Summer is a time for exploring, and for young musicians that can mean settling under the pines to discover Beethoven or hanging out learning composition in a storied San Francisco performance venue. No matter the age of the child, which instrument, or what level he or she plays, the Bay Area is full of enriching opportunities.
This week we focus on classical and jazz camps. Next week, we will look at the rising popularity of rock ’n’ roll camps.
Residence Camps
Cazadero Music Camp
One of the most popular residence (or “sleep away”) camps for young musicians in Northern California is Cazadero Music Camp, affectionately called “Caz.” Besides all the fun of roasting marshmallows and sleeping in tents, the campers learn music and participate in large ensembles, classical guitar, or piano. The faculty draws from area colleges and secondary schools.
- Ages: Grades 5–12
- Dates: Four sessions, beginning June 18, depending on age
- Location: Russian River area
- Audition: Written recommendation from school music teacher; children audition at camp for ensemble placement
- Cost: $1,590 per two-week session, including room and board ($795 for one week)
- Registration deadline: May 1
- Contact: (510) 527-7500
Hayward–La Honda Music Camp
The 49-year-old Hayward–La Honda Music Camp is still going strong under the pine trees in La Honda. The eight-day camp packs a lot into its week, including four bands, a full orchestra with winds, small chamber ensembles that perform during meals for each other, jazz band and jazz piano, an all-camp choir, and electives like Celtic dance, art, sports, and horseback riding. Faculty members are professionals from Los Angeles, area educators, and graduate students.
- Ages: Grades 6–12
- Dates: July 28–Aug. 4
- Location: La Honda YMCA Camp Jones Gulch
- Cost: $685 by May 1; $725 after. Scholarships and sibling discounts available
- Registration deadline: May 1 (discount for early online payment)
- Contact: (510) 537-4871
Stanford Jazz Workshop
Located on the Stanford campus, this fun jazz workshop for teenagers provides a warm environment in which to explore jazz improvisation. Note that new students will be asked to send in an audition recording. Faculty includes college instructors and professional musicians.
- Ages: 12–17
- Dates: July 15–20 and July 22 –27
- Location: Braun Music Center and Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University (campers stay in dormitories)
- Cost: $1,915 per week, including housing and meals (scholarships available; applications are due by April 1)
- Registration deadline: Ongoing
- Contact: (650) 736-0324
Day Camps
Camp CMC
Run through the San Francisco Community Music Center, Camp CMC is a weeklong summer camp offering kids the chance to play and perform with other musicians. Activities alternate between chamber groups, ensembles, theory, and musicianship, and cover a variety of different styles, from classical to Latin. Students will be grouped in ensembles by instrument and level. Campers share their work at the end of the week in an informal performance.
- Ages: 9–14
- Dates/Times: June 18–22, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: Mission District Branch of SFCMC, 544 Capp St., San Francisco
- Cost: $335
- Prerequisites: Minimum two years of study on an instrument and concurrent enrollment in private lessons (not necessarily at CMC)
- Application deadline: June 1
- Contact: (415) 647-6015
The Crowden School
This renowned East Bay music school offers different programs for kids as young as 5 and as old as 22, including musical discovery, Suzuki violin training, chamber music workshops, orchestra, and composition. Teens and young adults might be particularly interested in the John Adams Young Composers program: “Beyond Acoustic Music.”
- Ages: 3 to adult
- Dates/Times: Varies throughout the summer. See website for specific programs. After care available.
- Location: Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St., Berkeley
- Cost: Varies, an average of $330 per week
- Audition: Some programs require auditions. See website for details
- Registration deadlines: Dates vary, but financial aid deadline is April 30
- Contact: (510) 559-2941
Fiddlekids
What used to be one of the East Bay’s best-kept secrets is now gaining in popularity. In this unique program run through Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, violin students learn composition, harmony, and improvisation in a fun and practical manner that emphasizes ear training. In addition, Fiddlekids offers art and dance classes in small, age-based groups that provide enrichment and thematic connections with the music. The camp will culminate with a performance on the Freight & Salvage stage on Sat., June 23.
- Ages: 7–14
- Dates/Times: June 18–22, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
- Location: Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley
- Cost: $520 ($480 if paid in full by April 13)
- Audition: At least one year of playing experience required
- Registration deadline: Ongoing
- Contact: (510) 859-1127; [email protected]
The JazzSchool Summer Youth Program
Berkeley’s JazzSchool Summer Youth Program offers two five-day programs for beginning, intermediate, and advanced instrumentalists entering grades 7 through 10. Each student plays in big bands and small ensembles each day. Students also take private lessons and attend in-house concerts and workshops presented by a range of top performers from around the Bay Area and beyond. There’s also an all-girls camp and an intensive jazz camp.
- Ages: Entering grades 7–10
- Dates/Times: June 18–22 and June 25–29, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: 2087 Addison St., Berkeley
- Cost: $400 per week; $760 for both weeks
- Auditions: For placement only
- Registration deadline: Ongoing
- Contact: [email protected] or (510) 845-5373
Laney Summer Music
Catering to middle school and high school–age kids with at least one year of playing under their belts, Laney’s Summer Music program focuses on large ensembles like band, orchestra, jazz band, and choir. Its low cost, accessibility, and renowned faculty — including JUay Lehmann, the program director and conductor of the Berkeley Youth Orchestra — make this a popular program in the East Bay.
- Ages: Grades 6–12
- Dates/Times: Four camps between June 20 and July 29, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: Laney College in Oakland
- Cost: $125 for two-week session
- Auditions: None. One year of experience required
- Contact: (510) 464-3463
Lafayette Summer Jazz Workshops
Now in its 14th year, the week-long Lafayette Summer Music Workshop — directed by Stanley Middle School music director Bob Athayde and jazz curriculum director Frank Sumares — has been a springboard for some of the Bay Area’s top young musicians. It provides an intimate and inspiring environment for learning and playing jazz, with master classes, improvisation workshops, and jazz combos. Faculty members are eminent professional musicians.
- Ages: Grades 6–12, and young adults
- Dates/Times: July 29–Aug. 3, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- Location: Stanley Middle School, Lafayette
- Cost: $610 by May 1; $630 after
- Auditions: held the Sunday before camp for placement levels
- Registration deadline: ongoing
- Contact: (925) 258-9145
Opera Arts Conservatory
Don’t call it a “day camp”! This intense, hands-on, opera arts camp offers students full-immersion training from experienced and qualified industry professionals in singing, acting, movement, musicianship, improvisation, dance, technical theater, music/theater history, scene study, auditioning, costuming, makeup, stage combat, and more.
- Ages: 12–19
- Dates/Times: July 9–27, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Location: War Memorial Opera House/42nd Street Moonspace
- Cost: $850 for three weeks
- Auditions: Began last week, ongoing
- Contact: (415) 565-3238
S.F. Arts Education
San Francisco’s popular Arts Education offers a variety of day camps for youngsters to explore arts in many forms. For young elementary-age students, the Exploration camp is an exhilarating mix of visual and performing arts. Kids 9–14 can enjoy the fun Broadway Bound program. And kids 8–12 can take advantage of the Joe Goode Performance Workshop July 16–20, in which one of the nation’s leading dance theater companies explores a creative process interweaving dance, voice, movement, song, and wordplay.
- Ages: 6–14
- Dates/Times: Three two-week sessions, beginning June 4, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., extended care available
- Location: James Lick Middle School, San Francisco
- Cost: $260 half-day, $525 full-day (extended care is available for an additional fee)
- Auditions: None
- Registration deadline: Ongoing
- Contact: (415) 551-7990
Summer Music West
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Summer Music West, under the direction of John McCarthy, offers “select programs for the young musician seeking a stimulating and supportive summer experience, based on the traditions of Conservatory training.” Topics are composition, chamber music, string and piano chamber music, and the popular musical theater “Gilbert & Sullivan Scenes.” The faculty is a mix of SFCM’s Preparatory Division faculty, other professional musicians, and Conservatory professors.
- Ages: 9–20
- Dates/Times: Camps begin June 18 and run through Aug. 3. Times vary by program
- Cost: $410 to $880 for 2 weeks (varies by program)
- Audition: required
- Registration deadline: April 15
- Contact: [email protected]
The Summer String Thing
The Summer String Thing is a two-week summer day camp dedicated to the advancement of young string players (violin, viola, cello, and string bass) of all levels and abilities. It’s a chance to meet other local string-playing friends, work on technique, and explore alternative genres like jazz and fiddling, in addition to playing classical chamber and orchestral music.
- Ages: Grades 4–10
- Dates/Times: July 9–20, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
- Location: Hacienda de Las Flores, Moraga, CA
- Cost: $400 for10 days
- Audition: For placement only
- Registration deadline: Ongoing. First come, first served
- Contact: [email protected]
[Lisa Petrie contributed to this article.]