For a conservatory bound high school musician, which place would have a higher quality of playing for strings? Interlochen, Kinhaven, Brevard, PIMF?
age of child?
16 years old
S attended PIMF for the orchestra program at 14 (before 10th grade). It was fine and the lessons with the philadelphia symphony member was great. But the level was otherwise not as high as any of the other programs.
1 Like
These are four very different programs. I am assuming that the student has been accepted to these four and has to choose between them. From a conservatory standpoint, they are all solid programs. Two of these are very much orchestra programs (Interlochen and Brevard), unless you mean one of the Interlochen intensives. Interlochen is pretty high level, but not as high as BUTI or NYO or the practicing camps like Heifetz or Meadowmount. The level at Brevard is overall higher because you also have college students there, though within the high school program itself it is only moderately high.
Kinhaven has a wider variety of programming with a bigger focus on chamber music. The level is moderately high for strings…if you Google you can watch last year’s performances. PIMF is very spotty; you often get a few really good players but the range is quite wide. Depending on which session, it can be more orchestra, chamber, or solo, with the better players in the solo and chamber programs. I think they also have videos online you can watch to assess level.
1 Like
People LOVE Kinhaven. Aside from the high musical level, it has all the fun elements of summer camp, with lots of wacky traditions, plus the food is excellent. My kid did two junior sessions, and I think two senior sessions, before Covid killed it temporarily. There is a large symphony ensemble, plus chamber groups (which certainly can group together the highest level players), plus vocal ensembles. My kid isn’t on strings, and was very strong on their instrument, but felt that Kinhaven was incredibly valuable, not only because of the individual teacher and the ensembles, but also because of the fun atmosphere. It was where they first met up with the other Classical music “aliens”, where they first felt totally understood for who they were. For my kid, the time at Kinhaven was just pure joy.
2 Likes
What does moderately high mean for strings? We are about to decline Interlochen and Brevard for Kinhaven because he likes chamber. At a high school level, would you say Kinhaven level is lower than other two? Would you decline Brevard and Interlochen for Kinhaven?
I think if he like chamber, I would definitely pick Kinhaven over the others. There is some chamber music at Brevard and Interlochen, but the focus in those programs is definitely more orchestra.
As for level, I would probably break it down like this (though I’m leaving out a lot of programs):
Top level: Heifetz, Meadowmount, etc.
Next level: BUTI, NYO
Third level: Interlochen, Brevard, Kinhaven
My best suggestion is to watch videos from each program.
1 Like
NYO is purely orchestra, right?
And Meadowmount more practice. I don’t think mine is interested in either of those set ups. For the sake of future years, what would be more like Kinhaven? Bowdoin? Castleman quartet?
It might help if you gave a bit more info about the student, such as instrument and current repertoire. But generally, the more well-regarded chamber-music oriented programs off the top of my head include Bowdoin, Heifetz, Green Mountain, Center Stage Strings, Morningside Music Bridge, Perlman, and Yellow Barn. Some of these are ridiculously competitive, some are more a combo of chamber/practice, some are very intense.
1 Like
Thank you for the breakdown. Where you would you place Bowdoin, Aspen, Perlman?
I’ve heard about ENCORE in Cleveland. My impression is the students work in quartets and there are more college students than high schoolers.
Perlman is extremely competitive, especially for violin. Everybody is extremely high level.
Bowdoin you need to be good but not necessarily amazing. Bowdoin is tricky for some younger kids because there is really zero structure to the day. Some thrive in that situation; others spend all day walking around town or staying up late and sleeping all day. A lot of kids end up at Bowdoin because their teacher teaches there, so that drives a lot of who gets accepted.
Aspen is a bit tricky because they recently changed the program for those under 18. You can’t live on campus unless you are 18 or over, so it has become a very different experience for those under 18. For the adults, it is a lot of orchestra along with some chamber music. Younger kids are not guaranteed a chamber group (but often have one) and don’t play in orchestra. So basically younger kids live with mom or dad off campus and come in just for lessons and masterclasses and concerts. As a result, it doesn’t have the feel of a camp. I wouldn’t recommend it for under 18 unless you are going to study with a specific teacher. I would say it is competitive, but not ridiculously so.