Summer Music Festival 2026 to Feature Concerts and Workshops

Kutztown University's 2026 Summer Music Festival to Feature Concerts and Workshops

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Kutztown University Summer Music Festival returns June 14-21. Talented students from around the world join forces for a one week, fully immersive musical experience, working with the festival's renowned roster of devoted musicians and pedagogues.

Concerts and workshops are free and open to the public.

The Summer Music Festival offers one week of intensive study to ambitious high school and college-age musicians, including daily private lessons and chamber music coaching. It is open to piano, strings, winds and percussion, with faculty from The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, University of Macedonia in Greece, University of Chile, Kutztown University, the New York City Ballet Orchestra and other prestigious institutions.

Participants will have the opportunity to work on solo repertoire, learn and perform works from the core chamber music literature and receive instruction on audition preparation. In addition to the intensive chamber music experience, students will have the opportunity to participate in a series of intriguing and informative seminars and workshops on a variety of musical topics, including the concerto competition, sponsored by the Festival and the University of Macedonia in Greece.

Founded in 2010 by pianist Maria Asteriadou, the Kutztown University Summer Music Festival features an intensive and comprehensive approach to learning the core chamber music repertoire for strings, piano, percussion and winds. The festival's mission is to provide opportunities that go far beyond the traditional summer music camp experience, creating a stimulating environment for musical and personal growth through and international exchange of talent and ideas.

Nurturing the love of great music and developing the young artists of the future, KU's Summer Music Festival allows emerging musicians to experience the Art of Chamber Music with internationally acclaimed artists.

For more information, call 484-634-1478 or visit the Summer Music Festival website.

2026 Schedule

Tuesday, June 16
Inside the Keys: A Piano Tuning Workshop with Daniel Sponenburg
- 3 p.m., 10G Schaeffer

Opening Night: Faculty Virtuosi, Works by Fauré and Brahms
- 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium

Wednesday, June 17
Intonation and the Ear: A Workshop with Kurt Nikkanen, concertmaster of New York City Ballet Orchestra
- 3 p.m., Georgian Room, Old Main

German Romanticism, Works by Brahms, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Weber
- 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium

Thursday, June 18
Sunset Spectacular, String Orchestra Concert
- 7 p.m., Kutztown Park Band Shell

Friday, June 19
Chamber Music Masterclass with Guest Artist Peter Orth
- 9 a.m. to noon, Wells-Rapp Center for Mallet Percussion Research

Lyric Landscapes, Works by Franck, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Lutosławski
- 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium

Saturday, June 20
Solo Flight, Students in Recital
- 2 p.m., Wells-Rapp Center for Mallet Percussion Research

European Masterworks, Works by Turina, Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Schumann
- 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium

Sunday, June 21
Final Concert, Works by Mozart, Dvorak, Weber, Haydn
- 10 a.m., Schaeffer Auditorium