About the Junior Artist Immersion
Summer Music Camp in the Colorado Rockies || Ages 13 – 18
Accepting applications for violin; viola; cello; double bass; piano; composition.
In this two-week summer music camp for advanced high school musicians, students improve their musical skills and develop their unique voices through chamber ensembles, orchestra, performance classes, private lessons, audition preparation classes, workshops, musician wellness activities, and nature-based explorations.
Additionally, students collaborate to compose and premiere an original multi-disciplinary group composition for their final concert.
Students should be proficient at reading music and have prior experience playing in an ensemble. See below for more specific prerequisites. Audition is required.
More Info
Tuition and Fees
Tuition (includes lodging and meals):
$3,500*
Application Fee:
$85 (non-refundable)
Piano Usage Fee:
$75 (only for piano majors)
Optional Fees:
Secondary instrument lessons fee: $175.
Bedding and bath linens: $85 (includes twin fitted and flat sheets, pillow, pillowcase, blanket, and a bath towel). Please note that laundry services are NOT available during this program.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: We accept the following forms of payment:
- Check (no extra fees)
- Please make checks out to Rocky Ridge Music and mail to 1128 Pine St., Boulder CO. 80302.
- An ACH Bank Transfer will incur a processing fee of 1% (not more than $10).
- Credit or Debit cards payments will incur a processing fee of 2.9% + $0.25.
Audition Requirements & Deadlines
Junior Artist Immersion applicants must submit an audition (or a portfolio for Composition majors) to complete their application for admission and be considered for merit scholarship or other financial aid. An audition should consist of two contrasting pieces or movements that best represent the applicant’s level and accomplishment.
It is recommended that composition applicants submit a recording on their preferred instrument, as well. Composition portfolios may consist of live or MIDI recordings, .pdf’s of scores (manuscript or computer-engraved) or works created in digital audio workstations.
**Parents – it is always best practice to consult with your child’s private lesson teacher on which pieces to record to demonstrate your student’s best ability and how best to record them.**
Audition tips:
- Try to avoid using excerpts from orchestral music. Instead, select pieces that are part of the accepted repertoire for your instrument.
- As much as possible, your two pieces should contrast in tempo.
- Please submit a video recording or a YouTube link; audio-only recordings will not be accepted.
Daily Schedule
Here is a link to the daily schedule. Please understand that this schedule is subject to change.
Coming soon!
Student and Family Handbook
The handbook for this program, which contains important information and forms that need to be filled out and signed, can be found here.
Prerequisites
In general, students should be able to read music at a high level and should have multiple years of experience on their instrument. In addition, students should have prior experience playing in an ensemble. See below for more specific guidelines for each instrument.
VIOLIN
Students should be studying 3-octave major and minor scales and arpeggios. In addition, students should be working on etudes by Wohfahrt (60 Studies, Book 2) or Kruetzer, or etudes of similar level.
Repertoire or repertoire of similar levelVivaldi, Concerto in A minorVivaldi, Concerto in G MinorVivaldi, Four SeasonsBach, Concerto in A MinorHaydn, Concerto in G MajorHaydn, Concerto in C MajorKabalevsky, Violin ConcertoBruch, Concerto in G MinorLalo, Symphony Espagnolede Beriot, Scene de BalletBeethoven, Romance in F MinorAccolay, Violin ConcertoMonti, CzardasMassenet, Meditation from ThaisHandel, Six SonatasKreisler, Praeludium and AllegroVitali, ChaconneBach, Sonatas and PartitasMozart, Concerti 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Students must be at the level of Suzuki Book 4 or higher.It is preferable for the student to have at least 3 years of ensemble or orchestral experience, but not necessary.
CELLO
Exposure to tenor clef.
Vivaldi E minor Sonata and above. String players should be on or above Book 4 of the Suzuki method or equivalent.
PIANO
- Bach: 2 part inventions or more advanced (Sinfonias, French Suites, WTC)
- Classical: Something along the lines of Mozart K 283 or the first movement K 309; or Haydn E minor or G major; or Beethoven op. 2, no. 1 or op. 14, no. 2
- Romantic: Schumann—pieces from the second half of the Album for the Young; Chopin—easier Preludes (E minor, B minor, A major, C minor) or Waltzes, etc.
- Impressionistic: Debussy—Children’s Corner; Reverie, Arabesques
- Modern: Liebermann—Album for the Young; Bartok—Romanian Folk Dances; Prokofiev—Album for the Young; Kabalevsky—Sonatinas, Sonatas
You are welcome to call the office at 303-449-1106 or email RRMC@RockyRidge.org for more information.
COVID-19 Policies
Please see this page for more information.
Location and Transportation
Rocky Ridge Music is located near the base of Long’s Peak at Rocky Mountain National Park. It is just off of Highway 7, about 4 miles south of Estes Park and 6 miles north of Allenspark.
Driving from Denver: From Denver, take I-25 North. Exit onto Highway 66 West until you get to Lyons. See below for further instructions.
Driving from Boulder: Take Highway 36 North until you get to Lyons. See below for further instructions.
At Lyons, take Highway 7 to Allenspark (left). From Highway 7, turn west onto Longs Peak Road, which is at mile marker 9. There is a sign there that says, “Longs Peak Area.” Drive about 1/3 mile to our entrance on the right. Total drive time from Denver International Airport to RRM is about 1.5 hours.
Driving from Northern Colorado: Driving west on Highway 34, you’ll drive through the Big Thompson Canyon and into Estes Park. At the big intersection, take Highway 7 South. At the sign that says “Longs Peak Area,” you will turn right onto Longs Peak Rd. Drive about 1/3 mile to our entrance on the right.
The Estes Park Shuttle is available from Denver International Airport to RRM. Students should contact the shuttle directly at 970-586-5151 or visit their website www.estesparkshuttle.com for current information and to make a reservation. Use the group code “RRMC” for a 10% discount!
Campus Map
Junior Artist FAQ
Will my child have a counselor during this program?
Yes! Counselors are selected from our College Intensive program. Counselors supervise, reside with, and mentor up to eight students during the Junior Artist Immersion.
When should I arrive for this program?
For youth programs, registration will take place until noon. We will provide lunch and parents are invited to stay for a brief orientation from 1pm-2pm.
Please call our office (303-449-1106) or email rrmc@rockyridge.org with any questions or concerns.
Where will I live on campus?
Our residential cabins are dorm-style with bunk beds; youth program students will reside with their counselor and 3-6 roommates. Bathhouses with showers are just a short walk away.
Check out our campus building gallery using the button below to see what our residential cabins look like.
Will I receive music in advance?
Each student will be assigned to a chamber ensemble and the program orchestra. It’s likely you will receive chamber music assignments in advance, however you may only receive your orchestra music on the first or second day of the program.
Do I need to bring bedding?
Rocky Ridge can provide you with bedding and towels for a $85 fee. Please indicate your interest in this option on your application. Otherwise, you are free to bring your own bedding or sleeping bag and towels. Please note that laundry services are NOT available during this program.
Do you screen your teachers before they work one-on-one with my child?
All of our teachers are professionally background-checked.
Sign Up
Deadline
Applications open: November 15, 2023 @ 12:00 a.m., Mountain Time (MT)
February 15, 2024: Early Bird Deadline, priority consideration of program spots and merit scholarships.
March 15, 2024: Final Deadline
After March 15, 2024: Applications accepted on a space-available basis. Please contact the office before submitting an application after this date.
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Faculty
Gregory Lewis
M.M., Yale University
B.M., University of Manitoba
Praised for his “brilliant technique” (Chronicle Journal) and “wonderful musical personality” (Winnipeg Free Press), Canadian violinist Gregory Lewis enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Lewis has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Colburn Academy Virtuosi, Strathcona Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra. Named one of CBC’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30”, Lewis received First Prize at the 2017 Canadian National Music Festival and was selected as a winner of the 2023 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition.
In 2022, Lewis had the great privilege of joining the Callisto Quartet. In recent seasons, the Callisto Quartet has received Grand Prize at the 2018 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. The Callisto Quartet maintains a busy international touring schedule, appearing at notable venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kauffman Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Ravinia Festival. The Callisto Quartet was in residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts from 2020-2022, and now serves as Fellowship Quartet in Residence at Yale University and Associate Artists in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. The Callisto Quartet is managed exclusively by Kanzen Arts. Lewis’s passion for chamber music has led to performances at the Four Seasons, Norfolk, Olympic, Ravinia, and Yellow Barn music festivals. He holds degrees from the University of Manitoba, Yale University, and the Colburn School, where he studied with Oleg Pokhanovski, Chris Anstey, Ani Kavafian, and Martin Beaver. Lewis performs on the 1768 “Miller” Gagliano, on generous loan by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Ken Marrs
Master's in Choral Conducting at the University of Arizona
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Ken Marrs studied the double bass with Derek Weller, Stuart Sankey, Bruce Bransby and Lawrence Hurst. He holds a bachelor’s degree in choral and instrumental music education from Indiana University and a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Arizona. Ken has performed with the Ann Arbor, Flint, Saginaw Bay, Toledo, and Tucson Symphony Orchestras, the Arizona Opera Company as well as with True Concord. Ken has taught and performed with orchestras on four continents.
He teaches orchestra, concert band, and jazz band at Mica Mountain HS in Vail, AZ and directs the Vail Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Rebecca McKee
B.M. in Viola Performance, University of Missouri St. Louis
Rebecca McKee, a native of Springfield, Missouri, received a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and a Master of Music in Viola Performance from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Her principal teachers include Raymond Page and William Lincer. Rebecca has been a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s viola section since 1989.
Rebecca also performs with The Marelle and The Southwest string quartets as well as True Concord.
She is an active advocate for early childhood music education in Tucson and a registered Suzuki violin/viola instructor with a large private studio. She is also a Music Together teacher — an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program. She has worked with the Tucson Unified School District as a Music Integration Specialist and Orchestra director.
Rebecca is married and is the proud mom of a Rocky Ridge alumni. She also has two cats. Her hobbies include walking/ hiking and knitting.
Maggie Polk Olivo
Maggie Polk-Olivo wears multiple hats as a musical collaborator, composer, educator and performer. Passionate about music education and new music, she is the creator and director of the BloomingSongs project- a music collection of works by renowned artists from all over the world. She teaches and co-directs the Fairview Artful Learning Violin Project alongside Brenda Brenner while coordinating the school’s performing arts program. Awarded the IU Freshman Composition Competition, she studied music composition with P.Q.Phan, Sven-David Sandstrom, Don Freund, Claude Baker, and Marilyn Shrude at IU Jacobs School of Music. Recognized by the Music Educators National Conference and a National Young Composer Award semi-finalist in her youth, Olivo has since had music performed and commissioned by the Southwest String Quartet, Vera String Quartet, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Kim Carballo, Alejandra Martinez, and Sara Fraker.
In addition to composing, Olivo directs the IU JSOM’s Musical Beginnings and co-directs the Musical Arts Youth Organization’s Bridges, teaching music composition and chamber music. She is certified in the methodologies of John Feierabend, Musikgärten, Orff-Keetman Schulwerk, and Kodály Methodology. Maggie presents teacher-training workshops throughout the year and has been the recipient of Smithville, Puffin, and BUEA Foundation grants. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband and two children. In addition to creating music with and for others, she loves gardening and putting on shows with her kids.
David Rife
David Rife received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of
Music and a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of
Music. David moved to Tucson in 1983 to join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra where he has held the
positions of Associate Concertmaster, Assistant Concertmaster, Principal Second Violin, and Assistant
Principal Second Violin. David is a dedicated violin teacher, and first violinist of the Southwest String
Quartet. He was the first violinist of the TSO String Quartet for over 30 years. In 2005 he was the
recipient of the Outstanding Private String Teacher Award in Arizona by the American String Teachers
Association. His students have won local and statewide competitions, soloed with local orchestras and
many have attended music schools and conservatories throughout the country. David was inducted into
the Tucson Musicians Museum in 2012.
Jared Tehse
M.M., McGill University
B.M., University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Jared Tehse has performed and collaborated across Canada, Europe, and the United States, garnering numerous scholarships and awards. He has had the privilege of studying under esteemed mentors such as Michael McMahon and Andrew Campbell.
In 2013, Jared earned his Associate Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in Piano Performance with First Class Honors with Distinction, followed by his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with a Minor in Jazz Studies with Honors and Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 2014.
Furthering his education, Jared earned a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano Performance from McGill University in 2017, followed by a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano Performance from Arizona State University in 2022. Complementing his formal education, he has enriched his skills through programs such as the Collaborative Piano Institute, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Opera NUOVA, Orford Arts Centre Piano Master Classes, and Music Fest Perugia. Notably, Jared has served as a rehearsal pianist for Opera McGill and the Music Theatre and Opera program at Arizona State University.
He has also demonstrated his skills as a freelancer and contributor to various musical ensembles and institutions, including the University of Toronto, Glenn Gould School, and other notable ensembles during his time in Canada. His diverse repertoire includes performances with the University of Saskatchewan Jazz Ensemble, Greystone Singers, Université de Montréal Jazz Ensemble, and McGill University’s Song Interpretation Ensembles.
Currently serving on the faculty of the School of Music at Texas Tech University as a Lecturer of Collaborative Piano, Dr. Jared Tehse is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of musicians. Outside of his professional endeavors, he indulges in hiking, mountain biking, and various outdoor activities with his wife. Additionally, Jared maintains a keen interest in sports, and enjoys keeping a close eye on the latest developments in the sports world and cheering on his favorite teams.
Mari Tomizuka
Mari Tomizuka was raised in Tucson. As a student of Eugene Pridonoff, she received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree from Arizona State University. After a year studying and teaching undergraduate piano at the University of Miami, Florida, she accepted a teaching assistantship at New England Conservatory. Following the completion of her “modern piano” studies and Master’s Degree in Boston, she migrated to Europe to study with Stanley Hoogland and specialize in performance on historical instruments.
Since completing the post-graduate Certificate in Fortepiano from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands, Ms. Tomizuka has appeared as both a soloist and in chamber music with principal players from the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic of Flanders, Opera Orchestra of Antwerp, Stavanger Symphony of Norway, Amsterdam Ballet Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. She has been invited as a soloist to appear in festivals such as York Early Music (England), the Holland Festival of Early Music, Festival of Flanders (Belgium), and the International Music Festival of Granollers (Spain). Ms. Tomizuka has been featured in countless recital series in Holland, and after 17 years of living abroad in the Netherlands, she returned to her native Tucson. Her CD with classical mandolin virtuoso Richard Walz, “Mandolin Treasures from the Golden Era”, is available at Amazon.com. Current projects include promoting music by Haitian composers.
As a member of the Tucson Music Teachers Association, she owns and manages the 17th Street Ear Palace – a space dedicated to soirees, lessons and masterclasses, sound recordings, recitals, and public explorations of other genres of music.
Mary Beth Tyndall
B.M., B.M.E., Ball State University
Mary Beth Tyndall has a large, private cello studio in Tucson, Arizona. Her students range in age from 4 to 74 years of age. From the youngest Suzuki families to the mature beginners they are held together by their love for music, the amazing voice of the cello and the sense of community she tries to foster in her studio.
Recently retired from a 38-year career in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Mary Beth still is an active member of the Southwest String Quartet, teaches each summer at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado, and regularly coaches for local youth and community orchestras. She is co-chair of the annual Tucson Cello Congress at the University of Arizona, and in 2016 she was named Outstanding Studio Teacher by the Arizona Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and cello performance from Ball State University and a master’s degree in cello performance from the University of Arizona. She began her Suzuki teacher training in 1983 with Yvonne Tait in Tucson and completed the series at many summer institutes.
Her students have performed solos with local orchestras and a few have gone on to conservatory level study and national awards. She feels privileged to work with wonderful individuals and families and to help them express themselves and grow emotionally and intellectually.
Wynne Wong-Rife
Wynne Wong-Rife has a multi-faceted career as a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, The TSO String Quartet and the Southwest String Quartet. In addition, she teaches a large class of violin students, several of whom have placed in competitions and soloed with local orchestras. After studying with John Ferrell at The University of Arizona for one year, she transferred to the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet, and was awarded a B.M. with Distinction in Violin Performance. At Eastman she met and became engaged to David Rife, and in 1981, both decided to attend New England Conservatory of Music. Wynne graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1983 with a M.M. in Violin Performance, and then returned to Tucson with David to marry and start a family. Wynne and David have two daughters, Melissa and Molly (both cellists) and four cats. In addition to teaching and performing, Wynne also enjoys photography, knitting and Starbucks (not necessarily in that order).