CSMA’s summer music program stands out because of its extraordinary faculty: distinguished guest artists and members of nationally renowned orchestras.

Students participate in masterclasses, recitals and chamber music ensembles. The program provides ample opportunities to perform in public, honing professionalism, developing leadership skills and building self-confidence.

CSMA Summer Music Institute at Tateuchi Hall

Music at Tateuchi

Launched in 2017, Music at Tateuchi provides an ideal environment for fostering young musical talent and focuses on providing students access to high-quality training with music professionals at the top of their field.

Read more about the program in a recent feature article from the Los Altos Town Crier, “Musical Mentoring: CSMA Summer Workshop Accelerates the Learning Curve.

Highlights of the program include:

  • Intended for emerging musicians aged 10-18.
  • Masterclasses exploring solo repertoire with world-renowned faculty.
  • One-on-one coaching sessions with faculty.
  • An in-depth and rigorous chamber music program.
  • Daily informal performance opportunities allowing students to hone their performance skills and become more comfortable on stage.
  • Formal performance opportunities for both solo and chamber music repertoire.
  • In-depth coaching on solo repertoire with staff collaborative pianists.
  • Lectures and group classes on performance, practicing effectively, and more.

Tuition & Dates

Program Dates

July 14-27, 2024

Application due April 30, 2024

Program Tuition

$2,150

Faculty

Dawn Harms (Artistic Director): Dawn Harms' diverse career ranges from being a chamber musician, violin soloist, and concertmaster, to being a music director and conductor. She is a first violinist in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster for the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and Co-Concertmaster with the Oakland Symphony. She also records regularly at Skywalker Studios for movies and video games. She teaches at Stanford University, and is the conductor of the pre-college string orchestra at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Dawn is in her eleventh season as Music Director and conductor of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. Harms was chosen as a Fellow at the exclusive American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, and has gone on to conduct the San Francisco opera orchestra, and regularly conducts as a clinician for high school honor string orchestras around the US. A strong advocate for music education, Dawn has designed her own family show and has performed it throughout the United States, New Zealand, Japan. She has performed chamber music with Lynn Harrell, Jake Heggie, Frederica von Stadt, and Nadja Solerno Sonnenberg. Dawn plays on her cousin Tom Waits' CDs "Alice," "Blood Money, and Bad Is Me. Dawn also has two solo CD's, "The Black Swan" and "The Hot Canary" that can be found on Spotify and www.dawnharms.com.

Evan Kahn (cello): holds principal positions in four orchestras — New Century Chamber Orchestra, Symphony San Jose, Opera San Jose, and the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. Dedicated to the orchestral craft, he has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, LA Opera, San Francisco Symphony, and as acting principal cellist with the Britt Music and Arts Festival. He’s been named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month, served as Artist-in-Residence with Performance Today at NPR, and is currently resident cellist for a number of Bay Area small ensembles, including Ninth Planet, After Everything, and the Farallon Quintet. Evan has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, performing in the Aspen Philharmonic, as well as the Taos School of Music’s Cactus Pear Music Festival, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar, where he served as principal cellist. He received a Master’s in Chamber Music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University.

Robin Mayforth (viola, violin) has served as concertmaster of Symphony San Jose (then Symphony Silicon Valley) since its founding in 2002. Robin moved to the Bay Area in 1997 and became concertmaster of the San Jose Symphony in 1998. She has also served as concertmaster of Ballet San Jose, Arizona Musicfest Orchestra and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. A chamber music lover, Robin was a founding member of the Lark Quartet with whom she performed and traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, Russia and Australia from 1986 to 1993. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Robin received her BM and MM Degrees from the Juilliard School of Music where she studied with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang and Paul Kantor.

Axel Schmitt CSMA Music Teacher

Dr. Axel Schmitt, piano, earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles; a Master of Music from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles.

In April 2004, Axel Schmitt was the piano soloist in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra. In the same year, he was invited to perform with the Grammy-winning Southwest Chamber-Music. His final doctoral recital at UCLA, which was announced as a featured recommendation in the LA Times, received a standing ovation from the audience. The program included Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Don Juan Fantasy, which is the subject of his doctoral dissertation. In 2007, he performed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto “Emperor” in Germany for a sold-out audience and received rave reviews from the press. In the same year, the United States government declared him an artist of extraordinary ability and granted him permanent residency.

At CSMA, he has performed solo and chamber-music in Tateuchi Hall to sold-out audiences. Axel Schmitt has participated in numerous international piano master-classes of Natalia Antonova, Dimitri Bashkirov, Sergei Dorensky, Elza Kolodin, Vitaly Margulis, Victor Merzhanov and others. Besides his solo activities, he has performed as an accompanist of singers, instrumentalists, and choirs. His extensive repertoire reaches from Bach to the 21st century and displays a special affinity for the music of Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt.

Sample Schedule

Daily Institute Schedule

9:00-10:00am – Private Lessons with Institute Faculty

10:00am-11:50am – Morning Performance Classes: (Masterclasses, Chamber Ensemble Coaching, Rehearsals with Accompanists)

12:00-1:00pm – Lunch Break

1:00-2:50pm – Afternoon Performance Classes

3:00-4:00pm – Institute Forum: Informal Performances and Lectures on Special Topics

Concert Schedule

Formal Student Concerts:

Friday, July 19, 6:30 pm
Saturday, July 20, 2:00 pm
Friday, July 26, 6:30 pm
Saturday, July 27, 2:00 pm
 

Faculty Concert:

Wednesday, July 24, 6:30 pm

Application Process

Applications are now open! Deadline is April 30, 2024. 

 

Step 1

Complete the application and submit your audition video.

Step 2

Pay the application fee by registering through CSMA’s online portal.  Applications will be considered incomplete until the application fee is received.

Step 3

Once the application and audition video have been reviewed students will be notified of their audition results by email.

Upon acceptance, applicants will receive registration instructions.

Accepted students are expected to participate for the full two-week period without absences.

FAQs

Violin, viola, cello and piano students are welcome to apply.

Students can expect to fill their days with rigorous practice, master classes, lessons with master teachers, performances and chamber music, all while collaborating with other accomplished, pre-collegiate young musicians. The institute is designed as an introductory conservatory experience to encourage students to challenge themselves to perform at a higher level.

The application includes submission of a video of no less than 5 minutes and longer than 10 minutes containing excerpts from the required list below.  Please complete the application here.  The application deadline is April 30, 2024.

Required Audition Repertoire:

All applicants must submit a video recording which includes:

  • Violin: Two stylistically contrasting solos, one of which must be a movement from any Sonata or Partita for Violin Solo by J.S. Bach
  • Cello/Viola: Two stylistically contrasting solos, one of which must be a movement from any of the six suites for Cello/Viola Solo by J.S. Bach
  • Piano: One selection from the Baroque or Classical Period and one selection from the Romantic Period or later

Masterclasses and performance forums will give students the opportunity to perform solo pieces, and when appropriate, chamber music. The program will also conclude with a formal student recital.

About the Director:

Chaz Fautch, Program Director, is the current Music School Director of CSMA where in addition to the Summer Institute at Tateuchi Hall, he directs the Merit Scholars program, private lesson program, and Music School classes while overseeing the school’s faculty community. In addition to his time as Director, he has performed as a pianist throughout the US and Europe, studied at The Juilliard School, and taught for more than twenty-five years with students winning prestigious competitions and performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall. Prior to CSMA, Mr Fautch has served as Executive Director for Passport to the Arts, a community concert and art exhibition program, Dean of Music Education, and served in leadership roles of several nonprofit boards.