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Viola Festival: Step Into the Sound — Violists & Violinists

ASCENT INTERNATIONAL VIOLA FESTIVAL

The Ascent International Viola Festival offers outstanding young musicians ages 13–30 the opportunity to study and perform in an immersive, intensive setting. Ascent goes beyond the practice room to develop the musician as a whole—artistically, personally, and professionally. The festival takes place on the campus of Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, OH.

Our festival welcomes advanced violists and violinists (ages 13–30) — both those with viola experience and violinists eager to explore viola for the first time. Violas are provided free of charge to borrow, so you can step into the sound of the viola without needing your own instrument.

Violinists interested in attending the Ascent International Chamber Music Festival on viola can use Viola Festival week as a jumpstart, building fundamentals and comfort on the instrument before diving into chamber repertoire. Special opportunities and incentives are available for crossover violinists who choose to play viola in chamber groups at Ascent.

PROGRAM DETAILS

June 14- June 20, 2026

Western Reserve Academy

Hudson, OH

Participants Receive:

  • 90 minutes of private lessons
    • Violists receive intensive viola study with festival faculty.
    • Violinists exploring viola receive both viola instruction and a violin lesson with Ascent faculty.
  • Technique classes
  • 4 hours of scheduled solo practice time each day
  • Master class opportunities
  • Solo performance opportunities
  • Jump Into Alto Clef: A Violinist’s Guide
  • Viola choir performances
  • Outreach concerts
  • Orchestral excerpt training
  • Collaborative pianists for Master Classes performances
  • Free festival viola loans for any participant needing an instrument

Sample Daily Schedule:

  • 8am-12pm– Practicing/private lessons
  • 1-3:30pm– Viola Choir, Tech Classes
  • 4-5:30pm– Master classes and other workshops
  • 7:30pm– Concerts

Tuition & Housing

Tuition and Housing:

Ascent Music is committed to providing the opportunity for all admitted students to attend the festival, regardless of background or financial need. Awards are determined on the combined basis of need and merit.

Tuition:

  • On-Campus: $1,470 — includes housing in Western Reserve Academy
    dormitories and all meals
  • Off-Campus: $1,270 — includes lunch only

Admitted applicants receive scholarship details shortly after their acceptance email.
Resident Assistant positions are available; applicants must have completed an
undergraduate degree at minimum to be considered.
Further information is requested upon completion of the application.

On-campus students are housed in the dormitories of Western Reserve Academy.
All meals are provided in WRA’s Ellsworth Hall dining room.

Apply Today

Application and Audition

Application and Audition:

  • Applications open in GetAcceptd on December 1
  • Priority deadline: February 6th (extended)
  • Applications remain open until all spots are filled
  • Priority admissions decisions released March 1

Repertoire Submission

  • Two contrasting works of the applicant’s choice.
    • You may submit on viola or violin.
    • Violinists intending to focus on viola at the festival may audition on violin and indicate their interest in exploring viola.

For all questions, contact admissions@ascentmusic.org

Apply Today

Apply Today

Do I need prior experience on the viola to attend?

Do I need to bring my own viola?

Will I fall behind if I’ve never read alto clef before?

Can I still practice or play violin during the festival?

If I attend Viola Festival, can I continue on viola in the Ascent Chamber Festival?

Will the level be too advanced if I’m new to viola?

How much viola vs. violin will I play during the week?

Viola Festival Faculty

Ann Marie Brink

Viola Festival

Ann Marie Brink is the Associate Professor of Viola at DePaul University and previously served as Associate Principal Viola of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2019.

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Paul Laraia

ViolaViola Festival

1st Prize winner of the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, 1st Prize winner of the 14th National Sphinx Competition, and Gold Medalist with High Distinction at the 5th Manhattan International Music Competition, violist Paul Laraia has established an international career performing as soloist and chamber musician.

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Rictor Noren

ViolaViola FestivalViolin AViolin E

Rictor Noren teaches violin, viola, chamber music, string fundamentals, and string pedagogy at the Boston Conservatory. He also teaches at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Prelude Music Academy, and the New World Symphony.

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Karla Donehew Perez

Viola FestivalViolin CViolin D

Admired for her “luscious melodies” (New York Concert Review) and enlightened programming, violinist Karla Donehew Perez is a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Catalyst Quartet as well as an acclaimed soloist, educator, and creative collaborator with numerous world-class artists and ensembles.

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Masumi Per Rostad

ViolaViola Festival

Praised for his “burnished sound” (The New York Times) and described as an “electrifying, poetic, and sensitive musician,” the Grammy Award-winning, Japanese-Norwegian violist Masumi Per Rostad hails from the gritty East Village of 1980s New York.

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