The dates for the 3rd (in-person) Edition of the Altschuler Summer Music Institute will be decided soon. The 1st Edition was hosted in 2019 at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “G. Lettimi” in historic Rimini, Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ASMI flourished online with masterclasses and performances by faculty and students from The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bologna Conservatory (Italy), Pesaro Conservatory (Italy) and Sookmyung Women’s University (South Korea). This past May, we performed in-person concerts outdoors in the Boston area. 

ASMI was conceived with the educational purpose of improving musicians of all levels and ages that desire to develop their technique and artistry, through participation in masterclasses, private lessons, chamber music, and orchestra, taught by world renowned artists. The institute creates high level musical opportunities for all of the participants: students, teachers and professionals. It is a diverse, inclusive, and immersive program, with an intense yet relaxed atmosphere, that inspires the growth and development of the students during the year. 

The institute is open to violinists, violists, cellists, double bassists, guitarits and pianists of all ages and levels. Merit based scholarships are available. ASMI accepts students from around the world and seeks to collaborate with Italian students and teachers, particularly with the city of Rimini, that have welcomed the institute with great hospitality and enthusiasm.

This coming year, we will be expanding from a string orchestra to a full symphonic orchestra, performing the standard repertoire by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc. as well as exploring contemporary music. It offers opportunities to the students and faculty to perform as soloists and experiment with new repertoire and arrangements. Applicants of all ages and levels are selected to participate via their video auditions. 

Students are also coached and perform with faculty in chamber ensembles, learning through high level demonstrations. Some students will be invited via their video auditions and their performance at the institute, to perform with faculty in the United States and abroad. 

An exciting new recording project featuring the chamber works for guitar and strings by composer and flautist, Alessandro Spazzoli, will be coached by guitar Professor from Bologna Conservatory, Piero Bonaguri. The ensemble will be comprised of students and faculty. Students will be selected based on their video audition.

Also new this year is an Interpretation Seminar, where students will perform compositions that have been selected for presentation. Marvin Wolfthal will lead discussions about the work’s interpretation, focusing on its distinctive characteristics. This is an opportunity for participants to learn how to take the composer’s point of view, applying theoretical knowledge and detailed score-reading to the works they perform. 

The program has many performances open to the public, both inside and outside of the institute. The concerts include a Heifetz/Piatigorksy student solo concert, a Symphony Orchestra concert, and a Chamber concert performed inside the modern theaters and halls of Istituto “Lettimi”.

The Heifetz & Piatigorksy Legacy will be in residency next summer, with masterclasses by former pupils of the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz, and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. Teachers will share their artistry and cover technique including scales, etudes, caprices, sonatas, orchestra excerpts, unaccompanied Bach, sonatas, concerti, showpieces and Heifetz/Piatigorsky transcriptions. The great artistic heritage belonging to these schools, for decades produced some of the greatest violinists and cellists the world has ever seen, and has had a lasting legacy on the most prestigious record labels and concert halls around the world.

One of the goals of the institute and of the director Emil Altschuler (pupil of Erick Friedman), is to raise awareness of these great legacies, and to prepare young talent for a professional future, focusing on technique and interpretation, directing them toward artistic channels suitable to their personalities and propensities. The institute aspires to grow and become a international point of reference for young musicians of today and tomorrow. 

The director of the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “G. Lettimi” has been gracious and generous to welcome the Institute into his school and share the spaces with us. A recently renovated monastery, it offers 18 classrooms, almost all with baby grand pianos, an auditorium with 88 seats, a large room that can seat 60-70 people and a beautiful 300-seat theater.

Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy located on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe, thanks to its 15-kilometre-long (9 mi) sandy beach, over 1,000 hotels, and restaurants. An art city with ancient Roman and Renaissance monuments, Rimini is the hometown of the famous film director Federico Fellini as well. The Emilia-Romagna region was recently ranked one of the top places in the world to visit in the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/travel/places-to-visit.html

Enjoy Stanley Tucci’s ‘Searching For Italy’ Emila-Romagna episode on CNN. Here is a Forbes article about the region: https://www.forbes.com/sites/irenelevine/2021/02/19/searching-for-italy-tuccis-bologna-episode-showcases-gems-of-emilia-romagna/

We hope to have the opportunity to work with you next summer!