sandomenicostrings
San Domenico
International Summer Music Academy
July 6-19
$1,325.00 - Intermediate Program (ages 8-12) 9am-3pm
$1,950.00 - Advanced Program (ages 13-20) 9am-6pm
$3,910.00 - Residential Program (ages 13-20)
No audition necessary, however we ask for a brief audio or video recording to aid in chamber group placement. Due by July 1st (deadline extended), sent to asimpson@sandomenico.org
Register by clicking this link, then navigating to "Enrichment, Music" and selecting "Chamber Music Workshop"
Daily Schedule
Students will receive private, chamber, and string orchestra instruction.
A typical day will offer students a broad range of activities to expand their musical knowledge and skills. They will also have several additional opportunities, including a concerto competition, masterclasses, faculty concerts, and a performance off campus in San Francisco!
Intermediate Schedule
Arrive 9am at Hall of the Arts
9:15 Morning announcements, stretching and technique
9:45 Intermediate Orchestra
11 Chamber Coaching/Private Lessons
12:35 Lunch
1:35 Chamber coaching/private lessons
3 Pickup/Optional Practice
Advanced Schedule
Arrive 9am Hall of the Arts
9:15 Morning announcements, stretching and technique
9:45 Chamber Coaching/Private Lessons
12:35 Lunch
1:35 Chamber Coaching/Private Lessons
4 Advanced Orchestra
6 End of Day/Optional Practice for Day Students
6 Dinner for Boarding Program
7 pm Optional Practice, Concerts, or Evening Social Activities
10:30 pm Lights out in Dorms for 14 and under
Concert Programs
Families and community invited to all performances!
Faculty
Our faculty are passionate educators dedicated to nurturing aspiring musicians. With expertise across various genres, they offer a comprehensive learning experience. Through personalized instruction and chamber coaching, they empower students to develop creativity and technical skills, helping them excel in their performances.
Alexandra Simpson, Program Director, Viola and Chamber Music
Alexandra Simpson has built an eclectic career that runs the gamut from intimate chamber music concerts to stadium tours with superstar pop acts. She plays in a number of orchestras and serves as Acting Principal Violist Fresno Philharmonic and Assistant Principal at California Symphony. She currently holds the Interim Music Director position at San Domenico School’s Virtuoso Program. She studied with Kim Kashkashian at New England Conservatory, Ettore Causa at Yale School of Music, and Dmitri Murrath at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She also has performed with a number of pop acts, including Sabrina Carpenter, Kygo, Sigur Ros, Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Bublé.
Alexandra has appeared as a soloist with Sacramento's Camellia Symphony Orchestra, Marin Symphony, SFCM New Music Ensemble, and Classical Music Institute Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Alexandra travels frequently to festivals to perform, learn, and teach. Alexandra has participated in the Prussia Cove International Musicians’ Seminar, Kneisel Hall, Glenn Douglas Memorial Chamber Festival, Bard Music Colombia, Musikiwest Chamberfest in Pebble Beach, and Classical Music Institute in San Antonio, Texas. As an orchestra musician, she subs with San Francisco Symphony, SFBallet and SFOPERA, and has served as a guest Principal Violist for the Orchestra San Antonio, OPERA San Antonio, and a number of Bay Area Orchestras.
Alexandra performs regularly around the Bay Area, and has given chamber music concerts at Berkeley Piano Club, Piedmont Center for the Arts, Strings in Emeryville, and with Benicia Chamber Players. She performed alongside Sabrina Carpenter for her NPR Tiny Desk, and accompanied international superstar DJ Kygo at the closing act of Outside Lands in 2019, and in 2022 at BottleRock in Napa. She has appeared in music videos and documentaries for ZHU, Chuck Prophet and Mercury Soul, and was interviewed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's for his 2020 Build Conference keynote, as well as advertisements for Microsoft Teams.
Brady Anderson
Cello and Chamber Music
Brady Anderson is a highly acclaimed cellist and pedagogue. At just fifteen years old, he made his solo debut performing Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major, marking the beginning of a career filled with numerous prizes from competitions such as the Music Teachers National Association and the American String Teachers Association.
Brady is the artistic director of the Benicia Chamber Players and Pleasanton Chamber Players. He is the cellist and a founding member of the Verve Trio and served as the interim cellist of the Thalea String Quartet. Brady studied chamber music under the guidance of Menahem Pressler, Jorja Fleezanis, Anne Epperson, Atar Arad, Paul Hersh, Ian Swensen, the Pacifica String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet, the JACK Quartet, the Miró Quartet, and many others. Brady also enjoys performing all genres of music and has recorded with dozens of groups, including Nataly Dawn, Cypress Hill, Jennifer Hudson and can be heard on the Grammy-nominated La Orquesta Sinfonietta album Canto America.
Fiona Cunningham-Murray
Violin and Chamber Music
Violinist Fiona Cunninghame-Murray, a rising talent born in Marin and raised in Baltimore, studied at the Peabody Pre-Conservatory with Lenelle Morse and earned her Bachelor's degree under David Halen, Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony, at the University of Michigan. Currently, she is pursuing her Master's degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Chen Zhao, violinist of the San Francisco Symphony and Simon James.
Fiona Cunninghame-Murray recently made her solo debut in collaboration with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in a program presented by the San Francisco Symphony as part of the Great Performer Series.
During her summers, Cunninghame-Murray has participated in prestigious music festivals, including the Meadowmount Festival, where she studied with Gerardo Ribeiro, Sally Thomas and Kikuei Ikeda of the Tokyo String Quartet, and the Aspen Music Festival under Robert Lipsett.
Recent performances include sharing the stage with Gil Shaham and the Aspen Festival Orchestra and collaborating with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Cunninghame-Murray has also participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists Hilary Hahn, Midori Goto, Daniel Ashalamov of the American String Quartet and Daniel Phillips of the
Orion String Quartet.
Jae Yeon Park
Violin and Chamber Music
Jae Yeon Park, a native and resident of Korea, began studying the violin at the age of three and made her stage debut at nine. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she studied under the guidance of Professor Ayano Ninomiya and was a recipient of the Howard Hanson Scholarship. She later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University, where she focused on integrated learning and emotional education. As the Artistic Director of Little Star Music Academy, Jae Yeon has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of musicians. She has organized numerous music festivals and concerts, while also developing comprehensive curricula that integrate performance opportunities with long-term artistic growth. The academy has produced exceptional alumni, with students earning admission to top institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, as well as winning prestigious international competitions including the Young Tchaikovsky and Osaka International Competitions. Committed to both performance and pedagogy, Jae Yeon combines deep musical expertise with a forward-thinking educational approach, inspiring students to develop both technical mastery and artistic individuality.
Jon Lee Piano and Chamber Music
Known for his dynamic and expressive playing, pianist Jon Lee has performed as soloist and chamber musician across North America and Europe, bringing his artistry to renowned venues such as Symphony Hall in Boston, Fort Worth’s Bass Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, Calgary’s Jack Singer Hall, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, and Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts. As a soloist, Jon has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony, Boston Pops Orchestra, and Utah Symphony. Jon is the recipient of numerous accolades, including first prize at the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the San Diego International Piano Competition. His performances at the Washington International Piano Artists Competition earned him multiple honors, including the top prize, audience favorite, and best Liszt interpretation. At the Boston International Piano Competition, Jon secured second place, the audience prize, and the best Baroque interpretation. Additionally, he took home the gold medal and several other prizes at the Seattle International Piano Competition. Recent festival appearances including PianoTexas, the Sicily International Piano Festival, AIM Paris, and the Vivace! International Music Festival, where he worked with esteemed pedagogues Jerome Lowenthal, Leon Fleisher, Boris Slutsky, and Russell Sherman. Beyond his solo work, Jon is an active chamber musician, performing in distinguished series like San Francisco’s Noontime Concerts, the Spectrum Chamber Music Society in Fort Worth, Texas, the Benicia Chamber Players, Groupmuse, and the popular Flower Piano festival in the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Jon’s interest in new music led to the Untitled Bagatelle Project, where he commissioned new solo piano pieces modeled on Beethoven’s Six Bagatelles Op. 126. In addition to his musical pursuits, Jon serves as Operations Director for the Hawaiʻi Chamber Music Festival and Digital Operations Director for the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival, drawing on his background in software engineering and management to modernize digital and marketing strategies for arts organizations. He also developed MusicPodium, an iPad app designed to make score reading more accessible and portable. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Utah, Jon is pursuing an Artist Diploma in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the mentorship of Professor Yoshikazu Nagai. He previously completed the Professional Studies Certificate in Keyboard Performance at SFCM and holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Constantine Janello
Cello and Chamber Music
Constantine Janello, based in San Francisco, serves as a cellist in the Stockton Symphony and appears with Santa Cruz Symphony, and Fresno Philharmonic regularly.
Previously, he served as artist in residence for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s chamber music program where he completed a Masters of Music degree under
the tutelage of Jennifer Culp and performed alongside distinguished guest artists such as: The Míro Quartet, Inon Barnatan, The L’Arc trio, members of the Esmé Quartet,
Melissa White, and SFCM faculty.
He holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings of Mercer University where he studied with distinguished professors Julie Albers, Richard Aaron, and Leo Singer. At Mercer, Constantine was also the recipient of the Robert McDuffie Scholarship award and performed regularly in the Fabian Chamber Concert Series of Mercer University, featuring performances alongside distinguished artists Amy Schwartz Moretti of the Ehnes Quartet, Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson
Quartet, and Andrew Brady and Elizabeth Tiscione of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Constantine has kept a private studio of students ranging in age and background since 2020.
His past teachers include Anthony Arnone and Moises Molina.
San Domenico Campus
The campus is located on hundreds of acres of protected land in the rolling hills on San Anselmo, offering a number of hiking trails for students to explore. The dorms will be separated by gender, and Resident Faculty will enforce bedtimes for all students under 14. The dining hall offers 3 meals and snacks for boarding students, and lunch is included for day students, and access to the pool will be scheduled based on interest.