It is heartening to witness the many positive indicators that the performing arts are up and running again after two years of masking, vaxing, and Zooming. There are even remnants from that challenging time that have morphed into more lasting creative endeavors: The annual Guide to Summer Camps, Institutes, & Programs has three enduring and distinct categories: U.S., International, and Virtual—this last with seven entries. This helps explain why, at 311, there are more listings in this year's Guide than ever before.

COVER PHOTO: Eastern U.S. Music Camp students rehearse on a summer day next to Taylor Lake on the Colgate University campus in Hamilton, NY.
Photo by Grace Brown

Download the Guide ⤊ or scroll down ⤋ to view information for each program

The Cleveland International Piano Competition & Institute for Young Artists are dual initiatives, providing exceptional musical experiences for pianists 11 to 18. The Institute encourages pianists to explore creativity and grow as musicians in a pre-collegiate environment at Cleveland Institute of Music while being guided by leaders in the classical piano world.

Participants in this biennial symposium observe all master classes, attend recitals, and take part in workshops. Preference is given to professional violinists, teachers, and postgraduate and college students; up to 10 violinists are accepted as student artists to perform in public master classes for artist-faculty.

A weeklong seminar to foster the artistic growth of pre-formed, pre-professional string quartets. Through intensive coaching and mentoring with the members of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as interaction with other participating quartets, students are able to refine their artistry in a stimulating artistic environment.

Juilliard's Summer Percussion Seminar is designed for advanced high school percussionists. During two intensive weeks, participants will experience a challenging range of master classes, clinics, lectures, rehearsals, and performances led by some of today's most prominent percussion teachers and performers.

Two-week sessions in dance, musical theater, drama, piano, and voice hosted at Nord Anglia Education schools and designed for ages 12-18 at varied skill levels.

MSM Summer provides instruction and performance experience in instrumental music—classical and jazz, composition, and musical theater—for students ages 8 to 17 in a dynamic conservatory setting. Students will develop their musical skills and will join a vibrant community of young musicians.

You bring your voice and a spirit of adventure. We add the elements for the ultimate choral experience: a world-class conductor and faculty; great repertoire; inspiring travel and concert halls with orchestra; and a big chorus of amateur singers like you. Find your choral adventure at BCI.

Brevard Music Center offers a rigorous and empowering program of instruction and professional performance, where students and faculty co-exist, collaborate, and perform as one on stage. Private lessons are complemented by participating in orchestral, chamber, and opera performances.

The Colburn Piano Seminar offers studio classes, master classes, and private lessons with distinguished piano faculty from Colburn and renowned guest artists.

CC Summer Music Festival is a three week intensive training for pre-professional musicians. All accepted applicants attend on full fellowship (free tuition, room and board). Orchestra, chamber groups, private lessons and mentoring, community outreach, small faculty to fellow ratio for a very personal experience.

Forty-five composers, performers, teachers, choral singers, improvisers, and electronic musicians from around the world gather together with 15 dedicated faculty and inspiring artists-in-residence in an immersive, residential, and transformational music experience.

Recent visiting artists: Marcos Balter, International Contemporary Ensemble, Lei Liang, Mivos Quartet.

2023 marks Eastern Music Festival’s 62nd season of musical excellence. Based in Greensboro, NC, EMF is a nationally acclaimed summer classical music festival and educational institution dedicated to focused pre-professional training, educational enrichment, and astounding public performance. EMF is distinguished by its accomplished faculty, exhilarating repertoire, and stellar visiting artists.

Collaborate with similarly passionate and dedicated college juniors, seniors, and graduate students while working and world-class musicians, educators, and leaders. The Eastman Leadership Academy provides a deep dive into leadership and entrepreneurship through immersive, interactive, and participatory workshops and learning activities.

Through this intensive series of interactive workshops and case studies, you will gain a unique set of skills , techniques, and knowledge that will enhance your career and grow as a leader. Each session is led by an expert in the field of finance, fundraising, legal, DE&I, and leadership.

Through its high-quality cultural content, Festival Ljubljana not only cultivates and educates, raises cultural awareness and contributes to general knowledge, it also provides experiences that broaden one's mental framework. The project discover young talents and help them evolve, it gives them an opportunity to present themselves to wider audiences.

Killington Music Festival brings together musicians and a world renowned faculty in a residency program of chamber music study, master classes and frequent performances. With the beauty of the Green Mountains as a backdrop, the limited enrollment, personal attention and collegial atmosphere. KMF 2023 could be the musical experience of your lifetime.

Lake George Music Festival features a world-class roster of core and guest artists performing "side by side" with our fellowship students. All participants attend solely as a way to advance intellectually, artistically, and professionally; working closely together in a tight-knit community and nurturing atmosphere.

Music@Menlo's Chamber Music Institute offers a rich, immersive experience for the most committed, curious, and artistically driven young musicians seeking the opportunity and inspiration to take their art to the highest level.

Raising start among international classical music festivals, MMSF offers intensive, interdisciplinary, individually tailored studies for pianists, string players, composers and conductors who engage in many collaborative solo, chamber music and string orchestra performances and co-perform with our faculty and guest musicians, all at various main stages and spectacular summer locations.

NEC Summer Orchestra Institute is an intensive, two-week, full symphony orchestra program for intermediate to advanced players, ages 13-18. Students play in ensembles led by NEC faculty and guest artists, explore the world of chamber music, and prepare for college and conservatory auditions through coachings, workshops, and seminars.

Every summer, students from all over the United States and abroad, come together to participate in the National Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Institute. The tuition-free program is designed to expose and prepare students for a 21st Century career in music through individualized training while reducing barriers to access.

Oberlin's programs span genres from classical to jazz to electronic and across a variety of instruments, voice, and performance styles. The supportive environment is for students (age 13 to graduate school), teachers, accomplished amateurs, and performing professionals. Expand your repertoire, improve your technique, and advance your teaching and performance skills.

Three full-length opera productions complete with sets, costumes, and professional orchestra. All productions are double cast, so many roles available, but there will be a minimum of three performances of all roles. Children's opera—also double cast—is produced with Studio artists and travels to approximately 15 venues. Opera in the Ozarks is situated in the beautiful Ozark mountains.

The Artists in Residence are the heart of pianoSonoma. These world-class musicians are committed to sharing their love of music with people from all walks of life. Cabernet participants get the opportunity to work one-on-one with these phenomenal Artists. Rosé participants get to interact with the Artists in creative classes.

The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Germany's great festival of classical music, offers the opportunity for young muisicans from all parts of the world to participate in the festival's international youth orchestra, founded by Leonard Bernstein in 1987.

The Sewanee Summer Music Festival is an artistic incubator and inclusive community designed to offer participants the chance to learn and grow together with wonderful colleagues and artist-faculty from around the world. This summer we are proud to offer four programs: Orchestral & Chamber Music, Composition, OperaFest, and String Academy.

Sounding Point Academy was founded to nurture the next generation of soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral musicians, and pedagogues. Students have opportunities to perform for the world's leading performing artists, master the intricacies of orchestral excerpts, and gain comprehensive knowledge of the technical aspects of violin performance.

The Eastman School of Music Summer@Eastman program offers students and the community an individualized, world-class music experience. Choose from residential music programs and camps for middle and high school students, online workshops and weeklong institutes for adults, and collegiate classes in music education, music history, and music theory.

A burst (or pulse) of meaningful instruction, relationship building, and growth. MPulse is a transformative experience for young artists that launches them into the college audition process with a newfound confidence, knowledge base and passion for the arts. Participants study with our world-renowned faculty on the U-M Ann Arbor campus.

The WNO Opera Institute is a summer training program for high school singers interested in Citizen Artistry and exploring all that opera and vocal performance have to offer in college and as a career. Students will develop their skills as performers while exploring how to use their full array of talents to build a life for themselves, a better field, and a better world.

Students will have a 100% musical experience in the facilities of the Reina Sofia School of Music, consisting of instrument technique in individual classes, rehearsals, chamber music, "Building an Artist" master classes, that will help them to enter the professional world of music, including preparing their curriculum, auditions, exams, competitions, and injury prevention.

Walden's Young Musicians Program provides an unparalleled summer experience for students ages 9 to 18. Part school, camp, and festival, Walden features inspiring classes, concerts & composers forums, plus chorus and recreation. Students hone musical and creative skills through a rigorous, innovative curriculum, all within a community of encouraging peers and mentors.

YPC National inspires youth choruses and choral conductors across the country, bringing together children of various backgrounds to sing at the highest artistic level, and bringing choral professionals together to make music, build community, and pursue artistic excellence, all modeled after the Young People's Chorus of New York City.