Student life

Students are housed at the charming French owned, Hotel St. Bernard in Taos Ski Valley. Located at 9600 ft (2900 m), the hotel is surrounded by beautiful forests and meadows making it an ideal setting for the school.

Closed to visitors, this quaint hotel is exclusive to the students and provides guest rooms, restaurant, rehearsal studios and a gathering area as well as the perfect intimate setting for some of the performances. Students fall in love with this wonderful lodge and form lasting friendships with the owner and staff.

Housing and Meals

Students are housed either in a single or double room at the hotel. Preference for single rooms is given to students returning for their second summer. Next preference goes to older students. Piano students will always be housed in a double room.

Meals are a highlight of the school and are often what the students enthusiastically talk about after they leave. The hotel’s French chefs take great care to make extraordinary food for the students and faculty on a daily basis. Meal times are a special time for students and faculty to gather and enjoy each other’s company.

School Format

Taos is unusual because music is not preassigned prior to student’s arrival. On day one, groups are formed usually consisting of three string quartets, one piano trio and one piano quartet. The faculty then chooses the repertoire, works unfamiliar to the musicians, with performances taking place 12 to 13 days later.

All string players play in a piano group and all violinists play both first and second violin. Groups are shuffled so no two people play together more than twice. Students perform four separate concerts every two weeks with Mondays being a day of rest allowing students to explore the mountains or the historic town of Taos.