Aarhus Jazz Orchestra invites female and non-binary conductors to apply for an exclusive two-day conducting workshop with our Chief Conductor Geir Lysne and Aarhus Jazz Orchestra on 8–9 January 2027 in Aarhus, Denmark.
Female and non-binary conductors remain underrepresented in big band leadership and conducting. As a state-supported professional big band that is constantly working to develop and push the genre forward, we want to help address this imbalance by creating new opportunities for women and non-binary people in the field.
We are looking for conductors with a strong artistic voice, professional ambitions and a clear desire to develop their work at the highest level.
Over two days, selected participants will conduct the orchestra in rehearsals with individual feedback and artistic sparring from Geir Lysne.
The workshop offers a rare opportunity to work directly with one of Europe’s leading professional jazz orchestras and to receive focused feedback from an internationally acclaimed conductor.
We are looking for
Conductors with substantial practical experience and a strong motivation to develop their career and artistic leadership.
Please send us a written application where you tell us:
Which orchestras and ensembles you have conducted, and when
What you want to achieve as a conductor and where you see your career going
Briefly, about other relevant musical work — for example as a conductor of classical music, as a musician, composer or arranger
Please also submit a three-minute video of yourself conducting. The recording does not need to be professionally produced — a phone recording is perfectly fine. What matters is that we can see you conduct.
Practical information
Date: 8–9 January 2027
Venue: Turkis, Vester Allé 15, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Rehearsals: 10:00–14:00 both days
Price: The workshop is free of charge
Accommodation and travel expenses: Aarhus Jazz Orchestra covers accommodation in Aarhus and up to €350 of travel expenses, reimbursed upon presentation of receipts.
Application deadline: 8 November 2026
Send your written application and video to signe@ajazz.dk.
Participants will be selected by Geir Lysne, Chief Conductor, and Signe Bisgaard, Artistic Director.
Why this workshop?
Aarhus Jazz Orchestra has always been part of shaping what jazz can be. As Denmark’s only “basisensemble” for jazz (a state-supported professional ensemble with a national responsibility for developing the field) we create ambitious artistic projects and work closely with leading Danish and international artists, composers and conductors.
Our work spans more than 60 concerts a year and ranges from new commissions and genre-crossing collaborations to major concert productions — always with the ambition to contribute to the continued development of the music.
We believe that developing the music also means creating opportunities for the people who will lead it. Women and non-binary conductors remain underrepresented, and we want to help change this by opening access to professional experience, artistic exchange and new networks.
With this workshop, we invite ambitious conductors into the professional environment of one of Europe’s leading big bands and give them the opportunity to work closely with Geir Lysne and some of the finest musicians on the Danish jazz scene.
For us, this is about creating opportunities today that can shape who leads the music tomorrow.