The Kecskemét Symphony Orchestra presents an international master course for conductors from 28th of July to 2nd of August 2025, led by the world-famous Finnish conductor and educator, Jorma Panula.
Conductors can apply for the master course without any age limit. Based on the submitted videos, Maestro Panula will select up to 9 active participants. Each active participant will have at least 120 minutes on the podium, where they will have the opportunity to work with a full symphony orchestra. A video recording of the orchestral rehearsals will be made, which will be analysed by Maestro during the afternoon sessions, along with the participants. Selected active participants will have the opportunity to perform in front of the audience at the closing concert on the 2nd of August in the Great Hall of the Hírös Agóra. Passive participation in the master course is also possible, subject to pre-registration. Passive participants will be able to follow the orchestral rehearsals and afternoon video classes from the auditorium, as well as receive a ticket to the closing concert.
The language of the master course is English.

Jorma Panula, professor
Jorma Panula was born in 1930 in Finland. From 1963 to 1965 he was conductor and artistic director of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and from 1965 to 1972 he held the same position at the Helsinki Philharmonic and from 1970 to 1973 at the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. He also regularly conducted the Finnish National Opera. As a professor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Maestro Panula established the international reputation of the institution’s conductor’s department between 1973 and 1994. During his tenure, conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste or Osmo Vänskä emerged from his class. He has also taught as a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and Copenhagen. He regularly holds master classes around the world, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, the United States and Japan – and now in Kecskemét. Jorma Panula studied church music and conducting at the Sibelius Academy. His teachers were Leo Funtek, Dean Dixon, Albert Wolff and Franco Ferrara. In addition to conducting, he is also renowned composer. His operas, Jaako Ilkka and the River Opera established a genre entitled “performance opera” for its fusion of music, visual art and the art of daily life. Panula’s other compositions include musicals, church music, a violin concerto, jazz capriccio and numerous pieces of vocal music.

Huba Hollókői – organiser, assistant teacher
Hungarian born Huba Hollókői is an award winning conductor, violinist, opera director and arranger. Since 2022 he is artistic director of the Kecskemét Symphony Orchestra. As a conductor, Hollókői has worked with leading symphony orchestras around the world, including the Netherland Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra, Noord Netherland Orchestra, Dutch Ballet Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra, OSUG Symphony Orchestra, MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Danubia Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, Győr Symphony Orchestra. He made his Concertgebouw debut in 2017 with the Philharmonie Südwestfalen. Hollókői regularly appears with the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, the Joensuu City Orchestra as well as the Filarmonica Mihail Jora Bacău. His soloist partners were Barnabás Kelemen, Minna Pensola (violin), Suzana Bartal, Janne Mertanen, Balázs Fülei, Viniciu Moroianu, Oana Csiky (piano), Stefan Danifeld (horn), Hugo Manzanilla Victoria (clarinet), among others.
Hollókői is a sought after opera conductor; several of his productions have received critical acclaim, including Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s Rigoletto, a handful of Mozart operas, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and the Finnish premier of Cesar Cui’s “Puss in boots” children opera. He debuted as stage director with Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amore. He conducted a dozen of contemporary music premiers on the “Iubiți Muzica Româneasca!” festival in Oradea, “Intrada” Festival in Timisoara, with the UMZE Ensemble in Budapest, and also prepared the premiere of Monique Krüs’s opera, Anne Frank.

Location:
Hírös Agóra (HA)
Kecskemét, Deák Ferenc tér 1
6000
Hungary

Repertoire:
Beethoven: 2nd Symphony 
Schubert: 5th Symphony
Kodály: Marosszéki táncok 

Schedule:
28. 07. 2025
– 08:00 Registration, Hírös Agóra (HA),foyer
– 09:00-13:00 Orchestral rehearsal with the conductors, recorded on video HA Great Hall
– 13:00-14:30 Lunch break
– 14:30-17:00 Video analysis HA Small Hall
29. 07.
– 09:00-13:00 Orchestral rehearsal with the conductors, recorded on video HA Great Hall
– 13:00-14:30 Lunch break
– 14:30-17:00 Video analysis HA Small Hall
30. 07.
– 09:00-13:00 Orchestral rehearsal with the conductors, recorded on video HA Great Hall
– 13:00-14:30 Lunch break
– 14:30-17:00 Video analysis HA Small Hall
31. 07.
– 09:00-13:00 Orchestral rehearsal with the conductors, recorded on video HA Great Hall
– 13:00-14:30 Lunch break
– 14:30-17:00 Video analysis HA Small Hall
01. 08.
– 09: 00-13:00 Orchestral rehearsal with the conductors, recorded on video HA Great Hall
– 13:00-14:30 Lunch break
– 14:30-17:00 Video analysis HA Small Room
02. 08.
– 15:00-18:00 Orchestral rehearsal HA Great Hall
Concert program
– 19:00-21:30 Closing Concert HA Great Hall

Application:
You can apply for the master course by filling out the online application form until 2nd of June.
To apply one needs to submit:
– Name, age, contact (email and phone number)
– Biography in English
– A video recording of a concert or rehearsal that is no longer than 30 minutes and contains at least two contrasting styles of works or movements. The video must show the conductor from the front, from the orchestra point of view. We only accept Youtube or other, streamable links.

Successful applicants will be notified by email before 16th of June.

Course fee:
The fee for the master course is 2200 Euro. Successful applicants must make a deposit of 700 Euros by 30th of June to the fee requester sent by Hírös Agóra. The remaining instalment (1500 Euro) must be paid upon arrival, by bank transfer, or on the spot, in cash.
For passive participants, the course fee is 120 Euro and is due upon arrival. Pre-registration is required by 23rd of July at info@hubahollokoi.com.
In the event that the organizer is forced to cancel the master course due to unforeseen circumstances, the participation fees will be refunded in full. However, we do not accept any liability for additional costs such as travel and accommodation. If the participant is forced to cancel the course due to circumstances beyond his / her control, the course fee may be refundable at the discretion of the organizer.
Travel, Accommodation:
Participants must provide accommodation and travel themselves. We recommend that you book in advance using the online hotel booking pages.