Strings, Winds, Brass and Percussion
Instrumental Fellows participate in four primary activities during the summer: weekly individual lessons, masterclasses, and orchestra and chamber performances. Applicants must be 16 years of age prior to the start of the festival season.
2009 Application Deadlines & Audition Dates
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Horn
Trumpet
Trombone/Tuba
Percussion/Timpani
Harp
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Orchestra
Instrumental Fellows comprise the Academy Festival Orchestra, which performs four concerts during the Summer Festival. Led by distinguished guest conductors chosen both for their artistic skill and their dedication to making great music with pre-professional musicians, these concerts are Festival high points. Each program is preceded by a week of rehearsals.
Toward the end of the summer, two additional orchestras are formed, the Academy Opera Orchestra and the Academy Chamber Orchestra, each performing a single program. Orchestra assignments are determined by the Academy faculty at the beginning of the summer. String principals, chosen by audition, also participate in the Academy's unique Seminar in Orchestra Leadership.
Chamber music
Each instrumentalist participates in one or more chamber ensembles during the summer. Ensembles, formed during the first week of the Festival, receive weekly coaching from faculty members and are afforded the opportunity to perform in weekly student chamber concerts (Picnic Concerts), in the student/faculty Chamberfest at the end of the summer, and at community concerts in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
Concerto competition
Instrumentalists are invited to enter the annual concerto competition, and are encouraged to study a concerto in preparation for this exciting event. At least three winners, chosen by a panel of eminent judges from the music profession, are awarded the opportunity to perform with the Academy Festival Orchestra.
Masterclasses
Public masterclasses are a vital part of the Music Academy experience. Weekly masterclasses for individual instruments as well as for chamber ensembles - including string and piano, brass, and collaborative piano groups - are presented throughout the summer.
