Established in 1985, Madeline Island Chamber Music began as a one-week camp for 20 high school musicians from Minneapolis/St. Paul to study chamber music with three faculty members from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 1994, the organization purchased a wooded ten-acre site that was developed into its current campus, which includes three student cottages; 21 solo and ensemble practice rooms; an administrative center that houses the student dining facility, music library, administrative offices, and box office; and The Clubhouse, our venue for weekly student and faculty performances.
Founded by Tom George, the program has evolved over the past 40-plus years, at times including wind chamber music in addition to strings and piano and ranging in duration from one to seven weeks. Its current six-week season, with three- and six-week sessions, enrolls 75 highly talented high school, college, and graduate school string and piano musicians from around the country. Over the years, our faculty has included nationally renowned ensembles such as the American String Quartet, Arianna String Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, Harlem Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, Prairie Winds, Shanghai Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Takács Quartet, Windscape, and WindSync.
Our students present more than 20 formal and informal concerts during the six-week season. Additionally, our ensembles-in-residence present weekly concerts. All concerts are open to the public and are held in various venues on Madeline Island and on the mainland in Bayfield. We also hold weekly master classes, young people’s concerts led by our students and aimed at grade-school-aged children, and other events that engage the community.
Originally named Madeline Island Music Camp, the organization changed its name to Madeline Island Chamber Music in 2016 to better reflect its programs and activities.
In 2020, Madeline Island Chamber Music joined forces with MacPhail Center for Music, allowing Madeline Island Chamber Music to continue its core programming on Madeline Island and expand its reach into the Twin Cities, and allowing MacPhail to expand its programming to the island after Madeline Island Chamber Music’s programs concluded each summer.
In 2026, after six years as a part of MacPhail Center for Music, Madeline Island Chamber Music returned to its roots as an independent nonprofit, with MacPhail transferring the property and program to a new 501(c)(3) organization that is stewarding the program going forward. Our nationally recognized program continues to attract some of the greatest talent from around the country, provide transformative experiences for young people, and engage with the community.