Summer Programs

PACO offers two summer programs: PACO Camp (for current PACO students) and Presto PACO (open to the community by audition). Details on both camps below. REGISTRATION FOR SUMMER 2024 IS NOW OPEN.

Presto PACO

Presto PACO is our program for string players ages 8 – 13.  Open to both PACO members from SuperStrings, Prep and young musicians from our community, this is a chamber music workshop led by our very own Natasha Makhijani and Jory Fankuchen.  Presto PACO is a day camp, not a sleep-away, and goes five days (Monday – Friday) 9am – 3:30pm each day, plus a final concert on Friday afternoon.  After you have been selected from your audition, registration information will become available in April for select students as well as current and new members of SuperStrings and Prep. For SuperStrings and Prep students, your season starts with Presto PACO.

Along with PACO conductors/coaches Natasha Makhijani and Jory Fankuchen , Presto PACO camp is assisted by a stellar faculty as well as recent PACO graduates. The focus is on the cultivation of the musical and interpersonal skills that make for great collaboration in both a chamber ensemble and in orchestra.  

This is an excellent opportunity to experience PACO’s unique brand of chamber music “magic” for those students not old enough for PACO Camp.  Every student is placed in a string quartet or trio, coached twice daily, given the opportunity to perform in master classes and an end-of-session public performance by each chamber ensemble, plus the all-camp Presto PACO string orchestra which also rehearses daily.

If you want to audition for the general PACO Season as well as Presto PACO, please do not use this link. Please go to the Auditions tab, where you can audition for both there.

PACO Camp   

PACO camp is required for all returning members of Debut, Sinfonia, and Senior PACO.  Prepsters who are promoted to Debut are expected to attend PACO camp.  This is one of the best ways to connect to PACO and is not to be missed!

PACO Camp is a week-long and is chamber music intensive. Set amidst the majestic redwoods of Aptos, PACO camp is a refreshing break from our normal schedules, where one can practice, rehearse, and perform great chamber music without distractions, as well as relax, socialize, and enjoy the company of our community of musicians.

At the camp, students are housed in bunk rooms and supervised, socially as well as musically, by a staff of Chamber Music Fellows, conservatory students and recent music school graduates from around the country. Running the program is Music Director Scott Krijnen and our Senior Faculty comprised of top professional chamber musicians from the Bay Area and across the country. This summer’s faculty are Ariana Kim, Jory Fankuchen, Natasha Makhijani, Ben Simon, Eugene Sor, Samsun Van Loom and Wendy Clymer.  

The official start of the season begins with our music camps.  These intensive chamber music programs help the students prepare for their orchestra rehearsals by learning how to communicate and listen non-verbally,  learning their individual part on a deep level and discovering their artistic voices as they create the characters on the page and bring them into the concert hall.  The intensity of the work leads to powerful results not only during the week of camp, but into our season as we tackle some of the repertoire’s greatest works. From a social perspective, these camps make life-long friends and help everyone connect with PACO prior to our first rehearsals.

Each camper is assigned a movement (or sometimes two) from a masterwork of the string quartet or string trio repertoire, then placed into an ensemble with their colleagues and friends to rehearse intensively in a collegial and supportive environment.  The daily schedule includes two ensemble rehearsals, chorus, and the Festival Orchestra; masterclasses come later in the week where we practice performing in front of an audience and receiving constructive feedback. On the final Saturday, all student ensembles perform for one and other, and on the final Sunday, we present the PACO Festival Chorus and PACO Festival Orchestra for parents before heading back to the real world.   

PACO camp is an unforgettable experience which soon becomes the favorite week of the year for all involved.