Chamber Music for Winds

Program Dates

Saturday, June 7 – Saturday, July 22, 2025 (inclusive of travel)

Application Deadline 

February 10, 2025

Eligibility
  • Flute, oboe, clarinet, french horn, and bassoon players ages 14-24 OR currently enrolled full-time at a college, university, or conservatory
  • Pre-formed woodwind quintets are encouraged to apply

Program Description

Chamber Music for Winds is a two-week summer wind chamber music program on the retreat-like setting of Madeline Island. Students will have daily chamber music rehearsals and coaching, and private lessons with WindSync for the first week, along with Tara Helen O’Connor, Keisuke Ikuma, Alan Kay, Gina Cuffari, and David Byrd-Marrow for the second week. Performance opportunities, master classes, and faculty presentations round out an intensive study of woodwind chamber music repertoire.

Faculty

Ensembles-In-Residence
Wind Faculty
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Horn

Program Outline 

  • Daily 60-minute chamber music coachin
  • Daily scheduled chamber music rehearsals (2 hours)
  • Weekly 60-minute solo repertoire lessons
  • Weekly 30-minute chamber music repertoire lessons
  • Weekly public performances
  • Weekly master classes
  • Presentations and demonstrations by the faculty on topics such as arranging for wind ensembles, 21st century artistic life, and pathways to success
  • Community concert performances
  • Free tickets to faculty concerts
  • Weekly live streaming of performances
  • 4K video recordings of performances
  • Daily 60-minute chamber music coachin
  • Daily scheduled chamber music rehearsals (2 hours)
  • Weekly 60-minute solo repertoire lessons
  • Weekly 30-minute chamber music repertoire lessons
  • Weekly public performances
  • Weekly master classes
  • Presentations and demonstrations by the faculty on topics such as arranging for wind ensembles, 21st century artistic life, and pathways to success
  • Community concert performances
  • Free tickets to faculty concerts
  • Weekly live streaming of performances
  • 4K video recordings of performances

Costs and Financial Aid

Application Fee

Before December 15

  • $75 (individuals)
  • $110 (pre-formed ensemble)

After December 15

  • $125 (individuals)
  • $175 (pre-formed ensemble)

Application fee waivers can be requested directly through Acceptd. Follow this link for instructions on how to submit this request. Applicants who identify as BIPOC can apply for free through Equity Arc’s Common App for Summer Study.

Program fees

$4,000

Includes tuition, room and board, and meals. Participants are responsible for the cost of transportation to the program

Financial Assistance

Financial aid is granted to students according to demonstrated financial need. On average, scholarships cover 50% of program fees. To be eligible for financial aid, applicants must complete supplementary questions within the Acceptd application and submit relevant tax documents (if applicable).

of Madeline Island participants receive financial assistance

Before December 15

  • $75 (individuals)
  • $110 (pre-formed ensemble)

After December 15

  • $125 (individuals)
  • $175 (pre-formed ensemble)

$4,000

Includes tuition, room and board, and meals. Participants are responsible for the cost of transportation to the program

Financial aid is granted to students according to demonstrated financial need. On average, scholarships cover 50% of program fees. To be eligible for financial aid, applicants must complete supplementary questions within the Acceptd application and submit relevant tax documents (if applicable).

of Madeline Island participants receive financial assistance

Application Materials

Applications are submitted through Acceptd. Video auditions are required for all applicants and must be uploaded directly to your application prior to the submission deadline.

A letter of recommendation from your current private teacher or chamber music coach is required. You will need to provide your recommender’s email address in the application and we will contact them requesting an electronic letter.

Audition Requirements
Individuals
  • 5-8 minutes of solo repertoire consisting of two works contrasting in style and tempo (representative excerpts of longer movements are accepted)
  • One movement of a chamber music performance
  • Audition recordings may be with or without accompaniment
Audition Requirements
Pre-formed ensembles
  • Two complete movements of works contrasting in style and tempo

Individual members interested in individual consideration for admission to the program (if the quartet is not be able to attend as a group) must also submit the individual audition requirements.

Student Life

Campus

Our campus includes three cottages, which feature shared bathrooms, screened porches, lounges, laundry facilities, and kitchenettes. Rooms are shared between two to three students and equipped with shelving, two wardrobes, air conditioning, and floor board heat.

Madeline Island Chamber Music Student Housing Exterior
Housing

Students are assigned to rooms according to age and gender, with a counselor assigned to live and supervise each cottage. These counselors are on-call throughout the summer, assisting with everything from planning and leading recreational activities, administering medication, transporting students, and supporting our concert operations.

Madeline Island Chamber Music Student Housing Interior
Meals

Three meals are provided daily. Food is freshly prepared in the Mary Lange Center’s kitchen and served buffet-style. Dietary needs and food allergies can be accommodated.

Activities

Madeline Island Chamber Music offers various activities, including games and sports, crafts, kayaking and canoeing, hiking, bicycling, swimming, and other activities depending on student interest. None of these activities are mandatory. Madeline Island Chamber Music staff are present during all sponsored activities to promote student safety.

Getting to Madeline Island

Madeline Island Chamber Music offers transportation from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) to Madeline Island. This is a 4.5 hour drive, including a 25 minute ferry ride. Details are communicated upon acceptance to the program. Students and their families can also elect to drive to Madeline Island.

Madeline Island Chamber Music Student Housing Exterior
Campus

Our campus includes three cottages, which feature shared bathrooms, screened porches, lounges, laundry facilities, and kitchenettes. Rooms are shared between two to three students and equipped with shelving, two wardrobes, air conditioning, and floor board heat.

Madeline Island Chamber Music Student Housing Interior
Housing

Students are assigned to rooms according to age and gender, with a counselor assigned to live and supervise each cottage. These counselors are on-call throughout the summer, assisting with everything from planning and leading recreational activities, administering medication, transporting students, and supporting our concert operations.

Meals

Three meals are provided daily. Food is freshly prepared in the Mary Lange Center’s kitchen and served buffet-style. Dietary needs and food allergies can be accommodated.

Activities

Madeline Island Chamber Music offers various activities, including games and sports, crafts, kayaking and canoeing, hiking, bicycling, swimming, and other activities depending on student interest. None of these activities are mandatory. Madeline Island Chamber Music staff are present during all sponsored activities to promote student safety.

Getting to Madeline Island

Madeline Island Chamber Music offers transportation from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) to Madeline Island. This is a 4.5 hour drive, including a 25 minute ferry ride. Details are communicated upon acceptance to the program. Students and their families can also elect to drive to Madeline Island.

Sample Daily Schedule

Includes 2 hours of scheduled individual practice, 2 hours of scheduled chamber music rehearsal, and 1 hour of chamber music coaching

8:00 AM
Breakfast

8:50 AM – 12:10 PM
Rehearsals, coachings, private lessons, or individual practice

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch

1:20 PM – 3:30 PM
Rehearsals, coachings, private lessons, or individual practice

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Free time

6:00 PM – 6:45 PM
Dinner

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Faculty presentations, master classes, and performances