Applications Open to California’s Festival Napa Valley Summer Academy

The Frost School at Festival Napa Valley’s Blackburn Music Academy is accepting applications until February 15, 2025

To be held from July 1–20, 2025, the Frost School at Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy (BMA) is a tuition-free summer music festival for emerging professional instrumentalists aged 18 and over.

The program’s core faculty of musicians include those from The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and other leading institutions and orchestras. 

Musicians selected for the Academy will have the opportunity to study and perform with world-class artists; participate in chamber and orchestral concerts, workshops, and professional development activities; plus enjoy the natural landscape of Napa Valley.

Among other instrument categories, the BMA’s string faculty includes Charles Castleman, Christopher Costanza, Katherine Fong, Laura Hamilton, Ross Harbaugh, David Kim, Priscilla Lee, Joseph Lescher, Jodi Levitz, Bettina Mussumeli, Scott Pingel, Brian Powell, Dov Scheindlin. 

To alleviate financial barriers to first-rate educational opportunities, all Fellows will receive free tuition, a travel stipend, most meals, and housing during the Festival.  

To apply to the 2025 Frost School, click here. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2025. 

“Great repertoire playing alongside musicians we idolized in one of the most stunning locations in the country,” said Christina Cutts Dougherty, a 2017 BMA Fellow from Colburn School and the Curtis Institute of Music.