Welcome!
2023 Schwab Summer Academy: July 3–23
• Orchestra Concerts: July 8, 15
• Chamber Music Concerts: July 14, 21
• Violin & Viola Competition: July 22, 23
2023 Concert Lineup: The Schwab Academy of Music returns with three weekends of performances running from July 8-23. Now in its 3rd season, the Academy offers high-level orchestra and chamber music concerts performed by our talented student musicians playing alongside our faculty of professional mentors. With low ticket prices ranging from $5-15 (and with kids under 10 free!), The Schwab Academy is a "justly beloved part of Ventura’s music scene and well on its way to becoming one of the premiere music festivals on the West Coast" (Ventura Breeze, 2023).
What Our Participants are saying: Participants of all ages describe the student experience of being fully immersed in the power of music: “It’s very friendly, very motivational - it’s just a good vibe,” says violinist Carlos Ozuna. Susan Philbrick adds, “It doesn’t matter how old you are, what your background is; we’re all together in the communal pleasure of music.”
2023 Season
This season has an exciting lineup of concerts beginning Saturday, July 8 when the Academy Orchestra gets things started with a program that includes Verdi’s Nabucco Overture, plus music by Brahms and Ravel’s popular, passionate Boléro. The weekend of July 14-15 will feature the chamber music performers, and an orchestral concert featuring Rimsky-Korsakov’s Spanish infused Capriccio Espagnol, Grieg’s Pyr Gynt Suite and Sibelius’s emotional, majestic Finlandia.
Henry Schwab Violin & Viola Competition
The final weekend will feature the 13th annual Violin & Viola Competition in which area string players compete for the annual concerto competition’s $2000 top prize. All performances in the final round will be accompanied by the full Schwab Academy Orchestra. Learn more about our guest judges, noted violinists Mark Kashper & Melissa Phelps HERE. (Meet this year’s talented finalists HERE.
The final weekend will feature the 13th annual Violin & Viola Competition in which area string players compete for the annual concerto competition’s $2000 top prize. All performances in the final round will be accompanied by the full Schwab Academy Orchestra. Learn more about our guest judges, noted violinists Mark Kashper & Melissa Phelps HERE. (Meet this year’s talented finalists HERE.
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