Mike Block String Camp

July 8-13, 2024 in Vero Beach, FL

Mike Block String Camp (MBSC) is an annual multi-style workshop for string players of all ages and backgrounds, focusing on non-classical traditions and contemporary musical styles, with emphasis on learning by ear, creativity, collaboration, and performance. Begun in 2010, MBSC provides level-based classes catering to college students, amateur adults, professionals, kids, high schoolers, and middle school students. Our public concerts are presented by the Vero Beach International Music Festival.

Limited to 100 participants.

insight/onsite: a creative music retreat at fallingwater

June 3-7, 2024 in Mill run, pa

Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of “learning by doing”, Insight/Onsite for Musicians is for adult professional and college-aged musicians of diverse stylistic backgrounds to nurture composition, improvisation, and creativity in a collaborative setting. Fellows will enjoy individual creative time in the spaces of Frank Lloyd Wright’s beautifully designed Fallingwater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Limited to 8 participants.

Silkroad’s GLOBAL MUSICIAN WORKSHOP

August 4-10, 2024 @ New England Conservatory in Boston, MA

The Global Musician Workshop (GMW) is Silkroad’s flagship musician training program. Created and directed by Silkroad Ensemble cellist Mike Block, GMW is designed to foster a community of globally minded musicians, helping artists to learn from one another’s traditions and incorporate them into their own voices. An all-star artist-faculty, includes members of the Silkroad Ensemble and their colleagues help participants immerse themselves in musical languages from every continent. GMW is open to participants over 18 years of age, from any musical background. University and conservatory students, as well as professional performers are encouraged to apply.

Limited to 70 participants.

CAMP HISTORY

The first Mike Block String Camp was in Summer 2010, led by a small faculty that included Darol Anger, Hanneke Cassel, Brittany Haas, Victor Lin and Lauren Rioux. Their strong reputations helped jumpstart MBSC with surprisingly large enrollment for a brand new camp, which laid the foundations for continued growth in future years. In order to serve MBSC’s advanced students as their skills and needs evolved, we created new programs like The Apprentice Track (begun 2012) and the Florida Band Incubator (F.B.I.) for pre-formed groups (begun 2015).

Inspired by the MBSC experience, people from other parts of the country invited Mike to organize satellite camps in their cities. These partnerships resulted in the creation of MBSC Michigan at Saline High School (2012-2013), MBSC Maine at Mackworth Island (2013) and the Goodnow Ranch Camp in Bentonville, AR (2011-2013). Mike also founded the Brooklyn Pop String Camp at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, which ran from 2013-2017. From 2017-2020, Mike even directed a version of the MBSC Collaborative Track for orchestral students in Guangzhou, China as part of the festival Youth Music Culture Guangdong. 

In a testament to this regular expansion and commitment to transformative musical experiences, Yo-Yo Ma invited Mike to create Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop, begun in 2015 at Depauw University (Greencastle, IN). Now hosted at the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston, MA), GMW expands on the underlying values of MBSC to feature instruments and cultures from across the entire world, using a structure modeled on the MBSC Apprentice Track. In 2017, GMW even ran its own satellite camp for Fellows at the Tanglewood Music Center, and in 2024 GMW expanded to a second location in Hangzhou, China a the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. Also in 2024, Mike founded a Creative Music Retreat, focusing on composition, hosted at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.

Come join us for a transformative week at camp! :)