NYU SummerStrings 2021

During these unprecedented times, it is important to keep in our lives that which makes us happy––Music!

NYU Steinhardt Strings is committed to cultivating a space for collaboration, community, and creativity. With a spirit of perseverance, we have decided to hold two sessions of NYU SummerStrings 2021.

Session A (June 28 - July 9, 2021) and Session B (July 12 - July 23, 2021) will be held on a remote platform. In this way, we will still be able to offer you the intensive training for auditions and competitions that you would receive in the traditional NYU SummerStrings setting. We are doing everything in our power to support you and your musical growth!

We look forward to seeing you virtually this summer!

Program Dates

Full program: June 28-July 23, 2021
Session A: June 28-July 9, 2021
Session B: July 12-July 23, 2021

Application Deadlines

May 1, 2021

Costs and Fees

Non-Refundable Application Fee: $55
Reduced tuition for participants: $900 per session
Scholarships: Limited, through application

Intended For

String performers ages 12+

Participant Information

Two private lessons per week
Daily interactive seminars on confidence-building and developing one’s musical voice
Daily masterclasses with regular opportunities to perform for renowned faculty
Streaming performance opportunities
Scheduling adjustments may be made for those residing in various time zones.

More Information

NYU SummerStrings is an intensive workshop for today’s most talented and promising young musicians. We offer the highest level of training for entrance auditions, orchestral auditions, and competitions. Our SummerStrings 2021 workshops welcomes serious violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists ages 12+.

SummerStrings will give you the skills that you need to forge ahead with confidence! Under the guidance of our renowned faculty members, many of whom have won major competitions and orchestral auditions, you will spend your days putting together the elements needed for successful performances.

During the workshop, violist and neuroscience specialist Dr. Molly Gebrian will present workshops on how the brain learns and how musicians can utilize specific techniques to practice and learn more effectively. The Bulletproof Musician’s Dr. Noa Kageyama will direct seminars on centering, mental practice, and discovering your ideal formula for audition preparation. Rami Vamos and Josh Henderson will lead classes on creativity and improvisation. In both sessions, with NYU associate professor Dr. Cyrus Beroukhim, participants who struggle with persistent bad habits will have the opportunity to learn a ground-breaking method of overcoming these habits in as little as an hour, and with Dr. Randall Bayne, participants who will soon be applying to college and graduate programs can learn about various funding sources that may be available to them. Throughout, faculty will assist you in preparing solo Bach, concerti, orchestral excerpts, showpieces, and etudes.

Upon completion of the course, you will have a clearer understanding of the audition process that will enable you to achieve your goals!

Audition Requirements

Submit 1 audio or video file with two contrasting movements or works from the solo repertoire.

Daily Interactive Seminar
with Dr. Molly Gebrian

Over the course of this seminar series, students will learn the secrets of what neuroscience has to teach us about how the brain learns. Powerful practice techniques based on this research will be explored to enhance efficiency and efficacy in the practice room. We will explore methods to rid ourselves of bad habits, discuss organizational techniques for practicing, discover the role of sleep in learning, delve into the power of mental practicing, learn how to make things automatic and reliable, and more! Seminar topics will include:

Get the most out of your metronome
The magic of mental practice
Interleaved practice: the best practice method for reliable performance
Understanding the science of memorization

Daily Interactive Seminar
with Dr. Noa Kageyama

Elite athletes have known for decades that physical preparation alone is not enough to perform optimally under pressure. After all, why is it that we can nail even the most difficult passages in the practice room, but fall apart when we’re in front of other people? And why does this happen in some performances, but not others? Performing doesn't have be such a random or nerve-wracking experience. And increasingly, musicians too are engaging in more mental skills training, ways of practicing and preparing which can lead to more consistent, inspired, and engaged performances. Over the course of this seminar series, we'll explore six key mental skills, from managing anxiety to getting in the zone to cultivating resilience, that will help you to feel more confident on stage and enable you to more consistently perform up to your full abilities when it counts. Seminar topics will include: