Summer Institutes online

May 22, 2020, 5:52 PM · Here are the ones I know of:

Suzuki - Chicago Suzuki Institute

Non-Suzuki Advanced Level:

Heifetz Institute
Center Stage Strings
Virtuosi Academy https://www.virtuosiacademy.com
Sounding Point Academy https://www.soundingpointacademy.com/

(I linked the last two because they are still accepting applications. Heifetz and Center Stage also opened back applications briefly but I think they are both settled now.)

Other Programs with other models:

Violympics
String Insiders Solo String Intensive https://stringinsiders.com/homepage3234

There are some other smaller or more local programs as well, like Merit School here in Chicago.

May 22, 2020, 6:01 PM · My daughter is doing a Heifetz program at Ithaca Institute. Just one week, I think they might still be taking applications, auditions. Concertos and solo Bach. I am not sure what they are doing at Suzuki level. Google and it will get you to Ithaca College host website.
Sadly, we just got the non- surprising news Greenwood has cancelled.

May 22, 2020, 6:11 PM · Looking myself, there is the full Suzuki program registration by June 1.
Not sure about the Heifetz part as it was by audition.

Edited: May 22, 2020, 6:16 PM · Lydia, I signed up for Nathan Cole's violympics. It's going to be over my head but as experiments go, it's not that expensive ($800) and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. For your son -- he's pretty young, right? I'm wondering if most of the summer-camps that have gone on-line are just assuming that parents aren't going to shell out a registration fee for an online experience, when part (most?) of what you're paying for is babysitting, and you'll still be doing that. Sorry if that's a harsh characterization -- couldn't find better language in the moment.

May 22, 2020, 7:41 PM · I found it hard to justify to my spouse spending $800 for the Violympics, but I'll be very interested to hear about your experience!

I think the organized structure of daily virtual "camp" activities will force me to practice daily, in a way that I'm not sure Violympics would.

For the Suzuki camps, I don't mind the "babysitting" since ordinarily I would be fully sitting in on those sessions anyway. My son is getting far more out of his group classes than individual lessons, and some of those Suzuki teachers at the virtual camps are really talented group teachers.

Austin Suzuki Institute is going online.
Philadelphia Music Festival (student age) is going online, too.

Inside Music Academy looks to be virtual-native, and has a range of programs, including opening programs at all levels to adult amateurs, and a Suzuki program.

May 22, 2020, 8:16 PM · Lydia - as far as Suzuki is concerned, I can send you a student workshop compilation that's being maintained in a teachers' FB group. (There is no "official" central resource that I know of.)

I've asked my studio families to consider "local" weekend workshops (NJ & PA) as a way to support the programs that they are most likely to want to attend in the future even though they could technically attend any program anywhere. Most of them are scheduled for 2-3x/week with me now (mix of group and short lessons) to take advantage of the frequent contact that is currently possible, something like 1-3 hours/week screen time depending on age/level/motivation. I'm sure that directors of week-long programs are doing everything possible to make them amazing and address concerns related to screen time, but it's a lot more palatable to me to promote the 2-day events.

Edited: May 22, 2020, 10:33 PM · That would be terrific. I have no idea why the SAA hasn't listed online summer institutes.

i would go local (and I had intended to send my son to the local Suzuki institute this year, as it's quite a large one) but my son's local large program has nothing over the summer. Group lessons are roughly biweekly in the school year, skips school holiday weeks, and normally stop entirely in the summer (and a lot of the students don't take summer lessons at all under normal circumstances).

I really want my son to do group lessons at least every other week during the summer.

May 23, 2020, 8:16 AM · Our daughter (cello) was registered for Austin but we backed out when it went online. Or we're thinking of doing so, or something. She was going to drive there with another family that has a place to stay with relatives near the institute.

I think Suzuki teachers -- like so many of us -- are counting ourselves lucky to still have our jobs but we're rather burned out on screen time. For most Suzuki teachers, the summer Suzuki programs are really not all that lucrative. They're not nothing though, in terms of extra income.

And if Blue Ridge Suzuki Camp goes online, I recommend that one. The people who run it are wonderful. That's a fun camp because a lot of the parents are musicians too and there are often play-ins. It's not really set up for intensive instruction for someone like you (Lydia) though.

May 25, 2020, 12:45 AM · Hi Lydia and everyone!
We plan to post a directory of online programs and teachers who are available to teach online in about a week! It will be a blog that will then be linked as a directory. Anyone who is interested in being listed should email me and I’ll give you the details!

May 30, 2020, 12:32 AM · Hello all - take a look at www.InsideMusicAcademy.com - teachers from Curtis and Juilliard, loaded with content like the Electives Block and the 12:12 Nanoconcerts, Zoom recitals and Rise-and-Shine Warmups. It’s energetic and both traditional and outside the box. Suzuki and Adult Learners as well.

May 30, 2020, 8:25 AM · @Anthea, do you know how large their sessions are likely to be or how many kids they expect at each level? I'm looking for something for my younger one (age 10, not too motivated, Mozart 3 level) but would want a program where she would fit in well.

May 30, 2020, 12:31 PM · I have emailed with similar questions to Susan. Any audition or system to place them with musical peers rather than age group. Or is it just self chosen?

May 30, 2020, 4:32 PM · My wife and I are directing a Summer Music Festival from June 22-26, which include a whole week of Suzuki Book 1 and 2 daily play-ins for violin, viola, and cello for only $125 per student. We've got dozens of 30-minute sessions for students of all ages and ability levels, include musical storytime and music adventure activities to etude exploration, orchestral excerpt preparation, and music technology. We even have sessions for school ensemble teachers covering Essential Elements and first-year string pedagogy skills, and a daily orchestra sight-reading session with custom backing tracks. Students pay a single flat fee, and can attend as many courses as their schedules and balanced screen time allow. We're about to release the course catalog on June 1st.

To get people used to the format, my wife Chika is presenting a weekly free Violin Book 1 and Book 2 play-in every Thursday at 5:00pm Pacific Time and Friday at 9:00am Pacific Time. Each week we have over a hundreds kids joining us from all over the globe, from Asia, the South Pacific, North and South America, and Europe. The experience focuses on getting participants to play as much as possible accompanied by custom backing tracks by the California Solisti Chamber Orchestra, and we're running them all summer long except for the week of the festival above.

If you'd like information, please send me a message. :)

May 30, 2020, 5:10 PM · The inside music academy for any violist looks to very worth It as James Dunham is arguably the best viola teacher currently in the USA