Walden is very well-suited to younger students and, again, introduces some new perspectives.
Depending upon instrument and ability, kinhaven does sometimes place rising 8th graders into their higher level camp. They had full orchestra performances plus chamber group performances every week, in addition to a choral performance. I would agree that their 2 week junior session is at a lower level. My high level kid still loved both levels, did junior twice, then senior twice, until pandemic hit. Kinhaven was both intensive music and fun camp with all sorts of great camp traditions. It was a place where they could be totally themselves, with peers who understood each other, due to their shared love of music.
1 Like
And OPs child will be a rising 9th grader next summer.
and if op is interested Kinhaven does live stream their concerts so he/she can see the level. There is a concert today at 4pm and sunday at 230, they have been having issues due to the weather so they have not been able to record all of the concerts but in general the videos are archived.
1 Like
There is also Green Mountain but I don’t know any details.
I was told Tanglewood really prefers older kids.
Kinhaven is really wonderful and a great way to spend a summer both musically and recreationally.
1 Like
Thanks, great tip on the bios of that show!
This is such a hard thing to find and what she is really enjoying about camp this summer!
Thank you so much! She’ll be 14 by next summer, fyi. I spoke with one of her former piano teachers a few days ago who has a student that just did Tanglewood (piano) and loved it. It might be a good fit for her as she does both piano and violin.
She does need something high level. She’s pretty mature but I’m not sure I’d be okay to have her to do a sleep away by next summer, at least not on her own. We’d probably travel to be in the area while she was doing that. Which is fine, fun summer vacation for us 
I appreciate these answers so much, thank you everyone!
I believe the list given above by TwoManyViolinists is string oriented which is fine. Can anyone tell me if any of those camps would also be good for a piano student and if none of them, which ones are? I know Tanglewood is more focused on the orchestra but apparently their summer piano is pretty good two. The camp we’re doing this summer allowed her to do 2 weeks on piano, 2 weeks violin which really worked out great. She definitely wants to do both instruments next summer and getting it all done in one area would be ideal.
I think I mentioned Eastern Music Festival. When my kid was there, they had a fabulous piano program (my kid did orchestra, but he attended a number of piano recitals and said they were amazing). You will have to check to see if this is still a thing at EMF, as my kid was there a while ago. If it is…well worth considering.
1 Like
Brevard has a piano institute.
Thanks, will do!
If your child is going ti be entering 9th, she is more than old enough to go by herself to a camp geared towards her age. My kids went to sleep away by age 9.
3 Likes
Many programs (BUTI and Tanglewood for example) offer shorter intensives or workshops specific to the instrument. These are 1-2 weeks in duration. Not sure if they run concurrently, so she may or may not be able to do piano/violin at one location. Then there is usually a long session of around 6 weeks which is ensemble based. Many students combine with a 2 week program followed by a 6 week program which ends up being most of the summer.
I agree with @parentologist that 14 is generally a great age to be away at camp. But every kid and family is unique. My advice is to have her be there without family nearby if at all possible. Maybe choose a shorter duration program, but let her be on her own. These programs are wonderfully immersive, most times kids do not have access to their phones, so that they can really grow as musicians and young people together. They are also so busy, that they would not have time to spend with family and in my opinion it pulls them back and forth between two worlds.
Just my suggestion. 
3 Likes
Totally agree that she is more than old enough to be away. My nieces and nephews started 7 weeks of sleep away at 8 and 9.
BUTI intensives (2 week programs) run simultaneously at the beginning of the summer followed by the young artists programs. She may be able to do programs like kinhaven and Greenwood on both instruments but they are completely unplugged and the kids all share 1 phone so no parental contact except for the weekend concerts.
I am wrong. The piano intensive is 6 weeks and runs at the same time as the young artists programs.
Son of a friend just finished 3-week BUTI session for piano. He is a rising HS sophomore, I think. He attended Brevard last summer, and liked BUTI better (didn’t say why though).
1 Like
It is really tough to go on two instruments to high level programs unless you do two separate intensives at the same program that are separate weeks (like BUTI or Interlochen). This past year, my daughter was playing both violin and viola (she’s since decided to just do viola) and we even had trouble with programs being willing to accommodate that. Kinhaven takes a small number of pianists and might be flexible about doing both. Morningside has a piano program, but she would have to choose one or the other there. The others are more or less just strings, with the exception of collaborative piano. Having experience with Center Stage Strings, they probably would be fine with someone who wanted to play piano in a chamber group, but there wouldn’t be a piano teacher there.
Music at Menlo is one that takes both strings and piano and is very high level. They didn’t use to offer housing, so we had not considered it in the past, but I know several high level kids going this year.
1 Like
Kinhaven had my child play two very different instruments until high school, when they dropped one. I think they were happy to have the availability for doubling on that 2nd instrument.
1 Like
Our “kids” are older - professionals in their 30s.
When they were going up, Indiana String Academy and Indiana Piano Academy were to be considered for younger advanced students. Private lessons, chamber for violin, duet for piano, master classes, etc. None of ours went, they followed their private home teachers to summer festivals, but other students “ours” played with during the year attended once or twice.
Maybe @TooManyViolinists knows if this is still attracting a good group of advanced students of the age of the OP’s daughter?
Meadowmount takes violinists of the OP’s D’s age if her violin level is high enough. Heavy duty practice! Also chamber.
1 Like
That’s something I think every family should decide for themselves