Best Summer Music Festivals for High Schoolers
High school is when summer music programs start to matter in a different way. The skill level is high enough to handle serious instruction, the schedule is open enough to commit a few weeks, and for students thinking about college music programs, what you do in the summer is actually noticed. Admissions faculty at conservatories and music schools actively recruit from the major summer festivals. A slot at the right program can open doors.
This guide covers the best summer music festivals for high schoolers; what types of programs exist, which ones stand out, and how to think about applying.
If you want to browse and compare programs side-by-side by instrument, location, and dates, check out our summer music festivals directory.
What Makes a Festival Different from a Camp?
The word "festival" gets used loosely in summer music circles, but it usually signals something specific: the program is built around public performances, not just instruction. Students aren't just learning in a classroom setting — they're rehearsing serious repertoire, performing for real audiences, and working alongside faculty who are active professionals.
Most of the programs on this list run two to six weeks. They're residential. They expect students to arrive already playing at an advanced level. The daily schedule is closer to a pre-professional training environment than a traditional summer camp — mornings in rehearsal, afternoons in masterclasses or sectionals, evenings at concerts.
Top Summer Music Festivals for High Schoolers
Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) — Lenox, Massachusetts
BUTI is consistently ranked among the most prestigious summer music programs for young musicians in the United States. It's held at Tanglewood — the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra — which means students are working in the same environment as world-class professional musicians throughout the season.
Programs cover orchestral instruments, voice, piano, composition, and conducting. Session lengths range from two to six weeks. The program is designed for musicians ages 14–20, though the average participant is 16. Students in the Young Artists Orchestra and Wind Ensemble play at a near-collegiate level.
Scholarships ranging from $500 to full tuition are available. This is genuinely one of the programs where getting in — and getting aid — is worth pursuing aggressively.
Best for: Advanced classical instrumentalists and vocalists serious about pursuing music in college.
Interlochen Arts Camp — Interlochen, Michigan
Interlochen is one of the oldest and most recognized summer arts programs in the country, running since 1928. The Senior division (grades 9–12) draws students from across the US and internationally. Programs span classical orchestra and chamber music, jazz, composition, piano, voice, music production, and singer-songwriter tracks.
Sessions run from one week to six weeks. Admission is competitive, and most programs require an audition recording. Financial aid is available, and the program awards substantial merit and need-based scholarships annually.
Interlochen is notable for its breadth — it's not exclusively classical, and the music production and contemporary tracks are serious programs, not afterthoughts. Students interested in a full residential arts experience with peers who are genuinely talented tend to find it motivating rather than overwhelming.
Best for: High school musicians across genres who want a competitive, full-immersion residential experience.
Brevard Music Center — Brevard, North Carolina
Brevard is a six-to-seven-week orchestral training program set on 180 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The high school division, the High School Orchestra Institute, is run by Keith Lockhart — conductor of the Boston Pops. Students rehearse and perform as part of the Brevard Concert Orchestra, playing full symphonic repertoire with real audiences in attendance. The program draws over 50,000 audience members to its productions each summer.
All programs require an audition. Tuition is all-inclusive, covering room, board, and on-campus health services. Financial aid is available.
Brevard is a particularly strong option for string and wind players who want conservatory-level ensemble training. The presence of a college division means high school students are also watching and learning from older musicians in the same setting.
Best for: Classical string and wind players who want intensive orchestral training in a serious festival environment.
Stanford Jazz Workshop — Palo Alto, California
The Stanford Jazz Workshop has been running since 1972. The Jazz Camp program for high school students (generally ages 12 and up) offers one-week and two-week sessions. Students are placed in combos and big bands by skill level and spend each day in instrument classes, theory and ear training, ensemble rehearsals, and jam sessions.
The program runs concurrent with the Stanford Jazz Festival, so students also attend professional concerts and see working musicians up close. No audition is required for the standard Jazz Camp track.
For students interested in jazz — improvisation, combo playing, big band — this is one of the most accessible high-quality programs in the country. The West Coast location makes it a natural fit for students in California and the Pacific Northwest.
Best for: High school jazz musicians at any level who want structured ensemble training with professional faculty.
Juilliard Summer Programs — New York City
Juilliard's three-week summer intensive puts high schoolers in the building where some of the most accomplished musicians in the world have trained. Students receive private lessons and chamber coachings from Juilliard faculty, attend studio classes and career seminars, and perform on campus stages at Lincoln Center.
This is a highly selective and expensive program — tuition runs around $7,300 for the three-week session, which includes room and board. Financial aid is limited. For students who are serious candidates, it's worth applying; for students not yet at that level, one of the other programs on this list will likely serve them better.
Best for: Advanced instrumentalists and vocalists who are seriously considering a conservatory track and want a preview of that environment.
Berklee Summer Programs — Boston, Massachusetts
Berklee's summer programs cover contemporary music in ways that classical-focused programs don't: songwriting, music production, rock performance, music business, film scoring, and electronic music. Sessions run from one week to five weeks, and some programs offer college credit.
For the five-week program, students can earn transferable college credits while working with professional-level equipment and faculty. Programs are available for students as young as 15 for residential tracks. Berklee also runs programs in other cities and online.
Berklee is the right answer for students who want to work in contemporary music — pop, rock, electronic, hip-hop, music production — and don't fit the classical conservatory pipeline. The summer program is also a realistic preview of what attending Berklee would actually look like.
Best for: High school musicians interested in contemporary music, production, or music industry careers.
GRAMMY Camp — Multiple Locations
GRAMMY Camp is a week-long residential program for students in grades 9–12 with career tracks in specific areas of the music industry: audio engineering, music business, songwriting, guitar, drums, bass, keys, and vocals. It's run by the Recording Academy and led by active music industry professionals.
Locations have historically included Los Angeles, Nashville, and Miami. The program is less about performance technique and more about the business and craft of making music as a career — which is genuinely underrepresented in other summer programs. For a student who wants to work in music but isn't sure the performance track is right for them, this is worth looking at seriously.
Best for: High schoolers interested in music production, audio engineering, or the music industry side of things.
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) — Multiple Locations
NYO-USA is a highly selective program run by Carnegie Hall for musicians ages 16–19. Admitted students participate in a two-week training residency followed by a national and international touring performance with the full orchestra. Alumni have gone on to positions in top professional orchestras across the country.
There is no tuition cost. All accepted students receive a full scholarship covering room, board, and program fees. This is one of the most competitive and prestigious programs in the country for orchestral musicians.
Best for: Elite-level orchestral musicians who are already performing at a near-professional standard.
How Selective Are These Programs?
It varies a lot.
At one end: Stanford Jazz Camp and Interlochen's one-week intensives accept students across ability levels and don't require highly competitive auditions. At the other: NYO-USA accepts a small number of students nationally from what is likely the most talented pool of teenage orchestral musicians in the country. BUTI, Juilliard, and Brevard fall somewhere in between — competitive auditions required, but accessible to serious students who have been working hard at their instrument.
A useful way to think about it: if a student is currently performing in a strong regional youth orchestra or has placed in a state honor ensemble, they are a realistic candidate for the mid-tier programs. If they've placed in national competitions or are playing at a pre-professional level, the top-tier programs are worth pursuing.
Picking a program at the right level matters. A student who gets placed in a program above their current ability and struggles to keep up won't get as much out of it as one who gets placed in a program that challenges them appropriately.
Cost and Financial Aid
Here's a rough cost range for the programs listed:
- Stanford Jazz Camp (1 week): ~$1,200
- GRAMMY Camp (1 week): ~$1,500–$2,000
- Interlochen (2–6 weeks): $2,000–$5,500 before aid
- BUTI (2–6 weeks): $2,500–$6,000 before aid, with scholarships from $500 to full tuition
- Brevard (6–7 weeks): ~$5,000–$6,000 all-inclusive before aid
- Juilliard Summer (3 weeks): ~$7,300 all-inclusive
- NYO-USA: Full scholarship — no cost to admitted students
Nearly every program on this list offers some form of financial aid. BUTI and Brevard have meaningful scholarship programs. Interlochen awards millions in aid each year. Don't rule a program out on cost alone before applying and requesting an aid package.
For students specifically looking for low-cost or free options, NYO-USA and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival — which provides full tuition, room, and board scholarships to all admitted students — are worth researching.
How to Build a Strong Application
Most competitive programs require an audition recording, a teacher recommendation, and sometimes a short written response. A few things worth knowing:
Record in a quiet space with decent audio. A recording that's hard to hear makes it harder for admissions faculty to evaluate what you're actually doing. Many students use a phone in a small, carpeted room. That's fine. What matters is that it's clear.
Choose repertoire that shows your strongest playing. Don't record something you've been working on for two weeks. Record something you've performed and know well, at a tempo where everything is controlled. A clean performance at a moderate tempo is more convincing than a rushed one at a faster tempo.
Apply to more than one program. Audition-based admissions at competitive programs involves factors outside your control. Having two or three programs you'd genuinely be happy to attend is the right approach.
Ask your teacher to review the requirements. Recommendation letters from teachers who know the program's expectations tend to be more useful than generic ones.