Instrumental Artist’s Intensive

IA Summer Winds 
The IA Summer Winds program is made up of Chamber Winds, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra (week 2 only), Chamber Music, Private Lessons, and Individual Performances. Symphonic Band is a large ensemble made up of specific wind, brass, percussion. Chamber Winds is a more intimate iteration of the Symphonic Band. The instrumentation of this group will vary depending on the literature selected. Symphony Orchestra (week 2 only) will give selected wind players an opportunity to rehearse and perform standard Orchestral repertoire. Students will participate in a multitude of technique-building activities in all of their ensembles which include daily full rehearsals, sectionals, and additional masterclasses in additional subjects like orchestral repertoire, conducting, and other topics. Both the Chamber Winds and the Symphonic Band will perform at the end of week 1. The Chamber Winds, Symphonic Band and the Symphony Orchestra will have spectacular culmination concerts at the end of the second week to showcase everything the students have accomplished.
All Wind Players will participate in the Symphonic Band.

All of the ensembles in the IA Summer Winds program focus on building the essential technical and musical skills specific to wind, brass, and percussion that create a solid foundation for a lifetime of performance, while continuing to build on the skills that the students are working on during the school year. This program is truly an immersive intensive with longer days focused on musical development. This gives students the opportunity to work intently with our distinguished faculty and implement the skills acquired in real time. The schedule is rigorous and fun, and is also designed to foster an experimental, collaborative environment for the students, with our curated mix of chamber coachings, rehearsals, masterclasses, performances and individual instruction.

IA Summer Strings
The IA Summer Strings program is made up of Symphony Orchestra, the IA String Chamber
Orchestra, a Chamber Music Intensive (including strings+piano), Individual Performances, and
Private Lessons. 

The Chamber Music Intensive happens in the first week and is open to Violin, Viola, Cello,
Bass, Piano, and Harp. The curriculum will include performance techniques, highlighting on-
stage interaction, body language and audience connection, and ensemble sight-reading.
Students will work deeply with their coaches to develop the necessary skills to collaborate in a
smaller ensemble, and understand the intricacies of rehearsing and performing together in this
format. 

The Chamber Orchestra, also in week one, builds on the chamber music program and
is a strings-only ensemble composed of violin, viola, cello, and bass. This group works
alongside the Chamber Music Intensive to deepen the collaborative skills that every string
player needs to excel in all levels of performance. The first week culminates in a performance
which may include the opportunity to perform as a full string ensemble without conductor to
highlight and bring together everything that the students have learned in both chamber music
and chamber orchestra over the first week. 

The Symphony Orchestra, which will also involve members of the IA Summer Winds track,
provides students with the exciting opportunity to develop and refine the skills needed to excel
both as a chamber musician and in a large orchestral setting. Students will participate in a
multitude of technique-building activities which include 2 daily full rehearsals during the second
week, sectionals, and additional masterclasses in additional subjects like orchestral repertoire,
conducting, and other topics. Students in the orchestra may have the unique opportunity to play
alongside seasoned professional orchestra musicians and faculty who will also serve as
coaches throughout the week. The Symphony Orchestra will have a spectacular culmination
concert at the end of the week to showcase everything the students have accomplished.

All of the ensembles in the IA Summer Strings program focus on building the essential technical
and musical skills specific to violin, viola, cello, and bass, that create a solid foundation for a
lifetime of performance, and continue to build on the skills that the students are working on
during the school year. The schedule is rigorous and fun, and is also designed to foster an
experimental, collaborative environment for the students, with our curated mix of chamber
coachings, rehearsals, masterclasses, performances and individual instruction. 

This program is truly an immersive intensive with longer days focused on musical development.
This gives students the opportunity to work intently with our distinguished faculty and implement
the skills acquired in real time.

Audition Instructions:
Complete an online Camper application through CampInTouch.
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.
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 after Feb.1 will be made on a rolling basis, so it’s a good idea to get auditions in early.

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.

Priority Audition Deadline: February 1, 2024
First round evaluation will take place shortly after this date. You will be notified of acceptance as soon as evaluations are complete. Auditions will be reviewed on a rolling basis after February 1. Please allow up to two weeks for a response to allow time for faculty evaluation.

Secondary Audition Deadline: April 15, 2024
The Honor Music Discount is reduced from $800 to $400 for a one-week program after April 15.

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:
Instrument availability
Audition requirements
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:
Log on to your CampInTouch account (parent’s account). Click on the yellow pencil icon to go to the Forms & Documents page. 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.

Idyllwild Arts cannot provide individual instruments or personal equipment with the exception of percussion and pianos/keyboards.

Please be sure to bring:

• Your personal instrument
• Extra strings, rosin, and other necessary accessories for your instrument
• Metronome
• Blank music staff paper
• Pencil
• (Hardcopies of music will be provided when you arrive)

Concert dress code is a white top and black bottom with black shoes/socks. Students can mix and match from this list as desired:

• White button-down shirt, white blouse, or all white formal shirt (no sleeveless tops)
• Black pants, or black skirt (below the knees)
• Black dress shoes and socks
• No ties, bowties, or suit jackets

2023 orchestra repertoire included:
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3
Antonín Dvořák: Festival March and selections from Slavonic Dances
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: incidental music from Othello
John Philip Sousa: The Stars and Stripes Forever
George Gershwin: selections arranged for orchestra
George Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches

Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Coordinator: Daniel Bassin
Wind Symphony and Ensemble Coordinator: Kevin Mayse
Additional Faculty TBD

Daniel Bassin is an active and experienced conductor, composer/improviser, trumpeter and educator. Hailing from Long Island, NY, and with musical roots in New York City, Boston, MA, and Buffalo, NY, Dr. Bassin is excited to begin his tenure as Director of Orchestras at Idyllwild Arts, beginning the 2022-2023 school year. Having previously served in orchestral conducting faculty positions at the State University of New York campuses of the University at Buffalo (UB) and Buffalo State College, Dr. Bassin has also had extensive experience working with choruses.
A passionate advocate of both the music of our time and neglected masterworks, Dr. Daniel Bassin has world-premiered more than 100 new compositions in concert and has presented over 50 rare classics in their regional first hearings. His performances have taken him to 38 countries and 42 American states. Featured numerous times in Buffalo’s ArtVoice Classical Music Notes column, reviewer Jan Jezioro writes Daniel “consistently programs some of the most innovative classical music in Western New York.” He received his initial training in Long Island public schools and at the Juilliard School’s Pre-College, followed by the New England Conservatory (B.M. with Honors in Composition), Bard College (M.F.A. in Orchestral Conducting), and in the spring of 2014 he was awarded the Ph.D. in Composition from the University at Buffalo.

Kevin Mayse is currently the Wind Ensemble Conductor and Department Chair of Music at Riverside City College. Mr. Mayse has been the conductor of the California Pops Band, The West Coast Pops Orchestra, The Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra, the Westminster Brass Ensemble and the Inland Empire Wind Symphony.  He has conducted numerous Musical Theatre Productions, Honor Bands and Honor Orchestras throughout Califormia, Hawaii, Arizona, and Nevada.  He is currently a clinician for the Disneyland Imagination Campus and is very active as a Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble clinician.

As a performer, Mr. Mayse has toured the United States and Japan with Keith Brion and the New Sousa Band, Vince DiMartino and the New Columbia Brass Band, and the California Gold Rush Band.  Mr. Mayse was one of the founding members of the Huis Ten Bosch brass ensemble in Nagaski, Japan.  Locally he has performed with Natalie Cole, Bob James, the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, and numerous groups at Disneyland including leading the Disneyland Fanfare Trumpets. 

Susan Willmering has been the instrumental music director of South Pointe Middle School in Diamond Bar since 2007. Under Ms. Willmering’s leadership, South Pointe’s bands continuously receive high praises at both local and national festivals. They have performed multiple times in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Chicago Symphony Hall and the Kennedy Center. South Pointe’s Wind Ensemble was also been selected to perform at the 2016 & 2022 California All-State Music Educator’s Conference. 

Ms. Willmering is an alumnus of both Riverside City College and California State University Fullerton where she graduated cum laude earning a degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Percussion Performance. For the past eight years, Susan has served as the Vice President of California Band Directors Association (CBDA), which runs the all-state honor groups and state music conference (CASMEC).  In the Spring of 2022, she was voted in as the Vice President of Middle School Education for Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). Prior to this, she served as a manager for the SCSBOA honor groups for sixteen years. In 2007, Ms. Willmering was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, a National Music Honor Society, exclusively dedicated to recognizing great music educators.  In 2017, Susan was humbly named South Pointe’s Teacher of the Year and the CMEA Southeastern Section’s Outstanding Music Educators.  In 2021, she was the recipient of the SCSBOA Gold Award.

Symphonic Band – a large ensemble made up of specific wind, brass, percussion, and occasionally some string instruments depending on repertoire. There are generally multiple students playing the same musical part. Symphonic Band music generally includes contemporary original wind compositions, concert marches, transcriptions of orchestral arrangements, and popular music.

Wind Ensemble – a more intimate iteration of the Symphonic Band with fewer members per section, requiring each student to work more independently alongside our professional teaching artists.

Symphony Orchestra – a large ensemble composed of strings, winds, brass, and percussion. A piano or harp is sometimes included depending on the composition. String parts use multiple players on each part, while the wind parts are generally a single musician on each part. Symphony orchestras are often 60+ members. Some common composers for an orchestra include Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler.

String Chamber Orchestra – a strings-only ensemble composed of violin, viola, cello, and bass.

Chamber Music Groups – originated as a small group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Chamber ensembles are open to Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Piano, and Harp playing together in small groups of 4 or 5 students. Students will be placed with peers of a similar experience level.