Registration is open for UNCSA’s International Chamber Music Academy in Germany
Registration is now open for the International Chamber Music Academy of Ochsenhausen, Germany, a 10-day summer training and performance festival created in partnership with the Landesakademie in Ochsenhausen and the School of Music at UNCSA. Now in its fourth year, the academy takes place July 8-17, in an idyllic former convent surrounded by historic castles, medieval villages and the scenic mountains of Southern Germany. The program brings together an international cohort of emerging musicians and faculty for intensive chamber music study, coaching and performance.
Following its highly successful beginning, the academy has quickly grown to maximum capacity of 55 students, including 20 from UNCSA, for intensive lessons, rehearsals and performances alongside faculty and student musicians from around the world.
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“The International Chamber Music Academy creates an immersive, high-level environment for chamber music study and performance through intensive coaching, rehearsal and concerts,” said Saxton Rose, dean of the School of Music. “What makes it especially valuable for students is the chance to work closely with UNCSA faculty, alongside artists and students from Europe and America, in a setting that challenges musicians and strengthens collaboration.”
Faculty for the academy includes internationally recognized artists and professors who provide individual lessons, coach chamber ensembles and perform alongside students. UNCSA faculty teaching at the academy include Ida Bieler, violin and artistic director; Paul Sharpe, double bass; Saxton Rose, bassoon; and Maria Serkin, horn. Over 10 days, participants rehearse and perform in a focused festival setting designed to elevate technical skill, ensemble communication and professional readiness.
The mission of the academy and this partnership is to offer a transformational experience for students and to bring artists from Europe and America together to prompt change in the world of music, while drawing on and respecting its great traditions. The work of the academy will culminate with student and faculty concerts, public workshops, and master classes in Ochsenhausen, as well as in various concert venues throughout Southern Germany.
Musicians interested in applying can learn more and submit an application online. The total cost for students is about $867 (735€), which includes tuition, admission to all concerts and events, and room and board. Cellos and double basses are available for rental at the Landesakademie for a small rental rate of about $118 (100€). Students must bring their own bow. The academy will accept students of violin, viola, cello, double bass, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano.
Students in the U.S. and outside of the European Union must apply by March 1, 2026. Students within the European Union must apply by April 1, 2026.
For more information about the Chamber Music Academy, email Maria Serkin at serkinm@uncsa.edu for woodwind and horn-related questions and Ida Bieler at bieleri@uncsa.edu for strings- and piano-related questions.
About the International Chamber Music Academy of Ochsenhausen
The International Chamber Music Academy of Ochsenhausen, Germany, is an annual training and performance festival for highly gifted musicians from UNCSA and throughout the world, created in partnership with the Landesakademie in Ochsenhausen. For 10 days each July, the academy offers individual lessons, chamber coaching and performances led by internationally recognized artists and professors in a historic setting in Southern Germany.
About the School of Music
The School of Music at UNCSA combines intensive individual study under artist-faculty with a variety of performance opportunities, presenting more than 200 recitals, concerts and opera productions each year, including collaborations with other UNCSA arts schools and a guest artist series. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate offerings, the School of Music is home to one of the nation’s only four-year residential arts high schools. Alongside its instrumental and vocal programs, the school offers an undergraduate degree in composition, a minor in improvised music and jazz, and a graduate degree in composition for film and visual media. The School of Music is also home to the renowned A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, a tuition-free, graduate-level professional training ground for exceptional young vocalists. UNCSA alumni of the School of Music perform with the world’s leading orchestras and opera houses and appear on international stages across a wide spectrum of genres.
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February 25, 2026