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Program Dates: July 2 – August 6, 2023
Arrival Date: July 2 | Departure Date: August 7
Application Fee: $80 
Deadline Extension - February 23, 2023, midnight EST


About the Manchester Music Festival Young Artists Program
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The Manchester Music Festival (MMF) Young Artists Program is a full scholarship, five-week intensive chamber music festival for string players and pianists, ages 18-26. Occurring annually every summer in scenic Manchester, Vermont, the 2023 Young Artists Program will take place from July 2 to August 6, 2023. Young Artists receive daily coaching sessions by a faculty composed of world-renowned artists in preparation for 10-12 public performances of full chamber works across the duration of the festival. During the fifth and final week of the program, the Young Artists will perform on tour within the region, playing highlights from the previous weeks for audiences in surrounding communities within southern Vermont.

The primary focus of the Young Artists Program is to intensively study and perform chamber music at a high level, and to benefit from the outstanding musical guidance that the illustrious artist faculty offers on a daily basis. During the course of the five-week program, students can expect to study several chamber masterworks, with ensemble sizes ranging from duos to octets in a range of repertoire spanning the centuries, from baroque to contemporary. Young Artists will also have the opportunity to perform in weekly public masterclasses and take private lessons with willing distinguished faculty members.


Each MMF Young Artist receives a scholarship that provides full tuition, free accommodations, and a $70 weekly stipend. Students are responsible for their own meals, and for travel to and from the Manchester area (accepted students will receive a transportation worksheet detailing all of the available low-cost options for travel to and from Manchester). All local transportation within Manchester will be provided, as needed.


Scholarships are made possible by the generous contributions of individual sponsors and endowments, and all of the Young Artists will have opportunities to interact socially with their patrons during their stay in Manchester.
2023 Faculty
Piano
Ran Dank
Adam Neiman
Jeewon Park
Orion Weiss

Violin
Brian Hong
Qing Hou
Hye-Jin Kim
Emily Daggett Smith
Axel Strauss

Viola
Ara Gregorian
Lawrence Neuman
Rimbo Wong

Cello
Edward Arron
Alexandr Hersh
Amit Peled
Astrid Schween


Required Audition Repertoire
STRINGS
  • The exposition of a concerto, or a whole concerto movement (live recording with orchestra or studio recording with piano accompaniment preferred),
  • At least one movement of a Bach suite, partita, or sonata
  • One other work or movement of the applicant’s choosing, e.g. a sonata movement (with piano preferred).
PIANO
  • One movement of a classical sonata, plus either
  • Option A: One virtuosic etude + short 19th-century work of the applicant’s choosing               -OR-
  • Option B: One substantial 19th-century work containing comparable virtuosity to Option A.

MMF is pleased to announce the appointment of Philip Setzer as Artistic Director, succeeding Adam Neiman. In addition to being a founding member of the renowned Emerson String Quartet, Setzer serves as Distinguished Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at SUNY-Stony Brook, Visiting Professor of Violin and Artistic Director of Strings at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Director of the Shouse Institute of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.  We look forward to welcoming Phil to Manchester this summer.

Please visit www.mmfvt.org for more information.
Please email any questions or concerns to Betsy Bleakie,
Executive Director of the Manchester Music Festival, at bbleakie@mmfvt.org.