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SMI is a pre-professional summer training program for dedicated high school and college student instrumentalists interested in pursuing a career as 21st century professional musicians. This program provides performance opportunities, high-caliber technical training, practical tools, and rich experiences aimed at empowering students to engage the world as Citizen Artists.
Every summer, students from all over the United States and abroad, come together to participate in the National Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Institute. The tuition-free program is designed to expose and prepare students for a 21st century career in music through individualized training and rich experiences to empower students as leaders and thinkers in their chosen fields, while reducing barriers to access.
National Symphony Orchestra Education desires to raise up the coming generation of music professionals to be powerful change-makers in an orchestral world with equity and inclusion, racial and gender diversity, and assurances of safety and belonging. We want to develop musicians who will:
Monday, July 1 - Monday, July 29, 2024
Students will receive:
Scholarships
Each student accepted into the program attends SMI on a tuition-free scholarship, which includes all activity, instruction, housing, and local transportation. This scholarship does not include round-trip transportation to and from Washington, DC or the cost of food.
Financial Aid
Students will indicate their request for financial aid within the application. Upon acceptance, any student who requested financial aid will be contacted for further information.
Applications for SMI 2024 are now closed. Applications for SMI 2025 will open in November 2024.
The Program is open, by recorded video audition, to s tudents ages 15-20 who are seriously considering music as a career and willing to devote themselves to a well-rounded musical education. Submitted recordings must be video files; no audio files will be accepted.
Application Deadline: Sunday, January 21, 2024. A $30 non-refundable application fee is due upon application submission (contact us if you need to request a fee waiver due to financial circumstances, we will be glad to work with you). Students will be notified of the results by the end of March 2024.
SMI 2024 Orchestral Excerpts:
Instrument Eligibility
Students who play any of the following instruments are eligible to apply for SMI: violin, viola, cello, string bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and harp.
Percussionists who live locally may apply to perform with the NSO Summer Music Institute Orchestra, and receive the following components of the program. Housing is not provided. While there are no specific excerpt requirements for percussion, we ask that you submit up to two video samples of orchestral repertoire.
Pianists who live locally are eligible to apply as part of the chamber program and receive the following components of the program. Housing is not provided. While there are no specific excerpt requirements for piano, we ask that you submit two video samples: one of solo repertoire and one of chamber repertoire.
The SMI Concerto Competition is open to all full-time participants, but the stages of the competition begin with the SMI application. If you choose to compete in the Concerto Competition, the piece you submit as your solo in the application is your competition piece. The piece must be for full orchestra and must be readily available for purchase or rental. The final repertoire selection will be up to the discretion of NSO Education. Full details for the concerto competition will be shared upon acceptance to the program. Contact NSO Education for specific questions about the competition or repertoire selection.
Full Orchestra Program for Local Participants
Students living in the greater Washington, DC metro are, who may not be available for the full four-week program, can opt for partial full-orchestra only participation in the Summer Music Institute. To learn more about this, please contact the NSO Education Program.
Obligations of Participants
Serious dedication and desire to pursue a holistic musical education are most important for this program. Students selected for the Institute will be expected to enter into a contractual arrangement with the Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra. Students are expected to participate in all four weeks of the program.
All private lesson and ensemble coaching fees will be paid for by the Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra. Fees for any unexcused absences at lessons or coaches must be paid for by the student.
With a focus on supporting the needs of 21st century students and cultivating the skills of 21st century artists, The Kennedy Center pre-professional artist training programs are committed to nurturing the emerging visionaries who are the future change-makers and culture-shapers.
As an integral part of Kennedy Center Education’s mission to foster understanding and uplift communities, each program provides a space where young artists will explore the intersection of artistic practice and civic responsibility, engaging the world as Citizen Artists.
If you have any questions, please contact the NSO Education Program at (202) 416-8823 or by e-mail at [email protected] . Follow us on Instagram.
Questions about accessibility or accommodations? Contact the Office of Accessibility directly at (202) 416-8727(voice) or [email protected] .
Meet Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor
A passionate communicator, Canadian conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. Daniel is an innovative creative visionary, who believes that the beauty of music can heal and unite all of us beyond differences.
Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser holds the positions of Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education at the San Francisco Symphony, the Barrett Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Daniel is also the Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, conducting Ballet and Pops with national and international artists and designing diverse and relevant family and outreach shows for the Halifax community. He is the host of the weekly, national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show Centre Stage - with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.
Daniel has conducted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony in the US and the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and Regina Symphony in Canada. He was a guest conductor with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Centre in 2020. Additionally, Daniel has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. In April 2022, Daniel made his debut with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Orchestra, conducting the world premiere of “Ram Tori Maya” by Indian American composer, Reena Esmail and "We Shall Not Be Moved" arranged by American vocalist and composer, Nathalie Joachim.
Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser was featured in the 2019 CBC documentary Disruptor Conductor directed by Sharon Lewis. Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor, the documentary follows Bartholomew-Poyser as he collaboratively creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada, titled Thorgy and the Thorchestra. The award-winning documentary focuses on Bartholomew-Poyser’s concerts for the Neurodiverse, Prison, African Diaspora and LGBTQ2S+ populations.
Daniel holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Jean-Marie Beaudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. He has been awarded RBC Royal Bank Emerging Artist Grant and the Canada Council for the Arts Jean Baudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. Daniel is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
Meet The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)
The 2022–2023 season marks the National Symphony Orchestra’s 92nd, and Gianandrea Noseda’s sixth as its music director. The Italian conductor serves as the Orchestra’s seventh music director, joining the NSO’s legacy of such distinguished leaders as Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Doráti, Howard Mitchell, and Hans Kindler. Its artistic leadership also includes Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke and Artistic Advisor Ben Folds.
