About
Summer Music Academy is a week-long camp where students participate in band, choir, and orchestra, with auditions on Sunday for placement in bands that include sight-reading a short selection. The program offers electives in areas such as jazz band, leadership skills, conducting, music composition, music theater, chamber music, music theory, rhythmic studies, music history, jazz history, improvisation, double reed making, marching fundamentals, drum majoring, and world percussion. Students also have access to private lessons with university instructors, recitals, and evening social activities including swimming, socials, tournaments, casino night, movies, recreational sports, and an optional Schlitterbahn evening event.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Summer Music Academy runs June 21–26, 2026, as a week-long camp, with auditions on Sunday.
• Price: Residential Students – Cost $625 includes all instruction, housing, meals, activities, and a camp T-shirt. Commuter Students – $400 includes all instruction, two daily meals, activities, and a camp T-shirt. Private Instruction with a Specialist – $25 for one lesson or $40 for two lessons, payable by cash or check at check-in only. Schlitterbahn Evening Event (Optional) Wednesday, June 25, 2025: WITH Schlitterbahn Season Pass – $35 (includes catered meal and bus transportation); WITHOUT Schlitterbahn Season Pass – $70 (includes park entry, catered meal, and bus transportation). A non-refundable $100 deposit is required at registration, and tuition is refundable if written notification is received on or before June 15.
All faculty and housing directors are Texas certified educators and/or university professors, and faculty are selected based on outstanding professional performance and their personal commitment to the Texas Lutheran University Summer Music Academy philosophy. Student leaders are college students hand-selected to assist with Summer Music Academy, and the leadership team includes Dr. Brett A. Richardson, Director of Bands. All activities are supervised by professional camp personnel, and students are housed in separate residence halls based on age and gender, with two students per room.
Summer Music Academy is open to band, choir, and orchestra students at the middle school and high school levels. The middle school program is for students with at least one year of formal school instruction who are entering grades 6–8, and the senior high school program is for students with at least two years of formal school instruction who are entering grades 9–12. Senior high students may elect a General track to choose a combination of courses from any offerings in any area, and participants are asked to select one track in orchestra or band. Not all electives may be available, depending on demand and faculty availability, and requests for electives are filled in the order in which they are received. For high school band students, Jazz Band and Reedmaking (for double reed players) each take two elective spots.
A limited number of achievement-based scholarships are available based on individual student achievement through the TMEA/ATSSB region, area, and all-state process. The Patricia and Roy Norton Memorial Summer Music Academy Scholarship may benefit one high school clarinet player and one high school oboe player each year. If a scholarship is requested, applicants are informed by email of any scholarship awarded by June 1. Online registration is not processed without the $100 deposit, and updated residential and commuter information packets are scheduled to be uploaded by June 1, 2026.
Percussionists must bring their own sticks, mallets, and an optional drum pad, and other equipment is provided. All performances are open to the public, and professionally made recordings are available for purchase at the time of registration and performances.
Last updated February 3, 2026.
• Ages: 11–18 years old
• Schedule: Summer Music Academy runs June 21–26, 2026, as a week-long camp, with auditions on Sunday.
• Price: Residential Students – Cost $625 includes all instruction, housing, meals, activities, and a camp T-shirt. Commuter Students – $400 includes all instruction, two daily meals, activities, and a camp T-shirt. Private Instruction with a Specialist – $25 for one lesson or $40 for two lessons, payable by cash or check at check-in only. Schlitterbahn Evening Event (Optional) Wednesday, June 25, 2025: WITH Schlitterbahn Season Pass – $35 (includes catered meal and bus transportation); WITHOUT Schlitterbahn Season Pass – $70 (includes park entry, catered meal, and bus transportation). A non-refundable $100 deposit is required at registration, and tuition is refundable if written notification is received on or before June 15.
All faculty and housing directors are Texas certified educators and/or university professors, and faculty are selected based on outstanding professional performance and their personal commitment to the Texas Lutheran University Summer Music Academy philosophy. Student leaders are college students hand-selected to assist with Summer Music Academy, and the leadership team includes Dr. Brett A. Richardson, Director of Bands. All activities are supervised by professional camp personnel, and students are housed in separate residence halls based on age and gender, with two students per room.
Summer Music Academy is open to band, choir, and orchestra students at the middle school and high school levels. The middle school program is for students with at least one year of formal school instruction who are entering grades 6–8, and the senior high school program is for students with at least two years of formal school instruction who are entering grades 9–12. Senior high students may elect a General track to choose a combination of courses from any offerings in any area, and participants are asked to select one track in orchestra or band. Not all electives may be available, depending on demand and faculty availability, and requests for electives are filled in the order in which they are received. For high school band students, Jazz Band and Reedmaking (for double reed players) each take two elective spots.
A limited number of achievement-based scholarships are available based on individual student achievement through the TMEA/ATSSB region, area, and all-state process. The Patricia and Roy Norton Memorial Summer Music Academy Scholarship may benefit one high school clarinet player and one high school oboe player each year. If a scholarship is requested, applicants are informed by email of any scholarship awarded by June 1. Online registration is not processed without the $100 deposit, and updated residential and commuter information packets are scheduled to be uploaded by June 1, 2026.
Percussionists must bring their own sticks, mallets, and an optional drum pad, and other equipment is provided. All performances are open to the public, and professionally made recordings are available for purchase at the time of registration and performances.
Last updated February 3, 2026.
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