National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute (Download Application)
Every summer, approximately 70 students (ages 15-21) from all over the nation meet in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Institute (SMI). The Institute offers four weeks of private lessons, rehearsals, coaching by National Symphony Orchestra members, classes, and lectures to prepare aspiring musicians for their futures in music.

Several of the students are graduates or current participants of the NSO Youth Fellowship Program, an orchestral training program for talented young musicians. Also included are students participating in the Young Artists of Color National Training Initiative of the Kennedy Center. In addition to their many lessons and training sessions, the students also perform a series of free Kennedy Center Millennium Stage concerts that are open to the public. Watch past SMI Millennium Stage performances by selecting any of the concert dates in the "Watch & Listen" section on the right side of this page.
Photo of Summer Music Institute Student

The Summer Music Institute is coordinated by the National Symphony Orchestra Education Program, which is a component of the Kennedy Center Education Program. Young people, teachers, and families take part in innovative and effective education programs initiated by the Center, including performances, lectures, demonstrations, open rehearsals, dance and music residencies, master classes, competitions for young actors and musicians, backstage tours, and workshops. These programs have become models for communities across the country, as educators and government leaders recognize what the Center has known for years: that the arts can unlock the door to learning for young people, fostering creativity, teaching discipline, improving self-esteem, and challenging students to think in new ways, as well as offering them experiences in the joy of the performing arts.

Tips on CDs/Tapes
These are a few tips that have been compiled by members of the National Symphony Orchestra to help you produce a higher quality recording as you audition for any of the NSO’s training programs. We hope these help you as you begin your recording process.

1. If sending a tape or video, be sure to rewind it.

2. In pieces that have a long piano introduction, please make appropriate cuts and include a shortened introduction.

3. Carefully check your recording levels. Be sure that they are neither too high nor too low.

4. Please list the selections that are included on the recording. If a cassette, have this facing out!

5. Label the recording with your name, instrument, state, and musical selection(s). Label the case of the recording with your name, instrument, and state.

6. Please start with the music right away, do NOT include a spoken introduction.

7. Try to record on a machine that has minimal wow and flutter, especially clarinet players.

8. Be sure to include both fast and slow selections of music.

9. Placing microphones must be done very carefully. If they are too far away the sound tends to be boomy.

10. DO NOT include scales.

11. Before you send the recording, listen to it, be sure that it is not blank, and that all pieces have been recorded successfully.