Frost's Summer Young Musicians Summer Camp: One of the Top Music Camps in South Florida

For over 20 years, Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp in beautiful Miami has been an incubator of young talent. Hundreds of students from all over the world have passed through the camp, looking to enhance their music skills and explore new horizons.
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Campers performing at Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp in 2016. 

They call her “Cane Queen,” “Superstar ‘Cane,” but in the music industry, the artist known as Idarose is Alexis Kesselman—an artist who has gained thousands of TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, and Spotify followers, resulting in an extraordinary fanbase. Last year alone, she co-penned Joji’s Spotify U.S. and Global number one and Billboard Hot 100 top ten single “Glimpse of Us”—one of 2022’s breakout hits. Back in March, the Milk & Honey Platinum songwriter/producer/composer/artist visited the Frost School of Music campus and recapped this visit with an Instagram post stating, “I had the best time back at my alma mater chatting with the current students about all things music.” 

Idarose’s first time visiting the campus was years ago when she attended the Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp, where she participated in the Songwriting Intensive program taught by Frost School of Music’s Assistant Professor Raina Murnak. Idarose is one of the many success stories from the Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp. The camp has been an incubator for young talent for over twenty years, turning students into musicians and artists into stars.

With a beautiful and strategic location, warm climate, and world-class status, Miami, also known as the Magic City, and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami playing host, the Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp is rapidly becoming ‘the camp to go and make music happen.’   

Summer music camps offer many benefits as they allow for concentrated study at a musical level often not found at home or school. Frost's Young Musicians Camp stands out by serving as an excellent way for hundreds of young musicians—from 2nd to 12th grade—to attend an educational program that includes classes, intensive workshops, and a festival at the end that showcases their talents.  

But more than that, it introduces these young musicians to an environment where they can collaborate and share their passion for music as they discover if this art form is something to pursue seriously.

“A large number of the high school students who come to the camp are here to check out the college, and many of them end up coming here,” says Sarah Salz, director of the Frost Young Musicians Summer Camp.

According to Salz, the camp not only gives campers a glimpse of what it would be to study music, but it also provides the opportunity to study with top musicians and music educators who can guide and mentor them in a potential place to learn as a college student—a space where musicians are built and trained to enter the music industry.  

“This camp is so important for students serious about studying music in college,” says Murnak. “They learn things like production techniques and connecting to the music business. They have songwriting lessons, ensembles, and even the chance to make a band!” 

Murnak became involved in the camp in 2006. She began the Songwriting Intensive program when she noticed that her classical composition students were increasingly interested in writing songs. “It was a cultural phenomenon happening in the U.S. in the early 2000s, thanks to artists like Taylor Swift, who greatly impacted young people. They suddenly saw themselves as not only singers and guitarists but also as songwriters.”

Indubitably, the students who come to this camp get a great experience. “From singer/songwriters like Idarose to Jared Goldstein and Will Newman, to tons of other students who came through this camp, and either kept studying at Frost or went on to study at other programs,” adds Murnak. “They had such an edge because they were already participating in the business landscape, as far as marketing their product and conceptualizing what a band should look like, and they learned it all by working together at this camp.”   

There’s still time to sign up for the camp. The Young Musicians Summer Camp invites students in 2nd through 12th grade, who are interested in music and performance, to explore the options available.  


The 2023 Young Musicians Summer Camp runs as follows:

 

Programs for students in Elementary School

Session A. June 12 - June 23 | Monday - Friday

Programs for students in Middle School

Session A. June 12 - June 23 | Monday - Friday

Programs for students in High School

Session B. July 5 - July 15 | Monday - Friday, + Saturday, July 8 

To learn how to apply or for more program details, including description, registration, costs, and hours, visit youngmusicianscamp.com.