A University of Otago summer school class on practical conducting, which is offered by the university music department every second year, has attracted a record 21 students this year, including several secondary-school teachers.
Tom Jensen, a second-year bachelor of music student, said learning more about conducting would help him as a composer who wanted to create film scores.
Few students in the second-year class said they wanted to become professional conductors, but several people said yesterday they were already working with choirs.
Conducting teacher Holly Mathieson, an Otago music honours graduate studying for a doctorate in music, said the rising student numbers partly reflected the high level of Dunedin music activity and the need for more conductors.
"There's so much music going on in Dunedin."
The city had a "huge number" of church and community choirs which all required trained conductors, she said.
The university's 10th annual school, which began last week, offers 80 papers, 49 of them in humanities, including music.
The school enables students to gain academic credit for courses by undertaking intensive study for about six weeks.
Equivalent courses run later in the university year usually continue for about 13 weeks.
