Steans Music Institute

Steans Institute Piano & Strings Program Header

Program for Piano & Strings June 21 – July 25, 2025

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View Summer 2025 Schedule

Applications for Summer 2025

Deadline January 15, 2025

View Application Information

Violinist Midori
Midori, Artistic Director

Program Overview

The Piano & Strings Program focuses on interpretation of classical sonatas and chamber music through deep collaboration in small groups. Each summer, about 30 violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists come together for an immersive experience with intimate repertoire. They engage in intensive rehearsals and receive guidance from leading artists, who help them refine their craft and enhance their interpretive skills and creative insights. The emerging musicians are featured on more than a dozen concerts and master classes in community venues and at Ravinia, most of which are livestreamed for free to the global audience.

A Collaborative Piano Fellowship for alumni, focused on duo performance, offers specialized training in this unique, expansive realm of piano repertory as part of the Piano & Strings Program’s summer season.

Past artistic directors have included Miriam Fried, Walter Levin, and Robert Mann.

Notable Alumni

Jeremy Denk
Photo: Josh Goleman
 

Jeremy Denk

Piano, 1992
Yuja Wang
Photo: Julia Wesely
 

Yuja Wang

Piano, 2004
Elena Urioste
Photo: Franz Galo
 

Elena Urioste

Violin, 2009
Isidore Quartet
Photo: Jiyang Chen
 

Isidore Quartet

Ensemble, 2022
Alexi Kenney
Photo: Mike Grittani
 

Alexi Kenney

Violin, 2011 & 2012
Zlatomir Fung
Photo: Marco Borggreve
 

Zlatomir Fung

Cello, 2016 & 2017

Faculty and Fellows

Artistic Director

Midori, violin

Faculty

Emanuel Ax, piano
Martin Beaver, violin
Ettore Causa, viola
Timothy Eddy, cello
Liza Ferschtman, violin
David Grimal, violin
Hsin-Yun Huang, viola
Jeffrey Kahane, piano
Gilbert Kalish, piano
Teng Li, viola
Jens Peter Maintz, cello
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
Christoph Richter, cello
Marcy Rosen, cello
Mark Steinberg, violin
Joel Thompson, composer in residence
Donald Weilerstein, violin
More to be announced in Spring 2025
Announced in Spring 2025
Announced in Spring 2025

Cello

Collaborative Piano

Piano

Viola

Violin


Applications for Summer 2026

Piano & Strings Program applications open in September 2025 and deadline in January 2026.

See Summer 2025 application information for reference