Directed by Dr. April Clayton, the EAMA Chamber Music Program draws from the rich heritage of Nadia Boulanger’s teaching. The Chamber Music Program is ideal for collegiate performing musicians, those early in their career, or mid-career performers who are interested in creating a deeper, more analytic approach to their performances. Students in the program may be enrolled in, or have completed, graduate and undergraduate programs in universities and conservatories; students may also be in the early stages of their careers at colleges or in local or regional orchestras.
Chamber music students receive two coachings per week for each chamber ensemble to which they are assigned. Students also sing in the EAMA chorale and study analysis, solfège, and choose either a keyboard harmony or counterpoint track. They study alongside composers and conductors in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger, who believed that the training performing musicians receive in these subjects should not be less rigorous than that intended for composers. Each year, chamber music repertoire is chosen through advance consultation with students who have been accepted into the program, and additional chamber groups may be formed once students arrive in Paris and begin collaborating with each other. This ensures that students will be playing repertoire that is of importance to them.
Chamber music students may collaborate with resident composers in the premiere of new works while at the program. While this collaboration is frequent and encouraged, it is not a requirement for students who prefer to study more conventional chamber repertoire. Students work with a variety of distinguished teachers, perform in masterclasses, and in the final EAMA concerts at the end of July.
Classes and chamber music coachings are taught by experienced, dedicated and sympathetic faculty from The Juilliard School, Mannes College, Brigham Young University, the Paris Conservatory, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and experienced guest artists who are invited to the program. Recent guests have included Simone Dinnerstein, Henry Gronnier, Roy Howat, and Emile Naoumoff, among others.
Apply for entrance into the EAMA Summer Chamber Music Program.
Chamber Musicians take the following courses:
(please note that chamber musicians take EITHER Counterpoint or Keyboard Harmony)
Counterpoint
Keyboard Harmony
Musicianship and Score Reading
Analysis
Chorale
Chamber Music Coaching
