Students from all over the U.S. and the world—China, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, and India—arrived at SFCM for intensives in guitar, harp, voice, bass clarinet, Technology and Applied Composition, and percussion—and left inspired.

A small army of bass clarinetists during Summer@SFCM.

"The Bass Clarinet Intensive is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," one student said of the summer program with the highest enrollment. "You will meet great people, learn new skills, and get inspired. And being in the heart of San Francisco is unbeatable."

Faculty member Shawne Workman with a Summer@SFCM student.

Multiple students in the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) Immersive enjoyed seeing their compositions realized by student cellist Elmer Carter. "You get to learn how to use DAWS (digital audio workstations) and experience both film and game scoring even if you never touched stuff like that before," one participant writes, adding, "You will also pretty much have a finished product recorded professionally for you to document what you did during the week." TAC faculty Lennie Moore, Kat "009" Night, Daria Novo, Theo Popov, and Shawne Workman were all cited by several participants, while one "camper" asked about a faculty favorite, just wrote, "ALL AMAZING!"

SFCM Guitar Department Chair conducts Summer@SFCM students.

Percussion Chair Jacob Nissly at the SF Symphony with students.

This year's Guitar Workshop set a new record for enrolled students. One guitarist expressed a sentiment common across all the Summer@SFCM programs: namely, how helpful the group environment provided by the programs is. "My favorite part was the combination of being in a community with other people who really love guitar," they wrote. "It was inspiring to be around students who care about guitar at such a high level."

2026 also saw the debut of the summer Percussion Academy. One student highlighted SFCM Percussion Chair Jake Nissly's intensive class—"Getting a really personal small group experience was super special and Jake really answered some questions about what going to SFCM would be like"—while another brought up guest faculty Javier Diaz's class. "Learning about the history and meaning of the rhythms and songs that we were playing," was their favorite aspect, though they added, "I also enjoyed the aspect of learning everything by ear, especially with these complex rhythms that were quite challenging."

Faculty Jennifer Ellis conducts a harp ensemble during Summer@SFCM.

Participants in Jennifer Ellis' Harp Immersive have consistently emphasized their happiness with being immersed in a group setting for their instrument. "My favorite part was getting to play with harpists of different skill levels," one wrote. "It gave me motivation to keep improving and helped me connect with new friends that have similar goals."

SFCM Opera & Musical Theatre Chair Heather Mathews with Summer@SFCM students.

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Woodwinds Chair Jerome Simas at the SF Symphony with students.

Vocal Academy Artistic Director and SFCM Voice Department Executive Chair Richard Cox, Opera & Musical Theatre Chair Heather Mathews, and faculty members Lester Lynch, Susanne Mentzer, Matthew Worth, and Olivia Flanigan were all on hand for the Summer@SFCM Vocal Academy, which brought together 23 students for lessons and non-vocal training in Alexander technique, yoga, dance, and stage combat. A high number of students singled out the Alexander technique training as a new—and enjoyable—aspect of their vocal craft, while one especially enjoyed working on Così fan tutte's first-act sextet, "Alla bella Despinetta."

Summer@SFCM students benefit from the Conservatory's location in the heart of San Francisco's Arts District: Markus Beam, the General Manager of SF Opera Center, visited with voice students, while six groups of students were able to attend San Francisco Symphony performances in June and July.

All told, students of all ages have quite a lot of material for their "What I Did With My Summer Vacation" essays this year.

Learn more about Summer@SFCM.