Summer Music Festival

The Summer Music Festival offers performance training for violin, viola, and cello musicians of advanced and intermediate ability levels. Advanced students take part in an intensive two-week program, while intermediate students participate in a one-week program.

Summer Music Festival students participate in small-group and private lessons, performance classes, play-ins supported by custom symphonic backing tracks and a live festival orchestra, recitals, and concerts. Sessions are designed to expand student knowledge of music theory, history, technique, and musicianship. Instructors from artistic institutions, professional ensembles, and dedicated Choate faculty teach all Summer Music Festival courses.

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Programs & Schedule

We offer programs for Elementary School, Middle School, and High School students, grades 4-12. Whether students are early in their musical training in violin, viola, or cello or have advanced skill in their instrument, our program tailors the experience for each student to best match their ability level. Each student’s daily schedule is created by the Festival Directors to ensure a balance of instruction, practice time, and collaboration.

*For students in grades K & 1, please see the violin group class option within the Young Artist Junior Visionaries program.

Solo Performance with Orchestra, Advanced
Solo Performance with Orchestra, Intermediate

Solo Performance with Orchestra, Advanced

2-Week Program | 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. (plus evening component ) | Boarding & Day

June 26 - July 8, 2023

Flexible drop off: 8:30-9:00 a.m.
Flexible pick up: 4:00-4:30 p.m.

For advanced players of violin, viola, and cello in grades 6-12, this two-week program presents students the incredible opportunity to study instrumental music performance through sonata pair coaching, chamber music, private lessons, rehearsals with our festival orchestra, and a solo performance with orchestra. Each soloist collaborates regularly with the conductor and orchestra principals, and has a 60-minute daily private lesson.

Note: Advanced participants have a required evening component. We recommend that advanced participants be working on a standard Romantic period concerto movement or showpiece for their instrument, selected in consultation with their private instructor.

The Solo Advanced Performance program concludes with concerts on Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8. Please be in touch with the program director for additional information.

Program	Boarding	Day
Advanced Solo Performance with Orchestra, 2 weeks (grades 6-12*)	$4,425	$3,550

*For students who will have completed the U.S. equivalent of the grades listed prior to the start of Summer Programs.

Solo Performance with Orchestra, Intermediate

1-Week Program | 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. | Day

July 3 - July 8, 2023

Flexible drop off: 8:30-9:00 a.m.
Flexible pick up: 4:00-4:30 p.m.

For intermediate players of violin, viola, and cello in grades 4-12, this day program presents participants with the incredible opportunity to rehearse and perform with our festival orchestra, while taking daily private lessons, performance classes, master classes, and sessions on practice strategy and musician health and wellness.

Each soloist begins the festival collaborating with the conductor and orchestra principals before joining the full ensemble later in the week. Intermediate participants have a 30-minute daily private lesson.

This program is intended for musicians who are playing intermediate-level repertoire, especially solo pieces from the Baroque and Classical periods.

Summer Music Festival Courses

Private Lesson

Instruction in this program is designed to reinforce and improve the technical and musical skills that the student has already developed. In daily lessons, each of our soloists focuses on preparing and refining the elements of their solo piece in preparation for rehearsals and performance with the Festival Orchestra. Intermediate program students have a thirty-minute daily private lesson with our artist faculty. Advanced program students have a sixty-minute daily private lesson with our artist faculty.

Performance Class

Each soloist presents part or all of their performance piece in the daily performance class, sharing their ongoing work with their peers and getting regular feedback from the artist faculty. This is also an opportunity for each student to develop the vocabulary for providing supportive feedback for their peers, and identifying common areas of technical and musical work in the solo repertoire.

Ensemble Collaborative Rehearsal

In this course, each soloist has time each day together with the conductor and orchestra members to put their performance work together. It is an intensively collaborative experience as soloists interact with the group of principal players and move onto the whole ensemble a few days before the concert. This daily experience builds the critical communication skills for each soloist to appear in front of the orchestra with confidence, especially in directing the interpretation of a work through nonverbal communication to the ensemble.

SMF Testimonial 1

As a parent of older kids who are playing other instruments, I was deeply impressed by the opportunities you have given to each student to perform solo as well as playing as a group. Letting them shine on stage is so important for them not only for the musical experience but also for confidence building as an individual. —SMF '22 Parent

How do I register?

How do I register?

Submit an Interest Form
Complete the 2023 Registration Form
Follow the link and instructions on how to create your Summer Programs Account Portal to make your payment, view registration details, and complete the Enrollment Contract.
All parents/legal guardians must sign the Enrollment Contract and upload it to the Summer Programs Account Portal.
A non-refundable $1,500 deposit is due at the time of registration. Tuition can be paid in full at the time of registration, with all balances due no later May 1, 2023. If registering after May 1, the tuition payment needs to be paid in full.
Refer to the checklist on your Summer Programs Account Portal for required paperwork and forms.

On-Campus FAQs

Program Fees