<p>My son (high school junior) is interested in a summer composition program, and I've been reading about BUTI (Tanglewood), Interlochen, and Brevard. Does anybody have any read on how selective these programs are? Does one apply to several of them?</p>
<p>It's certainly best to apply to several.
I'm not sure about the relative selectivity of those composition programs (though generally, I would say BUTI is most selective, then Brevard, and then Interlochen.
Brevard's composition program is one of the strengths of that festival, and I would imagine it's quite selective as it is small and high quality. The three high school students there last summer were extremely strong, and one of them was the first composer ever to be named "Most Outstanding Young Artist" (Young Artist=high school) at Brevard.
I have tremendously fond memories of theory classes with the composition teacher for the BUTI students, Martin Amlin; a summer with him would be well spent.</p>
<p>Look at Yellow Barn and Aspen too; I know a high school composer who has attended them and enjoyed the experiences. He's won several awards for compositions. Looks like pretty tough competition, also because they accept only a few students. Yellow Barn took 2 last summer, I believe; I am referring to the jr. program, which is for high school age students and is a shorter program.</p>