Our Values

As a tuition-free, merit-based program, the Festival opens doors and presents opportunities to a diverse body of students from across the United States. Students are able to forge meaningful relationships with their peers and their mentors in an inspiring, inclusive, and challenging musical environment.

The Festival’s small size is one of the keys to its success, allowing each student a truly immersive experience. By maximizing the conservatory-level instruction time with dedicated artist faculty, all of whom come from extensive educational and performance backgrounds, students often see 6-12 months of progress in just a few weeks.

The Audience Engagement curriculum guides the Festival students through the exploration of their artistic potential and innate range of expression. Facing and conquering their fear of performing through classes in public speaking, drama, and dance, students gain invaluable skills in stage presence. By building self-confidence through these shared experiences, they are able to present more communicative and engaging concerts for their audiences.

At the core of the Festival’s mission is to present engaging concerts that enrich the quality of life for the community at large and expand access to classical music throughout the Black Hills area of South Dakota. Both students and faculty at the Festival present over a dozen concerts to the public throughout a 6-week period, about 50% of which are admission-free. Instilling the values of benevolence and kindness, students learn the greatest responsibilities of being an artist.