Description

The Young Artist Piano Camp is held on the campus of the University of Minnesota , Duluth on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior .    This 11 day residential summer camp is open to young pianists between the ages of 11 to 18 and offers an inspirational experience of extraordinary opportunities that encourage musical growth through private lessons, masterclasses, forums, discussions, musicianship classes, recitals/ concerts, and interactions with other students and teachers. This past summer, the camp partnered with the Sieur Du Luth Summer Arts Festival (SAF) to offer more exciting events and competitions for our young artists.

This eleven-day residential summer camp, now in its 17th successful year, brings together outstanding clinicians and a world class guest artist with talented young pianists from Minnesota and across the country.  Lifelong friendships are forged and students are motivated to achieve their best.   Now in residence at and in partnership with the University of Minnesota Duluth and their Sieur Du Luth Summer Arts Festival, the Young Artist Piano Camp features an exciting concerto competition, the winner of which will perform with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra during the week of camp, as well as, a Chamber Music Competition and a prestigious Honors Recital.

History

In the spring of 1990, Dr. Paul Wirth, Artistic Director of the Central Minnesota Music School, and Sister Cecelia Schmitt, Director of the St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls, MN collaborated on the birthing of a new summer camp in Minnesota.  Its goal was to provide an environment for pre-college aged classical pianists in Minnesota to learn more about their art and bond through their shared passion.  Little did they know how powerful the camp would become in its impact upon the “classical piano scene” in Minnesota.  The seventeen young artists that first year found in the camp not only a valuable week-long experience, but a year-after-year inspiration - a basis for their “piano community” which continues to this day. With the growth of the internet in the twenty-first century, piano campers quickly used the “web” to stay connected throughout the year, and a support community for these young artists soon evolved.  Standards of performance in the state began to rise as students motivated each other, and attendance at piano competitions increased exponentially as these young people cheered each other’s accomplishments (this, in stark contrast to the tension-filled impersonal competitions throughout the rest of the country).  Attendance at the St. Francis Piano Camp blossomed through the 90’s increasing to as many as 42, necessitating the addition of more clinicians, staff, and space. 

In the summer of 2003, with the good wishes of the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls who nourished and helped build the camp for 12 years, the St. Frances Piano Camp was moved to the University of Minnesota Duluth and renamed the Young Artist Piano Camp.  By partnering with UMD, whole new vistas opened up for the camp with the rise in student numbers to 60 (YAPC, UMD 2006) and the employment of an Artistic Director, Executive Director, 5 Clinicians, an internationally known Guest Artist and a staff of 4 counselors.  Programs also were expanded to include a Concerto Competition in partnership with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra and new ensemble opportunities for each student were incorporated.  Dr. Jeanne Doty, UMD faculty, served as a camp clinician for one year, and as Executive Director for two years, streamlining the camp into an updated computer mode of administration.

Pursuant to the institution of the Sieur Du Luth Summer Arts Festival (SDL SAF) founded in 2006 by Dr. Jack Bowman, Dean of Fine Arts at UMD, the Young Artist Piano Camp 2007 will be partnering with this exciting new festival.  New this summer will be a Chamber Music Competition, and an Honors Recital, given by select students of the camp to honor the SDL SAF donors and sponsors.  Campers will be attending SDL SAF events in the evenings and the duration of the camp will be extended to eleven days. 

Instructors

Our highly qualified clinicians have worked extensively with teenage pianists and have many award-winning students to their credit. The clinicians are in-residence at the camp and are available for conversations and sharing throughout the day. In addition, internationally acclaimed pianists perform recitals and offer masterclasses for selected campers.

Dr. Paul Wirth	Dr. Horacio Nuguid	Dr. Daniel Rieppel	Dr. Joseph Zins	Dr. Jo Anne Link

Introducing: Dr. Alexander Chernyshev - The latest addition to our faculty, Dr. Alexander Chernyshev, is the chair of the department at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where our camp is held.

Program

The 11-day camp offers students exposure to many topics related to classical music and, more specifically, piano performance.  Each young artist is assigned to a studio of one of the clinicians (other than their regular teacher) based on student requests.  Most of their coursework during the week will take place with this same group.  The curriculum is based on keyboard literature, composers, performance, and each student’s individual needs.  Through musicianship and studio classes, the students learn what it takes to become a dedicated classical pianist.  “Forum” offers an opportunity to learn about the camp’s featured composer through a competitive trivia type game that asks questions about the composer’s music and life and tests their listening abilities by playing “Name that Piece”.  Master classes are put on each day by a different clinician for students in a studio other than their own allowing each student exposure to at least two of the instructors at the camp.

The YAPC, specializes in providing students a chance to get to know teachers and other gifted and/or dedicated students.  Meeting and bonding with other musicians is powerfully motivating. Perhaps for the first time in their lives, students will be able to have a common musical experience with others on their level.  They leave the UMD campus not only with increased excitement and commitment to piano, but also with new friends who will encourage their love for the instrument. The energy, passion, and friendships found here is what draws many campers back year after year.  The Young Artist Piano Camp has become the foremost camp of its type in Minnesota.

Four competitions, held at the beginning of camp decide:  the Honors Recital Competition winners, to perform in the Honors Recital featuring four of the camp's finest performers,  the Guest Artist Masterclass Competition winners to participate in the Guest Artist Masterclass, the Concerto Competition winner to perform with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, and the Chamber Music Competition winners to perform with the international artist performers of the Northern Lights Music Festival in a Sieur du Luth Summer Arts Festival, Chamber Music Concert.  The University of Minnesota Duluth campus, overlooking scenic Lake Superior, boasts large facilities, numerous practice rooms, and the nationally acclaimed Weber Music Hall, designed by renowned architect, Cesar Pelli.

For complete information on the Young Artist Piano Camp, you may download our brochure (pdf)

 

This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from the Minnesota State Arts Board, General Mills Foundation, and Land O’Lakes Foundation.