Did anyone ever attend the program there? How difficult was it to get accepted? How good were the players? Thank you so much!!
Castleman is a competitive program. The older players are usually attending conservatoires and fine university programs. The younger players are generally headed off to conservatories or other music schools. Google: youtube Castleman Quartet Program audition. There is at least one cello audition that pops up for me.
I suspect you will have better luck looking at programs like Brevard or Eastern Music Festivals which are larger and have an orchestra emphasis. If you truly want practice programs, Aria is a good chance or there might be a possibility of Meadowmount. Please forgive me, I do not know your playing, but Saint Saens as a rising high school senior is not as advanced in the repertoire progression as many young cellists who will be auditioning for the most competitive programs. Also, many pre-college age students auditioning for the very competitive programs will have been studying with major cello teachers from conservatories and universities for years. Again, not to criticize you or your teacher, just trying to point out that it is a very competitive world out there. Please excuse me if I seem to be making assumptions about you that I have no right to make!
My daughter enjoyed the Castleman program several years back. Not sure how competitive admission was, but the quartets all sounded very professional at the final concert. The atmosphere was friendly and supportive.
It’s a great program–I threw it out there initially because you indicated that you wanted practice time and probably lessons. Some programs leave little time for individual practice because there are so many rehearsals. But Momofadult is right in that it’s competitive to get into (although, as stradmom says, the atmosphere is friendly and supportive) and most students there do plan to continue in music. The rep and teachers are excellent. I agree that Brevard or Eastern or Aria might be a better fit, depending on your level. Also check out Kinhaven and Greenwood for chamber music. Meadowmount sounds like it would be good, but admission there is also competitive.
@charlenepeng1 Killington Music Festival might also be worth taking a look at. It is very high quality but slightly less competitive that some of the others.
^^That’s one that I was trying to remember–good suggestion. Also maybe Colorado Music Festival?