The Verbier Festival Academy’s Soloists & Ensembles programme brings together some of the most promising young pianists and string players of their generation for three weeks of intensive mentorship, chamber music, and performances at the heart of the Verbier Festival. Guided by leading artists and pedagogues, they develop their individual artistry while making collaboration and chamber music an essential part of their experience in Verbier.
2027 applications
Applications for the Academy 2027 Soloists & Ensembles programme are now open.
Programme dates: 11 July – 2 August 2027
Age – Soloists: 16 to 26 years old on 1 July 2027
Age – Junior Students: 13 to 15 years old on 1 July 2027
Age – Ensembles: average age of 22 to 30 on 1 July 2027
Deadline: January 11, 2027
soloists & ensembles at a glance
- Internationally selected pianists, violinists, violists, cellists, trios, and quartets
- Three weeks of intensive training at the heart of the Verbier Festival
- Public and private masterclasses with leading international soloists and pedagogues
- Chamber music at the core of the programme, with coaching and masterclasses alongside other Academy musicians
- Performance opportunities as part of the Verbier Festival
- Musicpreneurship training, addressing the skills and challenges of a young artist’s professional life
- Training fully funded by the Verbier Festival
- Accommodation and daily lunch provided by the Verbier Festival
- Tickets for Festival concerts, subject to availability
- Contribution of CHF 400 for cellists traveling by plane with their instrument
- Working language: English
masterclasses
Soloists generally participate in at least six masterclasses in their discipline, as well as four chamber music masterclasses with other Academy musicians. This combination of individual and collective work is at the heart of the Soloists & Ensembles programme.
Pre-formed ensembles generally participate in ten masterclasses with various guest mentors.
Whenever possible, Junior Students participate in at least two masterclasses or individual coaching sessions and may also be involved in chamber music projects.
2027 Mentors
Chamber Music
Pierre Colombet, Quatuor Ébène
Augustin Dumay
András Keller
Gabriel Le Magadure, Quatuor Ébène
Pedja Mužijević
Gábor Takács-Nagy
Musicpreneurship
The Musicpreneurship programme prepares Academy musicians for the realities of a professional career. Through workshops and meetings with artists and industry professionals, they cover topics such as programming, communication and media, financial management, audio and video recording, as well as physical and mental well-being.
Charlotte Gardner
Gary Leboff
Pedja Mužijević
Alexis Milligan
Karen Zorn
Further mentors to be announced
they have taught at the Academy
Over the years, great artists and pedagogues have shared their experience with the young musicians of the Academy.
Piano
Joaquín Achúcarro
Sergei Babayan
Dmitri Bashkirov †
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Michel Béroff
Bella Davidovich
Leon Fleisher
Claude Frank †
Richard Goode
Gary Graffman
Klaus Hellwig
Joseph Kalichstein
Stephen Kovacevich
Nikolai Lugansky
Claudio Martínez Mehner
Menahem Pressler
Ferenc Rados †
András Schiff
Minsoo Sohn
Rena Shereshevskaya
Violin
Kristóf Baráti
Kolja Blacher
Marc Bouchkov
Guy Braunstein
Zakhar Bron
Timothy Chooi
Ana Chumachenco
Augustin Dumay
Pamela Frank
Ivry Gitlis
Ida Haendel
András Keller
Young-Uck Kim
Boris Kuschnir
Mihaela Martin
Igor Oistrakh
György Pauk †
Dora Schwarzberg
Joseph Silverstein
Dmitry Sitkovetsky
Isaac Stern †
Viktor Tretiakov
Donald Weilerstein
Eduard Wulfson
Pinchas Zukerman
Viola
Yuri Bashmet
Isabel Charisius
Gerard Caussé
Roberto Diaz
Yuri Gandelsman
Nobuko Imai
Kim Kashkashian
Paul Neubauer
Lawrence Power
Timothy Ridout
Máté Szücs
Antoine Tamestit
Lars Anders Tomter
Tabea Zimmermann
Cello
Nicolas Altstaedt
Alban Gerhardt
Lynn Harrell †
Frans Helmerson
Gary Hoffman
Louise Hopkins
Steven Isserlis
Ralph Kirshbaum
Laurence Lesser
Julian Lloyd Webber
Jens Peter Maintz
Miklós Perényi
Ferenc Rados
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt
Torleif Thedéen
Jian Wang
Alisa Weilerstein
Chamber Music
Nicolas Altstaedt
Alfred Brendel †
Isabel Charisius
Pierre Colombet
Pamela Frank
Kirill Gerstein
Amihai Grosz
Klaus Hellwig
Mathieu Herzog
I Giardini
András Keller
Gabriel Le Magadure
Leonkoro Quartet
Mihaela Martin
Raphaël Merlin
Menahem Pressler
Ferenc Rados
Quatuor Ébène
András Schiff
Jonathan Schwarz
Lukas Schwarz
Alasdair Tait
Gábor Takács-Nagy
Pinchas Zukerman
Improvisation
Yilian Cañizares
Ethical Charter
The Verbier Festival is committed to providing a training and working environment based on respect, dignity, equality, and safety for all. All participants are required to adhere to the principles of the Festival’s Ethical Charter, which prohibits all forms of violence, harassment, and discrimination and encourages responsibility, collaboration, and mutual respect.