Founded and directed by Michael Hoffman and his wife Nadya Hill, the Mountain Area Chamber Music Festival (MACMF) is a week-long program of vocal and strings chamber music open to rising 6th- through 12th-graders (rising 4th- and 5th- graders with comprehensive musical backgrounds may be considered), led by world-renowned master clinicians and coaches. Daily vocal and strings coachings are accompanied by masterclasses, musical enrichment activities and in-depth artistic training culminating in a combined concert showcasing the students’ development.

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Michael and Nadya are both professional

performers and teachers from the Denver

and Minneapolis/St. Paul areas, and have

formed the Mountain Area Chamber Music

Festival (MACMF.org) to address an

incredibly important yet grossly

underrepresented facet of music education:

vocal and strings chamber and academic

music for middle- and high- schoolers.

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In order to be considered for entry into a college music program, applicants must have a number of fundamental music skills not provided in most schools in the USA.  These skills include: music theory, music history, high-level performing experience, in-depth knowledge of techniques and stylistic conventions, near-professional technical skills in your given instrument, and the ability to make informed opinions about pieces of music.

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Even if your student is not considering a college

career in music, extensive musical backgrounds

have been shown to give applicants a leg-up in the admissions process.  The grit and drive that

students learn from high-level musical

interactions are second to none when it comes to having the skills to succeed in other facets of

education.  Former students from MACMF have

also reported boosts in confidence and interpersonal skills.

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The Mountain Area Chamber Music Festival’s coaches are young, thriving professional performers and teachers from all around the United States.  We’ve specifically hired some of the highest-caliber young and energetic chamber musicians to encourage the students to stretch their boundaries of thinking and performing. We believe the arts are an important element of every lifestyle, and just as being in the mountains feed the soul, so does music!