Greetings! I am new here and would love to get recommendations from those with kids who have participated in summer programs for music composition.
A little back story - my son is a HS junior and up until last year, he was interested in filmmaking as a major. He’s always loved many genres of music and dabbled with GarageBand, so it didn’t surprise me when he switched gears last year. He started playing the piano again after not touching it since he was about 9 years old. We put him in piano lessons and he has soared! He practices on his own about two hours every day and has composed a few songs.
He desires to be a Film/TV/Video game scorer. Fortunately, we live in MD, and he is able to take music composition lessons with a Peabody instructor. He started this summer and will continue until he graduates high school. He is currently working on his portfolio to apply for summer camps. Because he will be a senior next year, we are currently looking for a camp that he will be able to work on his portfolio for the college admission process.
This is where I need help! This is all new to me. He is the only musician in the family and because he just switched gears just last year, I have been absorbing all the information that I can to help guide him in this whole process. Obviously, he doesn’t have the experience as some others who have been playing an instrument since they were very young. But he is very passionate and teachable, and his piano instructor has mentioned how inspirational it is to see a teen as dedicated as he is to reach his goal. (His piano instructor also does some composing.)
From what I’ve read, I doubt he would get into a summer program as competitive as BUTI, but we were looking at others for him. Do any of you have experience with Interlochen? Walden? Any others that we should be looking at for music composition?
Walden School in Dublin NH would, I think, be perfect for him. It is inclusive and accepts all levels but is rigorous and provides connections to peers, well-known musicians and composers. It is 6 weeks and each student writes a 10-15 minute piece played by a world class ensemble. There are classes on many topics and fun things like hikes and dances.
Boston Conservatory has a summer intensive that is shorter, and also produces a piece(s) for a portfolio. Kids I know have loved it.
Brevard and Atlantic are two other really good programs for high schoolers.
When his interests settle come back for ideas on colleges!
Thank you! And I will definitely be back with more questions. I appreciate your time. I’ve read through quite a few music composition threads, and your responses have been helpful.
I had a look at both out of curiosity. Unfortunately, the Walden one has no costs listed anywhere. Is this a case of, “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it?”
It is expensive but they have financial aid and when my kid went, ASCAP scholarships. I am surprised no price is listed. You could call or email to find out.
Yellow Barn? I couldn’t find the tuition on the website, but I only took a quick look. I know a current composition major who did two summers there and thrived.
I second (or third) the vote for the 2-week program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. My student went there a few years ago and came out with three amazing portfolio pieces.
Definitely don’t let the cost deter you from applying. My son went to Brevard this past summer with merit that covered half the cost. Then, we put together a go fund me and asked family and friends for support which contributed half of the half we were responsible to pay. He had the experience of a lifetime and it definitely solidified his college goals.
My comp son attended Interlochen in the summer of '22 and had a fantastic experience! They were constantly writing and having performances, I think maybe every two weeks? Maybe every week? Then a final concert at the end (NOT Les Préludes). Plus, they had to work on recruiting other performance campers to play their pieces, which I understand is great experience for the “real world.”
He had other priorities this past summer which made it impossible for him to do any camp, but there were times he was really missing it as he stayed connected to all the comp campers via Discord. I do wish we had known about Walden because that sounds like an even better experience. However, it was only because of other posters here that I actually learned about it.
We looked at the cost of camp as an investment in that he was still trying to decide if he wanted to pursue music full time post high school or if he wanted to look into other majors, with music as a minor. We all agreed that his being immersed in composition and the music world for six weeks would help him make that decision and potentially save us money (and him frustration) if he chose the “wrong” path to pursue after high school, especially if he went to a conservatory. He came home knowing without a doubt that music comp was the way he wanted to go, and he truly would prefer a conservatory, though we are also looking at music programs within a larger university. Could he still change his mind at some point? Sure, but I think it is highly unlikely given how much he thrived and enjoyed being immersed in music. For him, there’s nothing else that compares, and going to camp confirmed that.
Before this, we had never participated in any of the school fundraisers because I always would rather just straight up donate money to a cause so they would get my full donation. My relatives and friends were so generous in helping! It was a great experience to see all the people who support his dreams.