Advanced Training Throughout the Academic Year

The Saint Paul Chamber Music Academy (SPCMA), led by Director Tom Rosenberg, offers advanced training in small ensemble skills from the region’s finest chamber musicians. Participants enjoy weekly coaching sessions throughout the school year, and opportunities to perform and participate in chamber music competitions.

Good chamber music skills lead to greatly improved orchestral skills and stronger interpretive, rhythmic, and technical abilities in private lessons. To be a good chamber musician you must learn to be a good leader and a good follower; an excellent soloist and a great accompanist; a great team player who is a responsible and communicative colleague, allowing the whole to exceed the sum of its parts. True excellence can only be achieved when all members of the group move, breathe, and think as one.

Best of all, chamber music is fun! The repertoire contains many of the greatest works by the greatest composers, and chamber music is a social experience where dedicated young musicians can work together with similarly skilled and driven peers.

Opportunities

The Saint Paul Chamber Music Academy provides outstanding ensemble and citizenship training to outstanding young musicians through:

• Weekly chamber music coaching, scheduled according to group availability. We aim to schedule 15 meetings per semester.

• Performance opportunities at SPCM events and in a chamber music concert each semester.

• Competition preparation and support for groups who wish to participate in local, national, and international chamber music competitions.

• Masterclasses with Academy faculty and guest artists.

Recent Competition Highlights

• 2022 Saint Paul Chamber Music Competition Strings Division: 1st Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize

• 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition: Quarter Finalist

• 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition: Quarter Finalist

• 2020 Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Youth Chamber Music Competition: All Prize winners in the String Category including First Prizes in both the Junior and Senior Divisions

• 2019 Chicago Discovery Competition: Runner Up

• 2018 Mantova (Italy) Festival: Prize Winner of Youth Chamber Music Competition

Application

Acceptance to the SPCMA is by audition only. Applicants must submit a performance video (3-5 minutes), and may be asked to attend an in-person audition.

Application Fee: $50

Chamber Music Application Fee Refund Policy:

• When a student is placed in a group, the deposit is credited toward their tuition.

• If a student is placed in a group and declines, the deposit is nonrefundable.

• If a student is not placed in a group, the full deposit is refunded.

• If a student is placed in a group that cannot meet due to no fault of their own (i.e., insurmountable scheduling conflicts, others dropping out, etc.) the full deposit is refunded.

 Tuition

• Trios: $37/session per musician

• Quartets: $29/session per musician

• Quintets: $25/session per musician