Elite performers hone their music at Kneisel Hall’s summer program

Students from around the world attend Blue Hill’s highly competitive and tuition-free music school that is both ‘nurturing’ and ‘intense’

Kneisel Hall’s summer musicians. Photo courtesy of Kneisel Hall.

Aug. 5, 2026

By Steele Hays

Every Friday and Sunday for nine weeks each summer, crowds of concertgoers are drawn to Blue Hill’s Kneisel Hall for the opportunity to enjoy chamber music performed by world-class professional musicians who serve as faculty members.

There is less public awareness about Kneisel Hall’s students, a remarkably select group: This year, 385 young music students from around the world applied to win one of the coveted 51 tuition-free scholarships to Kneisel. For every nine applicants, only one is selected. 

Summer student Hayley Lau, who plays viola, grew up in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Steele Hays.

“The best part is the people from all over the world,” said Hayley Lau, one of this year’s Young Artists, a violist and fulltime student at Manhattan School of Music, who grew up in Sydney, Australia. “It’s such a high caliber of people. It’s just really inspiring to be part of it.”

To be accepted into the program, students submit an audition video and other information in February. Faculty members review applications over the next six weeks and announce the winners in April. 

This year’s group includes students from 21 colleges and conservatories around the world, including Canada, China, Israel and the U.S. The largest group – 11 – is from New York’s prestigious Juilliard School of Music. Kneisel Hall’s faculty selects a set number of musicians according to their preferred instrument: 21 violinists, 14 cellists, nine violists and seven pianists. This year their ages range from 18 to 27.

Students interviewed by The Rising Tide about their experience used two words repeatedly to describe their Kneisel Hall experiences: “nurturing” and “intense.” 

“They really nurture every student and help us realize our own individual voices,” said Ava Kenney, a violinist from Madison, Wisconsin who is in her third consecutive year at Kneisel, one of only two students with that distinction. “They always tell us to take care of each other.” 

Kenney said she loves the natural beauty of the school’s surroundings and the chance to focus fully on her music without the distractions of daily life she feels in Boston where she attends the New England Conservatory. 

“It’s very peaceful here,” she said. “We’re all kind of spoiled. We don’t have to worry about cooking or doing anything else. I love nature and when we’re not rehearsing or being coached it’s wonderful to just go on walks and sit by the water. It’s a dream.” 

The references to “intensity” refer to the demanding schedules students face. Kneisel’s schedule is divided into two three-and-a-half-week sessions. Each session, every student is assigned to two groups. Each group has a single piece of music to rehearse and perform together. There are two rehearsal sessions daily and individual coaching sessions in the afternoons. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been part of something this intense,” Lau said. 

“No matter who I’m playing with, I learn so much from everyone,” said Bobby Carlson, a pianist and at age 27, one of the oldest students in this year’s group.  “Many projects (an assigned musical composition) are quite large and really challenging. Every day feels like a week. I’ve spent a lot of money at Bucklyn Coffee.”

Carlson, who’s from the small town of Rustburg, Virginia, is pursuing his Ph.D. in music at City University of New York (CUNY). 

In addition to winning a Kneisel Hall scholarship, Lau, 19, has also earned a part-time position as a substitute violist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed several times with the orchestra. 

Bobby Carlson, a student from Virginia. Photo by Steele Hays.

When they are not rehearsing or performing, students said they enjoy exploring Blue Hill: Hanging out at the big rock on the shore of Town Park, walking to Bucklyn Coffee and Dunkin Donuts, hiking Blue Hill Mountain, and dancing at the Flash in the Pan concerts on Monday evenings. A minority of students have their own cars and they can also borrow a Kneisel Hall van to explore more widely. Recently, a group woke early and drove to Acadia National Park to see the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain and hike the Beehive Trail.  

“They have a lot of freedom, there’s no curfew,” said Natalia Dornbush, who serves as Kneisel Hall’s residential life manager and stays full time in one of the two student dormitories. 

Asked if students have any challenges adjusting to being here, Dornbush said: “It’s a lot of nature for some students --- the mosquitos and ticks are the biggest deals.” 

In addition to their rehearsals, coaching, and lessons, all Young Artists are assigned a range of support jobs, assisting with the Friday and Sunday faculty concerts by ushering, assisting with parking, serving refreshments and other roles.

The Young Artists groups appear in a number of public performances each summer, in Kneisel Hall itself and in venues around the area. All this year’s off-campus performances have already taken place, but there are still five upcoming free public performances by Young Artists groups at these dates and times: 

• Wed., August 12 at 7:30 p.m.

• Thursday, August 13 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

• Saturday, August 15 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

For more information on the Young Artists concerts and to see a full list of this year’s students and their schools, visit Kneisel Hall’s website.