Highlights
- 2025 Dates: July 19 – August 3, 2025
- Ages: For advanced instrumentalists and pre-formed ensembles ages 18+
- 2025 Application Deadline: March 1, 2025. (Early-bird deadline for priority review: January 15, 2025)
- Location: Lawrence University campus in Appleton, Wisconsin
- Faculty: See below for our Summer 2025 faculty. Additional faculty and guest artists will be announced.
- Audition required: See registration form for details.
- 2025 Student Cost: Tuition for 2025 is $2,150. Room & Board prices are set by Lawrence and will be announced in the next few weeks. Scholarships and fellowships are available to qualifying students. See below for more information.
Applications are due each year on March 1 (January 15 for priority review). A recorded audition is required, and space is limited to 30 pre-professional musicians. For questions about applications, fellowships, scholarships, or for any other information please email chambermusicfestival@lawrence.edu.
2025 Festival Faculty
Faculty: Michael Mizrahi, piano
“Being a successful musician…involves a sense of adventure and curiosity…” – Mizrahi
Faculty: Jean Carlo Ureña González, percussion
"Everyone that comes into my lesson comes in like an open canvas and I need to figure out what that canvas needs." — Ureña González
Faculty: Erin Lesser, flute
"I love the challenge of deciphering a new score, and the fact that every day is completely different." — Lesser
Faculty: Tim Albright, trombone
Before joining Lawrence's faculty, Tim performed with a variety of performers including the Metropolitan Opera, Jay-Z, Barbara Streisand, and the National.
Faculty: Andy Hudson, clarinet
"Everything you encounter outside of what you typically do makes that thing you typically do richer and more interesting." — Hudson
Faculty: Caitlin Sullivan (cello)
Sullivan is an accomplished cellist having recorded an album, A Page From, performed with The Knights, Decoda, and whose music has been featured in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Succession” and “She Said."
Faculty: Leo Sussman, flute
"...thinking critically about how to present works of music to audiences not only ensures impactful performances, but can also transform a performer's perspective..." — Sussman
Faculty: Teagan Faran (violin)
"One of the easiest ways we can show something is living, through music, is by giving it a heartbeat." — Faran
Faculty: Mike Clayville, trombone
"I am committed to expanding the role of what it means to be a 21st century musician. My work often takes me beyond the concert hall and into the broader community and frequently involve extra-musical elements." — Clayville
Faculty: Joe Connor, saxophone
"The thing I talk about with all my students as they envision their future as a musician is helping them to develop both a healthy approach to practice, a long-term relationship with their instrument and practice that will enable them to meet their musical goals." — Connor
Media from LCMF 2024
General Information
Each young artist participant in the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival will work in at least two different chamber groups and have several performance opportunities in traditional concert halls and community venues.
Young artists also work together to curate a concert experience to be presented during the annual Mile of Music Festival. These concerts include a special collaboration with a local singer/songwriter, giving participants new artistic opportunities.
Optional private lessons with Festival faculty are available.
Curriculum
- A short chamber music repertoire assignment, coached by members of our faculty, and culminating in a performance
- Private Lesson(s)
- Symposia – topical discussions that will help you grow your musicianship
- Skills Development Workshops (arranging, improvising, etc.)
Sample Schedule
7:45 – 8:45 a.m. – Breakfast
9 – 10:50 a.m. – Chamber rehearsal/coaching
11 a.m. – noon – Symposium (all together)
Noon – 1 p.m. – Lunch
1:30 – 3 p.m. – Chamber rehearsal/coaching
3:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Private lessons/individual practice
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. – Dinner
7 p.m. – Master classes/performances
Application Requirements
Applications are open to instrumentalists from the string, wind, brass, percussion, & piano families, and pre-formed ensembles. There is no application fee.
Audition Material:
- Submit videos of two contrasting works representing different time periods. Video and audio must be unedited.
- If a selection is taken from a multi-movement work, applicants need only prepare one movement of the piece. Upload performances to YouTube and submit links in your application. Pre-formed ensemble members wishing to apply for a fellowship must submit one solo video.
- For composer/performers, in addition to your performance videos, please submit a score and recording of an original composition. MIDI realizations are acceptable.
Answer the following questions in a video:
- Describe a memorable musical moment that you have experienced — either as a performer/educator/student or as an audience member. What about that moment was special? How did it influence your musicianship?
- Why are you interested in participating in the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival?
Applications due on March 1. A recorded audition is required, and space is limited to 30 pre-professional musicians. For questions about applications, fellowships, scholarships, or for any other information please email chambermusicfestival@lawrence.edu.
Tuition & Financial Aid
No application fee. 2025 tuition is $2,150. Room and board prices are set by Lawrence University and will be announced at a later date.
A limited number of competitive, fully-funded fellowships are available. To apply for a fellowship, submit a personal statement detailing any information you would like to share about yourself related to what experiences you would bring to and hope to learn from your participation in the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival. Please also submit a letter of recommendation.
Limited need-based scholarships are also available. To apply for a need-based scholarship, submit a letter of need and the first two pages of your most recent tax return with your application materials.
Why attend the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival
LCMF Director and piano faculty member Michael Mizrahi talks about the inaugural year of the festival and what you can expect.
Applications due on March 1. A recorded audition is required, and space is limited to 30 pre-professional musicians. For questions about applications, fellowships, scholarships, or for any other information please email chambermusicfestival@lawrence.edu.
Festival Schedule
Below is an example of a Festival Schedule from the inaugural season of LCMF. LCMF students collaborated with Mile of Music performers in the week leading up to the Mile of Music to develop new arrangements for artist's songs and then performed them collaboratively with the original artist.
Monday, July 22, 2024 – Festival Concert No. 1 – Gibson Community Music Hall, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 25, 2024 – Performance Class with Festival Artists – Harper Hall, Lawrence University, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, July 26, 2024 – Festival Concert No. 2 – Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 27, 2024 – Young Artist Concert No. 1 – Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 28, 2024 – Young Artist Concert No. 2 – Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 – Young Artist Concert No. 3 – Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 1 p.m.
Thursday, August 1, 2024 – Mile of Music Kickoff – Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 11 a.m.
Friday, August 2, 2024 – Mile of Music Young Artist Showcase No. 1 – Hilton Paper Valley ballroom, 11 a.m.
Friday, August 2, 2024 – Mile of Music Young Artist Showcase No. 2 – Riverview Gardens, 2 p.m.
Saturday, August 3, 2024 – Mile of Music Young Artist Showcase No. 3 – Copper Rock Coffee Company, 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, August 3, 2024 – Mile of Music Young Artist Showcase No. 4 - Heid Music, 2:30 p.m.
About the Lawrence Conservatory of Music
The Lawrence Conservatory of Music prepares musicians to create a more thoughtful, meaningful, and beautiful world within:
- a motivated community that cultivates artistry and excellence through rigorous training,
- a diverse community that fosters intellectual growth through critical inquiry and scholarship
- a creative community that connects passion for music to social engagement and innovative thinking