Yes, it is supposed to be very good. They had record number of applications this year; my son was disappointed he didn’t get in.
Some of the faculty there we have seen teach in master classes and have worked with at cello choirs. Good players, good pedagogues. Don’t know anything about what it’s like to be there, though.
Chautauqua Music Festival in NY
Has anyone heard from EMF for this summer? (I only know of one person who’s received an acceptance)
DS was accepted for piano, but he had asked them for an early decision because another program wanted him to confirm early.
This is what I was wondering, if my S is missing the boat by not doing a festival and keeping up on his skills. But at this point he is somewhat burned out from all of the college auditions/state auditions/HS ensembles, etc. Plus he will be playing every day up until the day he graduates so he opted out of doing any type of summer music program to get a break before college starts. He will still continue lessons but no performances. He would like to work, maybe give lessons etc. Seeing all of these posts about music festivals is new to us and makes me wonder if he is missing out but also recognizing that he may just need a quick break.
I think a break between high school and college can be healthy and beneficial. Time with family and friends too. There are many years ahead to do festivals.
After my D learned she was waitlisted for WNO’s Opera Institute, she decided to spend the summer with friends and family, as well as taking her normally-scheduled weekly voice lessons with her private teacher (who she knew she would miss). I think it was the right decision. This summer, my rising college sophomore wants to get a job! 
It might depend upon what your child needs and what resources are in your community. My kid didn’t have comparably committed/capable local teens around, and the big state university has tons of college music performance and music ed majors, so there aren’t really teaching opportunities for high schoolers here. If he had had a group of friends that loved to geek out over music and play together, the calculus would probably have been different.
In our case, the summer experiences the last two years involved jumping up multiple levels, so they were definitely worth it. We don’t live in a big city- we were driving 2 hours away for his private lessons. The conservatory he is at is small, so having the opportunity to make music connections with other future collaborators is important.
That said, I remember being upset that there weren’t more programs of the two or three week variety rather than six or seven.
How about waitlisted/reserved list? Is it worth to wait? How often does people commit and then drop off? Would it have negative impact (e.g., blacklisted in future) if decide not going after accept? D24 is in reserved list in a festival that she is dying to go. The one she is accepted has a deadline today to confirm…
We were in reserve list last year and never made it. Others did. It’s your luck and ranking on the list.
It depends on the festival and a program within one, as well as an instrument. More prestigious events have less people drop out or drop out during the spring at least, there is always some movement one or two weeks before the star of the session - usually health reasons and emergencies are the reason in that case. D23 had a friend notified he was accepted to BUTI intensive couple just a couple of days before the start. Have not heard about “blacklisting”, my kid got into the same festival programs again after not committing to them a previous year. Talk to the admissions or admin staff - they can share more information. Questions to ask - is the waitlist ranked, what are the deadlines for the waitlist movement and what was the movement like last year. Good luck!
In 2022 and 2023 many waitlists moved quite some, even Perlman. I guess it had something to do with Covid. Overall there should be some people accepted from waitlist. A small number of top applicants would apply to more than one place. When they decline, someone on the waitlist will move up. Each instrument is different though. The free programs are less likely to move their waitlist.
Last year my son was waitlisted at two- at one he was offered admission with a large scholarship a little later(which he ended up declining to go elsewhere), and at the other he chose not to remain on the waitlist. He was happy with the other options he had.
Did you ask if you could have an extenstion on the deadline? We’ve had festivals grant that before as long as it isn’t unreasonable. I don’t know, but I believe many would rather grant a little time and know everyone is truly committed.
Oh, and as I stated before, I know at least one that isn’t maintaining a waitlist this year at all, whatever that implies…
DD got a place at Atlantic today for the 3 week Institute programme rather than pre college; looks very good
My DS just accepted a fellowship spot at NOI in Maryland. Faculty and repertoire look great. We may have to fly out for a concert. 
Thanks for your advice @somethings @RussianMom . The one on the reserve list is a free program in Switzerland. Hard to imagine if anyone will decline… Guess needs to move on.
Probably true, although travel to Switzerland can be pricey for non-Europeans.
Which program is that?
Is that VFJO? Truely amazing programme if so
There is a small group of talented kids who apply to multiple highly selective summer festivals, accepted to all, but can only attend one so they must decline elsewhere. My son has such a friend.
On the other hand, I think choosing summer program is somehow like applying to college, fitting is more important than prestige. My son has four teachers he really enjoys studying with. One is his current college professor, two teach in the same summer program, so that’s where he goes in summer, to learn from them. There surely are great teachers in other prestigious program but for now these two teachers have plenty he needs to learn from.
I think art is subjective. Beyond certain technical perspectives, there isn’t a certain way to “rank” artists. Prestigious art programs can’t admit applicants as if they have numeric scores. I guess they admit those whose styles fit the faculty members, and waitlist those who pass the technical benchmark but with slightly different style. My son has been waitlisted at several places, and his teachers have told him not to feel discouraged.
Verbier? It is a great program! Congratulations! How old is your kid? You never know, it’s international, maybe some candidates will have visa or passport issues. Emergencies happen.