2024 Dates and Times:

July 1 - 20
Rehearsals
Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturdays: 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Final concert
Saturday, July 20,2023

Placement:

Students are placed in chamber groups which consist of students with similar skill levels. String students should be at a minimum level of Suzuki Book 4 - 5. The Chamber Music camp requires a video submission for placement purposes for non-MYAC members.

Video Submission for placement required for Non-MYAC students. Submit an unlisted YouTube link on the registration form. Please record the following:

1) 2 major scales of your choosing, 3 octave preferred, 2 octave minimum

2) 2 contrasting pieces

Performance Opportunities:

Performance opportunities include three Chamber Music Soirees on Saturday mornings at MYAC Center. Additional performance opportunities at other venues may occur during the week.

Sample Daily Schedule (subject to change) :

9:00 - 10:00 am - Music Theory / Technique / Scales

10:00 - 11:00 am - Chamber Coachings 

11:00 - 12:00 am - Group rehearsal

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch 

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Chamber Coachings 

2:00 - 3:00 pm - Group rehearsal

3:00 - 4:00 pm - Performance / Master Class 

Faculty

Dr. Allan Dennis brings a rich heritage of experience and energy to the Midwest Young Artists Programs, with over a quarter a century of experience motivating, rehearsing and teaching young people. He is currently the Music Director of the Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra. Dennis has been recognized as the 2001 Music Director of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, as well as awarded the 2001 Heidi Castleman Award by Chamber Music America. The Castleman Award is given to one recipient from the United States in recognition for “excellence in chamber music teaching.”

He has studied at the internationally renowned Tanglewood Institute in Lennox (MA) in 2000 and in 1996, and was also chosen as both an Active Conductor at the Festival at Sandpoint (ID), and a Fellow at the Conductors’ Institute in South Carolina. Dennis also has extensive experience conducting musical shows, operas and ballets. His conducting teachers have included Gunther Schuller, Harold Farbermann, and David Effron.

Dr. Dennis received his doctorate, with distinction, from Indiana University in Bloomington, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Fredonia. He has studied at the Eastman School of Music and received a Performer’s Certificate from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp, Belgium.

Robert Bassill is the Director of the MYAC's Chamber Music Program and a member of the Chamber Faculty as well. Mr. Bassill is active as a teacher and freelance musician around the Chicago area. He is also the Director of Orchestra and Music Theory at Lake Forest High School where he has toured with his orchestra on three European tours, and his orchestras have accompanied soloists such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Tage Larsen and Patrick Godon. Mr. Bassill received his undergraduate degree in Violin Performance under Mark Zinger at DePaul University, and he holds a Master of Arts in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Bassill currently serves on the Board of Directors for International Chamber Artists, and an MYAC Alum ('97/violin), he is on MYAC's Young Professional Board.

Faculty in the previous years has also included

Desirée Ruhstrat
David Cunliffe
Paula Fischer
Lyudmila Lakisova
Jacob Murphy
Carrie North
Tatyana Stepanova

2024 Summer Tuition and Refund Policy

Tuition is $1575 for all 3 weeks of instruction.

Summer invoices will be sent out by June 1, 2024. Full payment is due two weeks before the program start date. Cancellations made prior to this date will be refunded minus the $100 non-refundable deposit. Cancellations after this date will not be refunded. There will be a 10% monthly fee for late payments.

For questions or further information, please contact us at (847) 926-9898, or email mya@mya.org.