Young Performers Program, ages 10-19

For Advanced String Players and Pianists

July 14-August 5, 2023.

Dmitri Atapine and Hyeyeon Park, Co-Directors

Applications are closed for this summer. Please check back in November when applications will open for Summer 2024.

Music@Menlo’s Young Performers Program provides an incomparable experience for some of the most outstanding young musicians from across the country and abroad. Designed for enthusiastic and dedicated string players and pianists ages ten to nineteen, the program immerses students in a rigorous, nurturing environment, where, through an intense exploration of advanced chamber music repertoire, they are transformed into the leaders of tomorrow. Chamber music, with its rich historical tradition and unique challenges, is the perfect art form to cultivate the skills needed for success. Leadership and teamwork, discipline and creativity, communication and engagement, inventiveness and adaptability: all are addressed in a profoundly engaging way while offering musical training at the highest level.

Highlights of the program include:

• An in-depth exploration of chamber music repertoire with some of the world’s best musicians in an intense and immersive environment
• Public master classes, streamed live
• Multiple student performances all professionally produced and broadcast live
• Free tickets to all Music@Menlo main stage events
• Café Conversations and Encounter lectures with leading artists and musicologists
• Instrument specific sessions focusing on technique and performance skills
• Development of public speaking and communication skills
• Group activities that promote inclusiveness and friendship, including ping-pong, scavenger hunts, etc.

2023 Schedule
From Friday, July 14 through Saturday, August 5, students will be expected to participate in the program every day of the week except Sundays. Below is the typical schedule, although times may vary depending on evening concert schedules:

8:00 a.m. — Breakfast*
8:30 a.m. — Depart dorm for Menlo School*
8:45-9:00 a.m. — Roll Call and Announcements
9:00-9:15 a.m. — Warm-up
9:15-10:45 a.m. — Session I – Ensemble Rehearsal or Coaching
11:00 a.m.-Noon — Master Class or Café Conversation
12:00-12:50 p.m. — Lunch
12:50–2:00 p.m. — Session II – Ensemble Rehearsal or Coaching
2:10-3:10 p.m. — Session III – Ensemble Rehearsal or Coaching
3:15-4:00 p.m. — Instrumental Session
4:00-5:00 p.m. — Free time/Individual Practice
5:00 p.m. — Prelude Performance
6:00 p.m. — Dinner*
7:30 p.m. — Encounter lecture or concert
9:30 p.m. — Return to dorm*
11:00 p.m. — Curfew*
*Students residing in festival dorm only (minimum age of 14)

To learn more about the festival’s ticketed events and to view the concert calendar from the 2022 season—which will give applicants and parents an example of what to expect for 2023—click here.

Tuition
NEW: All accepted students receive a full tuition fellowship.

Housing for Students Under the Age of 14
Students under the age of fourteen are not eligible for festival-sponsored housing and families must arrange independent accommodations, such as Airbnb.

Housing for Students Age 14 and Above
Housing consideration is made for students ages fourteen to nineteen who reside at least forty miles away from Atherton, California. Space is limited. Accommodations are available in a Menlo College dormitory, a short five minute walk from the Menlo School campus. Students are chaperoned by Music@Menlo residential life staff. Cost per student is $3,750 and includes all meals beginning with dinner on July 13 and ending with breakfast on August 6.

Rooms are double occupancy and students are grouped together based on age and gender. Because students are expected to attend almost all evening concerts and lectures over the course of the three-week festival, the schedule is very rigorous and intensive and may not be a good fit for every applicant. Deviations to the evening schedule are agreed upon by a majority vote of the student resident group and are subject to approval by the Resident Advisors and/or festival staff. Students are expected to yield to the majority wishes of the group when necessary.

Housing Support
Housing support is available for students residing more than forty miles away from Atherton, CA by completing a separate application and submitting it with required documentation by February 15, 2023. Music@Menlo attempts to provide financial support to deserving students as much as possible.

Health and Safety
Music@Menlo is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our patrons, students, and staff. Music@Menlo follows COVID-19 safety guidelines set forth by Menlo School, local, state, and federal guidelines. COVID-19 vaccinations are required for anyone who has been approved for non-emergency use—currently, this means all employees and students ages 16 and up. Vaccinations for younger community members and boosters for everyone are strongly encouraged and recommended. These requirements are subject to change as conditions dictate.

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