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• About the Festival

  Founded in 1990 by David Tomatz, director of the University of Houston School of Music, with the support of Immanuel and Helen Olshan, the Texas Music Festival Orchestral Institute provides superior training for gifted young musicians (18-30) who are completing university/conservatory studies and entering the professional world. Daily activities include orchestra rehearsals, chamber music rehearsals and coaching, masterclasses, and individual lessons.

  Based on the urban University of Houston campus, TMF enjoys use of the Moores School of Music’s impressive facilities. This 142-square-foot building houses the rehearsal rooms, studios, practice rooms, and the Moores Opera House, and 800-seat concert hall adorned by an extraordinary installation by Frank Stella. Smaller faculty and guest performances are held in Dudley Recital Hall (300 seats) in the adjacent Fine Arts Building.

  TMF offers a full-tuition fellowship (a $3000 value) to all accepted participants (Fellows) through an endowment created by the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Foundation for TMF, with support from the UH Moores School of Music, a part of the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts.

  Fellows are housed in the UH's Cougar Village I dormitory and eat three meals daily in the UH Fresh Fork cafeteria. Dorm rooms are double rooms in a four-person suite. Single rooms are available for a supplement.

  The Festival Orchestra rehearses daily, culminating in Saturday night performances in the Moores Opera House. Each program includes a weekly sectional led by TMF faculty.

  Seating is determined by placement auditions on Sunday, June 2.

  Concertmaster positions are assigned after seating auditions. Violin applicants who would like to be considered for Ein Heldenleben will audition in advance by video audition.

• Participant Chamber Music

  All TMF Fellows are assigned, in advance, to a group, so that they can arrive fully prepared. Groups receive one coaching per week from TMF Faculty and the Formosa Quartet, during its first-week residency. Groups will have performance opportunities on TMF Student Chamber Music Concerts.

  Chamber Music Competition – Some students will have to opportunity to compete to perform with Faculty on the Faculty Chamber Music Series in the Beethoven Octet for Winds and the Brahms String Sextet in G Major. Positions will be open for violin, viola, cello, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn.

• Cynthia Woods Mitchell – Ima Hogg Competition

  All members of the TMF Orchestral Institute and the TMF College Piano Institute are eligible to compete in the Mitchell - Hogg Competition for cash prizes and a solo appearance with the Festival Orchestra and the Houston Symphony. Click here for information/requirements.

• Cost

  Application fee: $40 (Due with application, non-refundable)
  Registration fee: $350 (Due on acceptance, non-refundable)
  
  Tuition: $3,000 value (All students receive significant merit-based scholarships based on audition)
  Room and Board: $1,540 value (All students receive significant merit-based housing scholarships based on audition)