one of the most poetic and challenging works in the orchestral repertoire.
📅 Date: 11 October 2025
🕰️ Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
📍Venue: Juliette Music & Arts Academy
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Click the link below for Registration
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About Tengku Irfan
Malaysian-born Tengku Irfan has appeared around the world as a conductor, pianist, and composer. He made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Juilliard Orchestra in April 2024. He has appeared as guest conductor on several occasions with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2023, he was the assistant conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, working alongside eminent conductor Sir Andrew Davis. Among the awards he garnered included the Bayreuth Stipendium Award, and he was also the runner-up and audience prize winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Conducting Competition. He worked as assistant and cover conductor for David Robertson, Jörg Widmann, JoAnn Falletta, Simone Young, and Speranza Scappucci alongside orchestras such as New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard Orchestra. He was a Conducting Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School.
In his earlier years as a pianist, he has performed with orchestras worldwide such as Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, among others. He won the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 competition in Aspen back in 2013, and was the resident pianist for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble between 2014-2017. His compositions have also been premiered by orchestras and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, New York Virtuoso Singers, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the MDR Sinfonieorchester. He also won three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards as a composer.
Prior to his conducting studies, he was a double major in piano and composition at The Juilliard School, whose teachers included Yoheved Kaplinsky, Robert Beaser, and Ira Taxin. He graduated with a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting last year, where he studied with David Robertson. As part of the commencement, he was the inaugural recipient of the Robert Craft Igor Stravinsky Grant in Orchestral Conducting. During his years at Juilliard, he was a proud recipient of the Juilliard School Kovner Fellowship Award. Currently, he is the founder and music director of his own group in New York, Ensemble Fantasque, promoting music from the 20th and 21st centuries, and underperformed pieces from earlier time periods.
