{{short description|Music festival in the United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox organization |type = Classical music |name = Meadowmount School of Music |founded = 1944 |location = Westport, New York, USA |focus = classical music festival, education |website = {{URL|https://meadowmount.org/}} }} The '''Meadowmount School of Music''' is a classical music summer program held each year in Westport, New York.
The program is known for its notable faculty, intensive practice schedule, chamber music involvement, and performance opportunities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Janet Sung on The Meadowmount School of Music's Unique Summer Program |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/vc-interview-janet-sung-on-the-meadowmount-school-of-music/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> Founded in 1944, the seven-week summer session includes more than 50 events, including student concerts, faculty performances, master classes, lectures, and guest artist appearances.
As a training ground for both young and established classical musicians,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Henahan |first1=Donal |title=Tough Regimen Yields Fine Violinists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/21/archives/tough-regimen-yields-fine-violinists.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> the Meadowmount School of Music brings more than 180 students, ages 10 to 30, from across the globe to live and study on the 240-acre campus.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Meadowmount Experience |url=https://meadowmount.org/the-meadowmount-experience/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> While amongst the Adirondack Mountains, students participate in focused solo practice, lessons, chamber music rehearsals, master classes, and public performances, both on the Meadowmount campus and throughout local venues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meadowmount School of Music begins its 79th season |url=https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/adirondacks-almanack/meadowmount-school-of-music-begins-its-79th-season/ |website=The Adirondack Explorer}}</ref>
The organization is currently led by Executive Director Genevieve Twomey<ref>{{cite web |title=New York’s Meadowmount School of Music Hires New Executive Director |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/new-yorks-meadowmount-school-of-music-hires-new-executive-director-genevieve-twomey/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> and Artistic Director Janet Sung.<ref>{{cite web |title=Violinist Janet Sung appointed artistic director of Meadowmount School of Music |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/violinist-janet-sung-appointed-artistic-director-of-meadowmount-school-of-music/14174.article |website=The Strad |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Limited |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
==History== The Meadowmount School of Music was founded in 1944 by renowned pedagogue and violinist Ivan Galamian.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ivan Galamian: hand of steel |url=https://www.thestrad.com/student-hub/ivan-galamian-hand-of-steel/13403.article |website=The Strad |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Limited |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref> Born in Iran in 1903 to Armenian parents, Galamian was taken shortly thereafter to Moscow, Russia. Then in 1922, due to the rise of the Communist regime, Galamian emigrated to Paris where he began taking lessons with Lucien Capet and gaining a reputation as both performer and master teacher. However, over time the political situation in Europe had worsened to the degree that Galamian decided to emigrate to the United States in 1937<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Ivan Galamian |url=https://meadowmount.org/history_ivangalamian/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref> and settled in Manhattan, where he would establish his violin studio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ivan Galamian: hand of steel |url=https://www.thestrad.com/student-hub/ivan-galamian-hand-of-steel/13403.article |website=The Strad |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Limited |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref>
Gregor Piatigorsky, a celebrated Russian cellist and friend of Galamian, invited him to a party in Elizabethtown, New York in the Adirondack mountains where Piatigorsky had settled. Galamian fell in love with the area, and during the summer of 1944, Galamian invited 30 students to study with him at a house that he leased in Elizabethtown. That same summer, Galamian found a lodge built by an inventor named John Milholland, one of the creators of the pneumatic tube, outside the community of Lewis, New York. The Galamians purchased the property with the support of Edward Lee Campe, a wealthy manufacturer of men’s clothing that they had met at a party, and the Meadowmount School officially began.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Ivan Galamian |url=https://meadowmount.org/history_ivangalamian/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref>
Among the very first guest artists were cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and violinists Joseph Szigeti, Zino Francescatti and Isaac Stern.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Ivan Galamian |url=https://meadowmount.org/history_ivangalamian/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> Early faculty included Sally Thomas, Galamian’s teaching assistant for many years, who joined the faculty in 1960 and served as the Co-director and administrator of student life for many years, as well as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Society for Strings. Thomas taught alongside other renowned faculty such as Dorothy DeLay, Leonard Rose, and Josef Gingold.<ref>{{cite web |title=Violinist and Pedagogue Sally Thomas has Died, Aged 92 |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/violinist-and-pedagogue-sally-thomas-has-died-aged-92/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref> Gingold originally visited Meadowmount with no intention of teaching there, but after conversing with Galamian, he would end up coming back each summer for over 25 years to teach chamber music.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Henahan |first1=Donal |title=Tough Regimen Yields Fine Violinists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/21/archives/tough-regimen-yields-fine-violinists.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref> In 1958, Itzhak Perlman came to the United States to study at the Juilliard School and Meadowmount with Galamian and DeLay.<ref>{{cite web |title=Itzhak Perlman Biography |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/itzhak-perlman-biography/10764/ |website=PBS |publisher=WNET |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref> A few years later, Perlman was proposed to backstage at Meadowmount by his now wife, Toby Perlman, after his performance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Double Acts: Itzhak and Toby Perlman |url=https://www.thestrad.com/playing-hub/double-acts-itzhak-and-toby-perlman/17148.article |website=The Strad |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Limited |access-date=11 February 2026}}</ref>
==The Gurrena Fellowship== The Gurrena Fellowship was first established in 2022 by Linda Gurrena Barnebl, in memory of her late husband, David A. Barnebl. Valued at $50,000, these Fellowships are awarded annually to exceptionally talented students who have attended Meadowmount to support the establishment of their careers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meadowmount School of Music Announces 2026 Recipient of the Gurrena Fellowship |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/meadowmount-school-of-music-announces-2026-recipient-of-the-gurrena-fellowship/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>
===Past Gurrena Fellowship Recipients=== *'''2023''': Sydney Lee, cello<ref>{{cite web |title=Cellist Sydney Lee Wins Meadowmount School of Music Inaugural Gurrena Fellowship |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/sydney-lee-wins-inaugural-gurrena-fellowship-from-the-meadowmount-school-of-music/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.sydneyleecello.com/about |website=Sydney Lee Cello |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> *'''2024''': Luiz Fernando Venturelli, cello<ref>{{cite web |title=Meadowmount School of Music Awards Second Annual Gurrena Fellowship |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/meadowmount-school-of-music-awards-second-annual-gurrena-fellowship/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.luizfernandoventurelli.com/about |website=Luiz Fernando Venturelli |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> *'''2025''': Kento Hong, violin<ref>{{cite web |title=Violinist Kento Hong wins $50,000 fellowship from Meadowmount School of Music |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/violinist-kento-hong-wins-50000-fellowship-from-meadowmount-school-of-music/18663.article |website=The Strad |publisher=Newsquest Media Group Limited |access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref> *'''2026''': Hiu Sing Fan, violin<ref>{{cite web |title=Meadowmount School of Music Announces 2026 Recipient of the Gurrena Fellowship |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/meadowmount-school-of-music-announces-2026-recipient-of-the-gurrena-fellowship/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref>
==Facilities== The Meadowmount School of Music campus is 240 acres and the home to 49 buildings which include dorms, faculty studios, pianist spaces, practice cabins, a recreation center, a cafeteria, a main office, and two performance spaces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hallock |first1=Arietta |title=A ‘classic’ summer camp experience |url=https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/communities/history/adirondack-music-summer-camps/ |website=The Adirondack Explorer |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> Initially owned by the Millholland family, the land was slowly purchased over time by Galamian as the camp expanded and accepted more students.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Ivan Galamian |url=https://meadowmount.org/history_ivangalamian/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>
The 400-seat Edward Lee and Jean Campe Concert Hall is the main concert hall where all performances take place. It is made of white pine, an idea that Galamian had to create a beautiful acoustic, as the construction of the top of the violin is also typically pine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Earle |first1=Christopher J. |title=Uses of Conifer Wood in Musical Instruments |url=https://www.conifers.org/topics/music.php |website=The Gymnosperm Database |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref> The name of the hall is dedicated to Edward Lee Campe and his wife Jean, who had given Meadowmount its interest-free mortgage and funded the concert hall as a gift to the school.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Ivan Galamian |url=https://meadowmount.org/history_ivangalamian/ |website=Meadowmount School of Music |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>
The Sally Thomas Recreation Center is a building that contains a recreation room, a large chamber music room, and four smaller practice rooms. The building was launched in 2018 to honor Sally Thomas’ legacy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Violinist and Pedagogue Sally Thomas has Died, Aged 92 |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/violinist-and-pedagogue-sally-thomas-has-died-aged-92/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>
The Josef Gingold Library is a chamber music studio located in the Main House, and it was restored to its original form in 2025. The space was reinstated as a chamber music room to honor the legacy and memory of Josef Gingold teaching chamber music in that very space, years earlier.<ref>{{cite web |title=Janet Sung on her Experience Studying With Josef Gingold |url=https://theviolinchannel.com/janet-sung-on-her-experience-studying-with-josef-gingold/ |website=The Violin Channel |access-date=31 March 2026}}</ref>
==See also== *List of classical music festivals *List of summer camps
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://meadowmount.org/ Meadowmount School of Music Website] *[https://www.youtube.com/@Meadowmount Meadowmount School of Music YouTube Channel]
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Category:Music schools in New York (state) Category:Educational institutions in the United States established in 1944 Category:Recurring events established in 1944 Category:Classical music festivals in the United States Category:Education in Essex County, New York Category:Music festivals in New York (state) Category:1944 establishments in New York (state) Category:Music festivals established in 1944