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• About the Festival

  Founded in 1990 with the support of Immanuel and Helen Olshan, the Texas Music Festival Orchestral Institute provides superior training for gifted young musicians (18-30) who are completing university/conservatory studies and entering the professional world. Daily activities include orchestra rehearsals, chamber music rehearsals and coaching, masterclasses, and individual lessons.

  Located on the urban University of Houston campus, TMF enjoys the use of the Moores School of Music’s impressive facilities, including the Moores Opera House, an 800-seat concert hall adorned by an extraordinary installation by Frank Stella. Recitals and masterclasses are held in Dudley Recital Hall in the adjacent Fine Arts Building.

  Orchestral Fellows are housed in UH dormitories and eat three meals daily in the UH cafeteria. Dorm rooms are double rooms in a four-person suite. Single rooms are available for an additional fee.

  The Festival Orchestra rehearses daily, culminating in Saturday night performances in the Moores Opera House.

  Seating is determined by placement auditions on Sunday, June 1. All seating rotates throughout the festival and is determined at this audition.

  Concertmaster and leadership positions rotate, and are assigned after seating auditions.

• Participant Chamber Music

  All TMF Fellows are assigned, in advance, to a group, so that they can arrive fully prepared. Groups receive one coaching per week from TMF Faculty. Groups will have performance opportunities on TMF Student Chamber Music Concerts.

  Chamber Music Competition – Students will have the opportunity to compete to perform with Faculty on the Chamber Music Series in the Mozart Serenade for Winds in C Minor, K. 388, and the Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence. Positions will be open for violin, viola, cello, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn. Auditions will take place during the first week of the festival.

• Cynthia Woods Mitchell – Ima Hogg Competition

  All members of the TMF Orchestral Institute and the TMF College Piano Institute are eligible to compete in the Mitchell - Hogg Competition for cash prizes and a solo appearance with the Festival Orchestra and the Houston Symphony. Click here for information/requirements.

• Cost

  Application fee: $60 (Due with application, non-refundable)
  Registration fee: $400 (Due on acceptance, non-refundable)

  Tuition: $4,000 (All students receive significant merit-based scholarships based on audition; full tuition scholarships are available to highly qualified applicants.)
  Room and Board: $2,200 (All students receive significant merit-based housing scholarships based on audition.)

  Mitchell-Hogg Competition Registration Fee: $30 (Optional, due on acceptance, non-refundable)
  J-1 Visa Fee: $250 (Required for applicable international students, due on acceptance)