MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST
1070 FAIRWAY DRIVE, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108 www.musicacademy.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The Music Academy of the West makes a unique and enduring contribution to the world of classical music by advancing the development of the next generation of great classically trained musicians;cultivating discerning, appreciative, and adventurous audiences

Founded in 1947, located in Santa Barbara, California, the Music Academy of the West presents an annual eight-week summer school and festival and offers year-round activities on and off its 10-acre oceanside campus. The facility (incorporating 10 buildings with three performance venues) is in use year-round by the administration, local educators, non-profit institutions, and alumni.The Academy provides training for exceptionally talented musicians from more than 20 countries and presents distinguished faculty and visiting artists in public masterclasses and performances. The summer festival offers more than 160 public events on campus and in venues in Santa Barbara. The Academy provides up to 140 musicians (fellows) full scholarship including tuition, room, and board to participate in the summer festival. Fellows are selected in a rigorous audition process from 2,000 worldwide applicants to study with faculty and visiting guest artists. Fellows participate in one of five programs: instrumental (strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion), solo piano, collaborative piano, vocal piano, and voice. The Vocal Institute has been featured in a fully staged opera production presented for the community each year since 1997. The 2019 production was presented twice in a 1,500-seat venue.Music Academy of the West alumni are currently members of major symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties worldwide. More than 65 alumni participate in careers with the Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and San Francisco Opera. The New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony have a total of more than 60 Academy alumni on their current rosters. Legendary and esteemed artists including Burt Bacharach, Thomas Hampson, Marilyn Horne, Donald McInnes, Orin OBrien, Cynthia Phelps, Paul Schenly, David Shifrin, and Donald Weilerstein attended the Academy and have received its highest honor, the distinguished alumni award. In 2018, the Music Academy launched a four-year partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in a strategic move to expand the Academys programs internationally. LSO musicians teach and perform in Santa Barbara during the summer festival. In 2019, the entire London Symphony Orchestra spent six days in residence in the community, culminating with a side-by-side performance with the Academy Festival Orchestra at the Santa Barbara Bowl, an outdoor 4,500-seat venue. The majority of the tickets were $10, and anyone under the age of 18 was admitted free of charge. From 2014-2018, the Music Academy of the West partnered with the New York Philharmonic in its first partnership with a major orchestra. The Music Academy offers additional programming year-round. 12 alumni participate in a 10-day orchestral exchange program annually in London with the LSO. The community children's choral program, Sing!, in coordination with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, is expanding from its current base of six elementary school sites. The Alumni Enterprise Awards provide financial support and a week of training in residence to Academy alumni whose innovative projects further the organizations mission. The Music Academy presents competition winning alumni in public concerts on campus and has presented them in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles, broadcast on radio stations WQXR, WFMT, and KUSC. The Metropolitan Operas The Met: Live in HD series is presented 10 times per year at the Academy, often featuring alumni artists. Academy performance venues are utilized as rehearsal and performance spaces by community music non-profits from September-May.

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