Skidmore Launches New Summer Chamber Music Institute - Decoda | Skidmore Chamber Music Institute draws on ties to Ensemble ACJW

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College will host a new chamber music summer institute for high school and college students at its campus this summer. Scheduled July 13-26, the Decoda | Skidmore Chamber Music Institute will be based in the college’s acclaimed Zankel Music Center. Skidmore’s Office of the Dean of Special Programs will partner with Decoda, a cutting-edge New York City-based chamber music ensemble comprising alumni of Ensemble ACJW—The Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education—to offer the institute. Upon completion of Ensemble ACJW, the musicians were inspired to keep playing together and create an entrepreneurial model for artists who want to meaningfully engage with society. The Decoda Institute builds on the strengths of the highly regarded Ensemble ACJW, which has been in residence at Skidmore College each fall and spring since 2007. A total of 40 students will be admitted to the two-week program. During the first week, the focus will be on development of an internal community, and the second week will be devoted to engaging and serving the external community. Young chamber musicians will explore leadership and community service through the intensive study of chamber music. Under the guidance of Decoda artists, students will learn how to fully engage their audiences and communities through scripted interactive performances while improving their own performance and public speaking skills. The institute will feature performances by Decoda, invited guest artists, and the student participants. Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director, called the Decoda | Skidmore Chamber Music Institute “a new and exciting program that challenges young musicians to explore leadership and community service through the intensive study of chamber music.” He characterized the members of Decoda as “a remarkable group of players dedicated to performing at the highest international level, but equally committed to using their talent and skills to give back to society.”