Académie Camac 2020

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December 3, 2019

Now in its fourth edition, the Académie Camac is our fully-sponsored course for exceptional concert harp students aged between 18 and 30. In 2020, we are delighted to be returning to beautiful Dijon, for a week of intensive study with the Principal Harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic – Anneleen Lenaerts.

We have been running the Académie Camac every two years since 2014. Our first professor was the late, much-loved Germaine Lorenzini. In 2016, it was the turn of Lorenzini’s heir, Isabelle Moretti; in 2018, Isabelle Perrin taught the course. The roll of honour speaks for itself: one hallmark of the Académie is an exceptional professor.

Not only the choice of teacher makes the Académie Camac special. For this exceptional project, we have also been inspired by some further principles. Talented, advanced students often benefit from a lot of one-on-one tuition, and plenty of freedom to direct their own learning. They also need time to focus on this, without a large programme of supplementary courses and activities.

Beyond your individual daily lesson, the Académie Camac has no imposed structure at all. We do not even hold a closing concert, because that carries the risk that students focus hard on their piece for that concert, to the detriment of something they might have found more interesting or useful that week. We do include informal performances before dinner every night for those who want to do them in a supportive atmosphere.

We try to make your working conditions as good as possible. We supply a harp per student, so there is no juggling harps or practice rooms. We hold our course in beautiful, peaceful surroundings: the Marcs d’Or in Dijon, home of our friends Olivier Troubat and Ludovic Escalonna. When you need a break from playing the harp, you can explore Dijon, join the Académie Camac dog walking / jogging / coffee-drinking groups, and relax however you choose.

There are no tuition fees. We sponsor the entire course – tuition, meals, accommodation, the lot. The only thing you have to pay for is your travel to Dijon. This can be done very cheaply from Paris, Lyon or Geneva if you brave the Flixbus; train tickets are also quite reasonable if booked in advance.

Because of the level of sponsorship we assign to this project, the Académie Camac is open to our clients aged between 18-30. “Client” means that your harp is one of ours, and we explain the thinking behind this in our FAQ.

Putting your application in is simple. Read our FAQ, get your teacher to write you a recommendation, fill out the application form, and send it all off to us online by February 15, 2020.

Good luck! We’re looking forward to receiving your dossiers.