Credo Festival at Oberlin

January 31, 2026, 10:54 AM · No, but I did attend the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute in June 2025, and the instructors were world-class musicians of baroque music, either professors at fine schools or recording artists of superb performances (and usually both). The students were of all ages but mostly young adults. I am an amateur who started 10 years ago and except for 4 years of lessons by great young baroque violinists, otherwise self-taught. So the skill level of virtually all students at Oberlin Baroque was much higher than me, some of them already quite amazing. Nonetheless, the culture was very warm and supportive. Altogether a great learning experience and very motivating to me every day since.

January 31, 2026, 6:48 PM · I know (religious) parents who have sent their kids, who enjoyed it. My teacher from my childhood, on the faculty of Wheaton College, taught there for many years. I have a passing acquaintance with two of this year's violin faculty members in the main Credo camp, both nice people.

Keep in mind that the religious element of this camp is sufficient for a non-religious kid to likely feel out of place.

Edited: January 31, 2026, 9:55 PM · My daughter is a sophomore at Oberlin but has not participated in this camp, mainly because she has been doing summer festivals elsewhere. I'd like to mention only that Oberlin is NOT a religious school overall. AI describes Oberlin as "A non-sectarian, highly progressive and secular liberal arts college defined by inclusivity, diversity, and social activism rather than a religious mission." More than half of the students there identify as LGBTQ+, which testifies to their reputation that queer kids can feel safe there. That's not the kind of statistic that one would associate with a place like Calvin College or Liberty University.

January 31, 2026, 10:23 PM · I think we discussed this at some point, but the director is one of my kid's intermittent teachers. I can put you in contact if you want. We are not at all Christian and he is not the type to push it at all, if that is a concern, though obviously we see him in a different context.

A young violinist from our studio attended last year. She's about a Book 6 Suzuki level, about 12yo. She had a very good experience. It was at a different site last year, though.

February 1, 2026, 12:02 AM · Thanks for the responses. The person who recommended the camp is a very devout Baptist, so I am aware of the religious component. We are Catholic, so the Christian aspect is fine with us.

I was more curious about the actual camp experience and playing level. The acceptance ages range from 13-23, so I am assuming that there must a wide variance in playing level, as well? There aren’t always planned evening programs, so there is a lot of independent free time.

Paul, since your dd attends there, what is campus safety and the surrounding area like? I know there are some campuses that I wouldn’t want a high schooler wandering around with friends at night, but than there others where I would be ok with it.

February 1, 2026, 3:50 AM · Oberlin is a small town in the middle of nowhere. I doubt that safety is a huge concern, unless there is a meth lab bringing in some dodgy commerce.
As for the camp, I am guessing that any camp or summer clinic there will be unconnected to the College or Conservatory. Lots of institutions rent out their facilities when their own students are on vacation.

Edited: February 1, 2026, 9:31 AM · Adding to what Paul and Stephen said, I have no concerns about my daughter’s safety at Oberlin. It is like the quintessential small college town, a beautiful town square surrounded by college buildings and a very small business district. There’s a Walmart and CVS and a gas station and the freeway to Cleveland a couple of miles away, and a lot of corn fields. I can see how some college kids would prefer a more urban experience, but as a parent I think this environment is ideal for focused undergraduate study.

The college is not in session in the summer, there are a few specialized classes, some limited research, and programs like these. So the calculation then might be a little different. And I have no experience with this program.

I’ve been pretty surprised at how toned down any progressive activism seems to be on campus. It’s part of the diverse DNA there but it’s not the focus. And the con folks may be more politically diverse on average than the college folks.

Serious music study itself is its own “religion” of sorts so I’m personally a little skeptical of a program that makes religion a central focus.

Edited: February 1, 2026, 9:49 AM · My understanding from the person who recommended the program is that it is more service focused than faith focused. That they play music in the community as service outreach. The recommender didn't have first hand knowledge, though. We were looking for a shorter camp that fit certain date restrictions and was chamber vs orchestra focused. That presented a more difficult challenge than we expected.

Thank you for describing the campus area. It sounds like a great campus.

February 1, 2026, 10:00 AM · There is a small and newer (4 years old) summer chamber program June 21-27 at Walnut Hill in suburban Boston. Lovely, safe campus. Person that runs it is a stellar human being.
https://www.walnuthillarts.org/summer/string-quartet-intensive

February 1, 2026, 10:19 AM · Matthew, that program might be a good option. We won't know if those dates will work until late March. It is shorter, though, 1 week vs. 2. I don't know enough about violin to compare the faculty and goals. For me, it is like throwing darts in the dark. (Both people, Susan being one of them, who are familiar with Credo know bc of the violist, Peter Slowik.)

February 1, 2026, 11:34 AM · It looks like there’s a 2-week Chamber Music Intensive program at Colburn that starts the week before the Walnut Hill program, https://colburnschool.edu/summer-music-camps-los-angeles/chamber-music-intensive/. Not sure how folks feel about sending their high school daughters off to downtown LA! :-)

February 1, 2026, 12:39 PM · I don't have anything to add to Stan's comments about the safety of the Oberlin campus.

I conduct undergraduate recruitment operations for my department at Virginia Tech. What I can tell you is that the regulatory atmosphere for programs that involve minors on campus without the presence of their parents is extremely strict. VT has an "office of youth protection" that helps organize and monitors all such activities. Any "drop off" type program associated with an academic institution that involves minors will have adult chaperones, RAs, "teen counselors" and the like, all of whom will have had at least some training on working with minors, and the programs are designed so that kids do not have any reason to be wandering around on their own. The principle of "in loco parentis" applies.

February 1, 2026, 1:02 PM · Dont assume the college, camp, or town are safe based solely on its location. I know it may be shocking, but college kids are known to take drugs. This is a serious risk, especially in a small town with fewer medical resources. The people who bring the drugs are not always students, and as you can imagine they can be dangerous. In addition to drugs, there are the dangers of sexual harassment and assault, which have been rampant in musical circles.

Small towns, and religious affiliation are not shields from these.

Be safe. Stay with others.

Edited: February 1, 2026, 6:04 PM · My daughter did another Oberlin summer program at age 14 and my son did the Cooper comp there (was there about 10 days or so) and I felt everything was extremely safe. It's in the middle of nowhere -- pretty hard to get in trouble! Also, my picky eater said meals were quite decent.

February 1, 2026, 8:55 PM · There is also a new Summer Chamber Program this year at NEC-
https://necmusic.edu/expanded-education/summer-programs/summer-chamber-music-young-artist-program/#faculty
Likely pretty competitive given the who's who faculty.