Piano Performance Intensive

We ask that all students submit an audition video, regardless of participation in past programs. The video helps our faculty and staff plan and prepare for group assignments, class schedules, private lesson schedules and much more for the music programs. 

Rolling Audition Deadline: There is no audition deadline. 

Acceptance will be made on a rolling basis until the program is full, so it’s a good idea to submit audition materials early. Auditions for this program are normally reviewed every few weeks. Applicants are encouraged to register and audition as early as possible. 

Audition Details

Audition material can be submitted in video or audio recording form. Performance tempos and repertoire selections should highlight the student’s ability to play accurately and overall musicianship.

Pianists:

Two solos of your choice that demonstrates interpretive skills in both slow and fast passages

Audition Instructions: 

1. Complete an online Camper application. Make sure to submit the application.  
2. Once you have completed the Camper Application, your application will be reviewed within 5 days by a member of the Enrollment team. At this time, you will be charged the $50 application fee and receive an email with a link to the Submittable audition application for you to submit your audition. 
3. Complete the Submittable application and provide an email address for your teacher recommendation form within Submittable. 

We use the platform Submittable to receive all auditions for the Summer Program (a universal  platform utilized for exhibitions, contests and even university and job applications).  It is very easy to use. You will be prompted to set up a free Submittable account with your email. This account can be used for any future open calls you apply to at Idyllwild Arts and beyond!

Acceptance for most auditioned intensives will be made on a rolling basis, so it’s a good idea to get auditions in early. 

Honor Music Group Verification Instructions:

1. Log on to your CampInTouch account (parent’s account*).
2. Click on the yellow pencil icon to go to the Forms & Documents page. 
3. You will then need to complete the following forms:

• Honor Music Group Verification Form** (if applicable):
  Upload a document in PDF format verifying your membership in an All-State or Honor ensemble using the Upload Honor Music Group Verification by clicking in the arrow on the right-hand side of the form.

See Audition Requirements above for intensive-specific audition video/audio requirements and details.

*Forms & Documents are only available on the parent’s CampInTouch account, not the camper’s account.

** Detailed instructions for uploading PDF documents are available on your CampInTouch account.

If you have any questions, we would be happy to help! Contact the Summer Registration Office by email at summer@idyllwildarts.org or by phone at (951) 468-7265.

Plan to bring at least four previously learned pieces, including one that is at performance level. You must be playing repertoire with a level of difficulty comparable to any Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach, any sonata by Mozart or Beethoven, or any nocturne, ballade or scherzo by Chopin.

Piano Performance Intensive Required Attire

Concert clothing is dressy casual. 

Honors Music Discounts

Music students who participate in regional, state and national honor groups qualify for a discount of $1,200 for a two-week program and $600 for a one-week music program. After April 15, the Honor Discount is reduced to $800 for a two-week program and $400 for a one-week program so get your auditions in early! Additional financial aid based on financial need is available.

Enrollment Process for Honor Discount:

• Fill out the online application using the Register Now button on our website. 
• In the application, we ask if your child is in an honor group or band. 
  • Please fill in the Honor band questions when prompted in the application. 
• You will not see the deduction for the Honor Music discount when you get to the payment page  – as this is a discount, it must be manually applied by a member of the registration team. 
• When you submit your application, your card will not be charged immediately, as music students’ applications need to be reviewed for:
  • Space availability
  • Audition requirements (if applicable for the program)
  • Honor Music Group verification – we ask that you provide verification that your child is part of the Honor group you listed in the application. 
• Once we receive the application, we will review it within a week and:
  • Send you email instructions for verifying Honor group participation
  • Send you email instructions for completing the audition
• After the audition is reviewed and your child is accepted, we will manually enroll your child and apply the Honor Discount.

To verify your child’s participation in an Honor Ensemble:

1. Log on to your CampInTouch account (parent’s account*).
2. Click on the yellow pencil icon to go to the Forms & Documents page. 
3. You will then need to complete the following forms:

• Honor Music Group Verification Form**:
  Upload a document in PDF format verifying your membership in an All-State or Honor ensemble using the Upload Honor Music Group Verification by clicking in the arrow on the right-hand side of the form. (Examples of verification include a concert program, acceptance letter, or participation certificate.)

*Forms & Documents are only available on the parent’s CampInTouch account, not the camper’s account.

** Detailed instructions for uploading PDF documents are available on your CampInTouch account.

If you have any questions, we would be happy to help! Contact the Summer Registration Office by email at summer@idyllwildarts.org or by phone at (951) 468-7265.

Piano Performance Intensive: Piano Performance Intensive students are pianists who seek a concentrated experience for two weeks, in which they can focus exclusively on their own piano practice, study, and collaboration. They need to come in with four solo pieces that they are currently studying, with one of them far enough along to be able to be performed from memory at the end of the program. They each also will be assigned at least one 4-hand piano duet (or sometimes a 6-hand piano trio!) at the beginning of the program, which they will learn and also perform at the end of the program.  A typical day includes a private lesson on either their solo or duet music, a group class with critique from the teachers and fellow students, or some other group activity, and multiple hours of practice time. They will be expected to be disciplined enough to practice 4-6 hours on their own each day, including rehearsal time with their partner(s). During the second week, Piano Performance Intensive students also typically play in a class for the Children’s Piano Workshop students. By the end of the two-week program, the culmination concert demonstrates how students will have transformed their artistry and technique to a much higher level, through this concentrated study of their instrument.

Pianist Douglas Ashcraft has performed to acclaim in recitals and concerts throughout the United States and in Europe. A winner of prizes in many competitions, he began his formal training as a student of AldoMancinelli. Masters and doctoral degrees followed at the University of Southern California where he worked with pianist John Perry. During those summers he participated in classes at the Aspen Music Festival and the Holland Music Sessions in Alkmaar, Netherlands as a student of pianists John O’Conor, Marie Francoise Bucquet, and Gyorgy Sandor. As a result of his participation in the Holland Music Sessions he was invited to perform in a recital at Amsterdam’s famed Concertgebouw.

In addition to his solo work Douglas Ashcraft is an active chamber musician and has performed in recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall, AliceTully Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Jacqueline Du Pre Hall at Oxford University in England. Dr. Ashcraft’s performing career has included radio broadcasts on NewYork’s WQXR and live chamber music recitals on KKGO, KMZT and KUSC in Los Angeles, and BBC Radio 3 in London.

Antoinette Perry served on the UCLA piano faculty for 12 years before joining the faculty of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in 1996, where she currently teaches. Born into a family of professional musicians, she gave her first public performance at the age of 4. Since then she has concertized extensively throughout the United States, Germany, France, England, and in over 15 cities of the People’s Republic of China. She has been heard often on NPR and the Bravo! Channel, and has recorded for the Crystal, Harmonie, Pacific Rainbow, Pacific Serenades, Excelsior, and Navona labels. Her first solo album, BEETHOVEN BOOKENDS, was released under Navona Records in 2021.