Midwest Young Artists Chamber Music Program is recognized as a national leader in chamber music training for young musicians. Over the past 14 years, MYA’s chamber groups have won 12 medals at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and have been featured on broadcasts including PRI’s From the Top radio program numerous times, ABC, CBS, Music da Camera, WFMT 98.7 FM, and WFN 720 AM. With more than 60 chamber ensembles, MYA recognizes the value of chamber music training at every level and encourages its students to experience the excitement of performing major chamber works in venues across Chicago.
MYA prides itself in offering the most comprehensive, yet fully individual and personalized, Chamber Music Program possible for our students. Very few programs in the nation are as large as MYA and no other youth program has experienced the competitive success that MYA has at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition over the past fourteen years - both indicators of the quality that MYA offers our students.
All of MYA’s Symphony and Concert Orchestra members must be available for placement in MYA’s Chamber Music Program. When requested, every attempt it made to place interested Prep and Cadet Orchestra students as well. In addition, some students audition to be considered just for the Chamber Music Program.
Students can be placed in any one of four possible Chamber Music Program options.
Chamber Music Program Offerings
- Ensemble Chamber Music - trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, septets or octets. Often this is what we traditionally think of as chamber music. MYA has expert coaches and ensembles for the following:
- Percussion
- Saxophone
- Winds & Brass
- Strings & Piano
There are two expectations levels of Ensemble Chamber Music: Regular and Intensive.
- Regular
- prepare music outside of rehearsals
- perform on a minimum of one Sunday Soiree per semester
- in the event that a student is absent from their chamber music coaching, they are expected to find someone to substitute for them
- Intensive
- commit to rehearsing with their ensemble at least one hour each week outside the regular coaching
- possible participation in chamber music competitions
- perform on a minimum of two Sunday Soirees per semester
- Sonata Class. Sonata Class is a wonderful opportunity for 3-5 students to meet with a coach/pianist and discuss sonata form while working on a sonata piece of their choosing, usually selected in consultation with the student’s private teacher, and performed on a special Sonata Class recital each semester. Sonatas are considred chamber music because there is much more "interplay" between the piano and solo part than between the solo and orchestral part as in a concerto. The sonata can be for any instrument so the Sonata Class can be for mixed instruments (e.g. violin, oboe, trumpet, tuba).
- Technique/Performance Classes (such as Double Bass Class). We are planning on offering additional classes this coming fall. Classes include: work on technique, feedback on solo performances, orchestra excerpts, and even works for ensembles.
- Opera Scenes - Note: this is a new offering for MYA’s Chamber Music Program! It will meet outside of Chorale time and will have a separate tuition charged similar to chamber music tuition. Students will be combined into groupings (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to sing opera scenes and be coached with emphasis on singing and musicianship.
Audition for Chamber Music
Coachings
Ensembles are coached one hour per week by a member of our faculty. Additionally, ensembles may choose to rehearse by themselves. Most coachings take place at MYA Center at Fort Sheridan before or after orchestra rehearsals on Saturdays, but other times and locations may be set up at the convenience of the coach and the students.
Performances
Sunday Soirees! & Beyond the Fort , Chamber Music Series
Throughout our 2007-08 Season, join us for several inspirational afternoons of chamber music at MYA and beyond! Free and Open to the Public!
Sundays at 2:00 PM
MYA Center, Ft. Sheridan (unless otherwise indicated)
September 30 October 14 & 21 November 11 & 18
December 9 & 16 January 13 February 10, 17 & 24
March 2 April 13 April 20, Chicago Cultural Center
May 4
Master Classes
Throughout the year MYA students have the opportunity to work with outstanding musicians. This year MYA welcomes:
Avalon String Quartet eighth blackbird
Barbara Butler (Chicago Chamber Musicians) Marc Johnson (Vermeer Quartet)
Patricia Dash (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) Charlie Pikler (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Carrie Dennis (Berlin Philharmonic) Rami Solomonow (Chicago Chamber Musicians)
Mathieu Dufour (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
3:00 PM Saturdays or 12:00 PM Sundays
MYA Center, Ft. Sheridan
Free and Open to the Public
Awards & Accomplishments
Although not the goal of the Chamber Music Program, MYA has been very successful in chamber music competitions.
Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Junior Division
Fischoff Web Site
- 2006 1st Place, Beat 3 Percussion Trio
- 2006 3rd Place, Alethea String Quartet
- 2005 2nd Place, AYM Piano Trio
- 2005 3rd Place, BAM Quartet
- 2004 1st Place, Rattan Percussion Trio
- 2002 1st Place, Orion Piano Trio
- 2001 2nd Place, Versailles Piano Quintet
- 2000 3rd Place, Karma Quartet
- 1998 1st Place, MYA Quartet
- 1997 3rd Place, Chonky Quartet
- 1996 1st Place, MYA String Quartet
- 1994 2nd Place, MYA Sextet
Rembrandt Chamber Players Chamber Music Competition
- 2008 1st Prize, Trio Vita
- 2000 1st Prize, MYA Brass Quintet
- 1999 2nd Prize, Armbrust-Chung Duet
- 1998 1st Prize, Inas Quartet
- 1998 Honorable Mention, Neo-Classical Woodwind Quintet
- 1997 1st Prize, Yellow Luck Quartet
- 1997 Honorable Mention, AW Woodwind Quintet
- 1996 1st Prize, Manchriskybeth Quartet
- 1996 Honorable Mention, Yellow Luck Quartet
Coleman Chamber Music Competition
Coleman Competition Web Site
- 2001 Finalist, Favrile Piano Quartet
Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop, Carnegie Hall
- 2001 Favrile Piano Quartet
