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Our music program is all about chamber music!

This section covers our PCP music program. You will find information about the chamber groups, private lessons and practicing, camper concerts, faculty concerts, music studies classes, and example repertoire.

Chamber Music Groups

All campers are assigned their two groups and repertoire one month before the session begins. On Monday, the first full day of camp the group begins to work, rehearsing six days a week. Each group rehearses in both coached and uncoached environments, and has the opportunity to perform in masterclasses throughout the two weeks. 

Student Concerts

Students have two main performance opportunities: a mid-session preview and a final concert. The mid-session concert is livestreamed from the RecHall on the mid-session Sunday at 3:30pm.  The Final Concert occurs on the last Saturday of each Session, where campers perform at 1pm at the Salisbury Congregational Church. This is a rewarding experience for the entire camp community. We depart from the church, looking forward to the next summer! 

Private Lessons and Practicing

One thing that sets Point CounterPoint apart from other music camps is the amount of personal attention in the form of private lessons and coachings that each camper receives. The personal and nurturing attention of Point CounterPoint faculty in the informal setting on Lake Dunmore often creates a special bond between student and teacher. Every camper has two scheduled practice periods daily; many also choose to spend a portion of their free time practicing.

Music Studies

All-camp music classes present varied topics such as “How to rehearse without a coach,” “Shostakovich’s Russia,” or “Contemporary String Techniques.” Campers may also have the opportunity to perform in Master Classes for faculty; this provides experience playing for a small audience of campers and valuable advice from other coaches. Each Session’s faculty bring their own insights and expertise; past faculty have done presentations on Composition, Body Work, Early Music, and Music Theory.

Faculty Concerts

During each session, our faculty performs a public concerts that we attend as a camp at the Salisbury Congregational Church or in Middlebury. Their presentations of major chamber music works excite and motivate campers in their own musical growth, and campers always look forward to attending the concert. This popular series builds an intimate awareness of the discipline and joy of professional music-making.

Example Repertoire

The following list are examples of repertoire played at PCP:

  • Bacewicz, Quartet for Four Violins
  • Bach Brandenburg Concerto #3
  • Beethoven String Quartets (Opus 18 and 95)
  • Beethoven Piano Trios
  • Bloch Nocturnes
  • Borodin String Quartet No. 2
  • Dvorak Piano Quintet, Opus 81
  • Dvorak Dumky Trio
  • Mozart Piano Quartets
  • Mendelssohn Octet
  • Price, String Quartet No. 2 in a minor
  • Prokofiev String Quartet No.2
  • Ravel String Quartet
  • Schubert “Death and the Maiden”
  • Schubert Cello Quintet 
  • Shostakovich String Quartets Nos. 1, 7, 8
  • Shostakovich Piano Trio no. 2
  • Shostakovich Piano Quintet

Point
CounterPoint

Prelude

Adult
Workshops

New Music
On The Point