The Music Academy of the West
Summer School & Festival
For over 60 years the Music Academy of the West has provided exceptional young musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and intensive performance in a uniquely beautiful and supportive environment.
Each Music Academy Fellow is awarded a full scholarship covering tuition, room, and board. In addition, a modest cash stipend is awarded to all Fellows to defray travel-related expenses.
Recognized as one of the world's preeminent summer music programs for gifted pre-professional classical musicians, the Academy offers an experience that is at once intimate and intense, highly personalized, and deeply collaborative.
Over eight weeks each summer, Academy Fellows refine and enhance their skills with each other and with the outstanding faculty and guest artists who join them. Together they participate in over 180 musical events, including masterclasses, chamber music performances, individual lessons, orchestra concerts, and a fully staged opera.
The Academy's home is Miraflores, a private estate set on 10 beautiful acres in the Santa Barbara area, about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. The campus is just a few minutes' walk from the Pacific Ocean. Miraflores houses the Academy's administrative offices, and is the focus of most of the summer's instrumental activities and events: Orchestra rehearsals, chamber recitals, masterclasses, lessons, and individual practice all take place here.
The spectacular 150-acre Cate School campus, about 20 minutes south of the Music Academy, provides housing, dining services, and recreational opportunities for all Academy Fellows, and is the primary location for the Academy's Voice and Vocal Piano Program.
Prospective Fellows are invited to navigate to their program of interest for information regarding the application and audition processes, application fees, and important deadlines.
Programs of Study
