Overview
Violin Bootcamp is an intensive summer violin camp focused on strengthening a violinist’s technical foundation, building new musical skills and developing practice strategies and mindsets to find new levels of facility, ease, and fluency in their playing. Through group classes focused on fundamentals, scales and technique, multiple private lessons through the week, daily individual practice time, and workshops on the art of practicing, violinists will have all the resources they need to hone their craft to the next level, and will thrive in our supportive community of like-minded students. The week will culminate with an informal presentation of progress and student reflections on their insights and experiences.
Recommended Level: ASTACAP Level 4/Suzuki Book 3 level and up – Some familiarity with shifting and third position is necessary.
Course Objectives
- Improved and enhanced fundamental violin skills.
- Deeper understanding of how to use the body to play the violin effectively and efficiently.
- Learning new practice mindsets and skills to improve results in the practice room.
- Greater confidence and self-knowledge as a musician.
Tentative Schedules
- 9:00 – 10:15 am: Fundamentals
- 10:15 – 11:15 am: Scales
- 11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Private Lesson and Individual Practice
- 12:15 – 1:00 pm: Lunch
- 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Individual Practice
- 2:00 – 3:00 pm: Violin Topics
- 3:00 – 4:00 pm: Practice Lab or Masterclass
Ages: 10-18
Dates: July 31 – Aug 4, 2023
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuition: $582
Location: Mason Fairfax Campus, de Laski Performing Arts Building
Scholarships
Limited needs-based scholarship funding is available. Please submit the application form for camp linked below and complete the MCAA Financial Aid Application process to be considered for both acceptance and scholarship.
Audition Material
- An application and successful video audition are required to participate in this program. Please complete the below online application form and follow audition video submission instructions.
- One major scale (as many octaves as you can play fluently)
- One melodic minor scale (as many octaves as you can play fluently)
- 2 – 5 minutes of a solo piece
Program Faculty

Claire Allen
Director
Academy Teaching Artist
Read more about Claire
Languages: English (fluent) | Spanish (functional)
Musical Styles: Western Classical
Specialized Skill Levels: All
Suzuki Method: Available, Books 1-10
Claire Allen is a Teaching Artist of Violin and Strings Coordinator. Since joining the string faculty at MCAA in 2013, she has created and collaborated on the development of the Violin Beginnings curriculum (which is based on the curriculum for beginning violinists taught at Peabody Preparatory), added several supplemental group classes for young violinists to the private lesson program, and has taught a private studio of violinists ages 4 to adult. She frequently creates themed lesson plans and loves creating games for her students.
Claire has completed extensive teacher training including Suzuki-certified training for Suzuki Books 1-5, Rebecca Henry’s pedagogy course at Peabody Conservatory, and Mimi Zweig’s Violin/Viola Teacher Retreat. She has been interviewed on the Suzuki podcasts, “Beyond the Music Lesson” and “Time to Practice” with Suzuki teacher and violinist Christine Goodner. In 2019, she was selected as the Outstanding String Teacher of the Year by the Virginia chapter of the American String Teachers Association. In 2022, she was a featured presenter at the ASTA National Conference on the topic “Creating A Diverse Repertoire for Elementary Level Violinists.”

Matt Richardson
Violin Teaching Artist
Read more about Matt
Matt Richardson is a Freelance Violinist/Violist and teacher in the DC Metropolitan area. He frequently performs with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, The National Philharmonic, the New Orchestra of Washington, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, The Williamsburg Symphony, Maryland Lyric Opera, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, among others. Other orchestral experience includes performances with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, the Virginia Opera, Opera on the James, the Mark Morris Dance Company, the International Chamber Orchestra of Washington, the Castleton Festival, the Cathedral Choral Society Orchestra, the Apollo Orchestra, and the American Festival Pops Orchestra. A frequent chamber musician, Matt is also a founding member of the 9th Street Chamber Music, a new chamber music organization based in the Northern VA area. He can be found performing in numerous DC venues including, The Kennedy Center Concert Hall and Millennium Stage, The Washington National Cathedral, The Music Center at Strathmore, The Lyceum in Old Town Alexandria, The Washington Masonic Memorial, The Church of the Holy City (DC) and many others.
Additionally, Matthew has been an active violin teacher and clinician in the Northern Virginia area since 2007, maintaining a private studio out of his home in Centreville, VA. His students have gone to rank highly in all levels of the American Youth Philharmonic orchestras, the Mclean Youth Orchestra, and the 9th Street Chamber Music String Quartet Intensive program, as well as leading sections in the Northern Virginia and North Central Virginia Senior Regional Orchestras, and the Virginia All-State Orchestra. He has also served on the faculty of the Corcoran Chamber Music Institute at George Washington University since 2014, and the GMU Ovations Summer Strings Academy since 2009. Matt’s primary teachers include Peter Haase, Zino Bogachek, Karen Johnson, Weigang Li, and Joseph Wargo.

Hannah Price
Assistant Director
Academy Teaching Artist
Read more about Hannah
Language: English (fluent), Spanish (conversational)
Musical Styles: Classical
Instruments: Violin
Specialized Skill Levels: All Levels
Adult Students Welcome!
Hannah Price is a passionate and dedicated violin teacher of all ages and abilities. As an artist, scholar, and teacher, her efforts and contributions to music aim to propel the value and quality of music education forward, keeping it central to the core of human value in a quickly evolving world.
An active advocate for community engagement, Ms. Price has been involved in the development of the Musical Storytelling Project in Oberlin, OH, and as a participant in programs that bring music and instruction to Grafton Correctional Institution and hurricane-stricken areas of Puerto Rico.
Throughout her musical career, Ms. Price has regularly performed as a chamber, orchestral, and solo musician in concert programs domestically and internationally. She has performed as an orchestral musician in venues including Carnegie Hall (New York, NY), Severance Hall (Cleveland, OH), and the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas, TX). In past Summers, Ms. Price has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and Litomysl International String Masterclass (Litomysl, Czech Republic), among others.
Ms. Price holds a Master’s degree with a concentration in Music in Education from the New England Conservatory, having studied under the mentorship of Ayano Ninomiya. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory after having begun her studies at Indiana University under the instruction of Sibbi Bernhardsson.

Andrew Juola
Academy Teaching Artist
Read more about Andrew
Andrew Juola is an active performer in the DC Metropolitan area. He performs with the Washington Concert Opera’s first violin section, the Tysons-Mclean Orchestra, and the Arlington Philharmonic as both a first and second violinist. He freelances with various other ensembles as both a violinist and violist.
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Music in performance from George Mason University and a Master’s of Music from the University of Maryland. He considers Peter Haase and James Stern to be his most influential teachers. Throughout his formal studies, Andrew attended and performed at collegiate chamber music and orchestral festivals including the National Orchestral Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, the National Music Festival, and the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy.
Andrew has taught privately for six years and has extensive experience coaching chamber ensembles and sectionals. Through the use of the Suzuki method, the teachings of Paul Rolland, and Alexander Technique, he wants his students to discover a technique with which they can project their musical ideas through their instruments. Andrew’s students have auditioned successfully for collegiate programs in music as well as in district and regional events at the pre-college level on violin and viola.
Guest Artists

Susanna Klein
Associate Professor of Music at Virginia Commonwealth University
Read more about Susanna
Susanna Klein is Associate Professor of Violin and Coordinator of Strings at her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. Originally from Stuttgart, Germany, she has enjoyed a varied career as a violinist, educator and innovator. She has performed in orchestra and chamber music settings in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy and Israel,as well as throughout the United States. A self-described practice maven, Ms. Klein researches technology and musician’s practice habits. She is the author of the acclaimed Practizma Practice Journal. In 2017 her work was funded through a VCU Presidential Grant, the University’s most prestigious research award. Ms. Klein regularly presents workshops on injury prevention, tech-informed practice and practice psychology at Colleges and conferences. Her work has been featured in The Strad, Strings Magazine, Instrumentalist Magazine, Chamber Music America Magazine, and on National Geographic Instagram. She is the creator of the Clipza App and the Practice Blitz YouTube Channel. You can look up her practice tips at practizma.com.
Testimonials
Violin Bootcamp 2022 Participants
“Bootcamp really teaches you how to practice effectively. It really translates over to other instruments, not just violin. Also, your tone and posture WILL improve here. Trust me.”
“Bootcamp was pretty fun, I really love hanging out with friends, and I really improved. I really liked collaborating. Even though they make us exercise in the morning (don’t worry, it really makes you improve).”
“Bootcamp was a lot of fun and I enjoyed all the different classes throughout the day. Every lesson and teacher helped me play and understand the violin. Definitely coming next year!”
“Bootcamp was hard, but overall it was worth it. Bootcamp has changed how I practice, play, and learn violin.”
Notes
- Please note that group classes are subject to cancellation if minimum enrollment is not reached.
- Be sure to check our policies and procedures regarding registration, withdrawals, refunds, and more for summer group classes.
- All students will receive a Welcome Letter via email at least 1 week before the class starts with all necessary details.
- Online registration closes 2 business days before the first class, however space may still be available. Please contact academy@gmu.edu for more information. A $10 late registration fee may apply.
- For additional information, please contact the Academy at academy@gmu.edu.