Music in the Mansion 24-25 Part 1: Pairing Your Holiday Break with Magnificent Music Study!

What are the odds that a pair of musician friends would spend weeks in pre-holiday practices and rehearsals and never get around to asking, “So, what are you doing over winter break?” And then, astonishingly, to find themselves BOTH at PIMF’s Music in the Mansion Strings Intensive in Miami, Florida?
What are the odds that it could happen to TWO pairs of young musicians?
Violist Sanjan and cellist Amir not only go to the same school in the Washington DC area, but they’re also half of a quartet within the music department. They left for the holiday break not expecting to see each other – much less play together again – until they were back at school.
“I was already in Key West and driving from there to Music in the Mansion, and Amir calls me from the mansion, and apparently he saw my name on the attendance sheet, and says are you coming to PIMF and I say, yes, why, are you?” Sanjan told us, shaking his head. “We’re both in the same quartet, same school orchestra, and there’s like 90 kids in our grade, so it was pretty crazy that we were both coming, absolutely not planned. So, he calls me, and we both were really excited, and it’s been just great.”
“What are the chances that, I mean, there are like 25 kids (from the U.S.) and internationally here, from London…. Australia….. and there’s a kid that’s in the same quartet that I am, goes to the same school back in DC,” Amir added. “It’s just a crazy coincidence.”
Cellist Brandon was surprised and a bit relieved to learn via social media that he would soon see a familiar face at the mansion – cellist Cole from his same youth orchestra, the Detroit Youth Symphony.
“I was in the (Miami) airport when he posted something in his Instagram stories, ‘On my way to PIMF,’” Brandon related. “And I’d been nervous all week about not knowing anybody, so I was excited that I’d know someone when I get here. And it definitely jump-starts the music-making.”
“Same thing,” Cole said. “Whenever I go to a new camp, I’m always kind of nervous about who all the new people are but when I know somebody already, it’s reassuring. So, you can just dive in to all the things that this camp is about.”
And one of those things is a PIMF priority: making musical connections and lifelong friendships that enhance and illuminate every musician’s journey.
Violinists Gretchen and Matilda did NOT know each other before coming to Music in the Mansion but clicked immediately and were already finishing each other’s sentences when we talked with them after only a few days!
“I made more friends than I thought I would!” Matilda told us.
“I thought I would be holed up in a room doing music,” Gretchen said, “but everybody here is so nice, even the staff is really laid back and we have a lot of fun together. (All) are just great, great people.”
The setting at the mansion puts students in a close, collegial environment with faculty and staff, as well as the young musicians around them. Both Brandon and Cole rated their lesson time with cellist John Koen of The Philadelphia Orchestra as their favorite experience.
“I really liked him, I worked really well with him,” Brandon said. “This is the first time I’ve done studio classes, and in this kind of setting. It was just so cool to wake up each day and hear other musicians play and see where you are. Everybody helped each other with feedback.”
“Top thing was definitely John Koen!” Cole agreed. He also appreciated the peer support of other students: “I really enjoyed just the entire atmosphere around here. So nice. Just having so many nice people around – it really allowed me to evolve so much as a musician.”
Sanjan had high praise for all of the PIMF faculty, including violinist Richard Amoroso of The Philadelphia Orchestra, under whose instruction he said, “I could feel in just 3 days that I’d gotten so much better.
“I think my top thing from this camp is how individualized working with PIMF faculty is,” he continued. “Not just the lessons – the studio classes. I had 5 other people (in class), I think, and that allows the PIMF faculty to work with every person and really hone in on their musical abilities and help them get better. And the piano accompaniment lessons – I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like it, where I get to work daily with an expert accompanist.”
Students had the opportunity to work on solo material with accompanists including Grammy-nominated pianist and Steinway Artist Mark Livshits, Piotr Kozlowski, and Symphony of the Americas Principal Pianist Beiyao Ji.
And not to suggest that Sanjan is a little star-struck or anything, but he couldn’t resist adding “a shoutout to Elli Choi for her performance at the festival. “It was just spectacular. I was like 3 feet away from her and it was insane, right in the living room!”
Intimate private recitals by the acclaimed instructors included that of The Franklin Trio with Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Second Violin Kimberly Fisher, Philadelphia Orchestra Cello John Koen, and pianist Mark Livshits; and another by long-time PIMF Alumna Elli Choi, blazing a trail of international competition triumphs this year. Additionally, the students performed most evenings in Master Classes and, of course, in the festival-ending Grand Finale, attended by a host of family members and friends.
The afternoon and evening performances were an important aspect of Music in the Mansion for Gretchen, who is preparing for an upcoming concerto competition. “I wanted to work on the performing aspects of that so that I’d be ready to go on stage in front of people,” she explained. “I’ve never played with an orchestra, so I want to be able to be shown as a performer and not just a violinist.”
Matilda was able to finalize her college repertory list, and also “wanted to get as many performance opportunities as possible as well as having a space where I could only focus on music, instead of all the other things in my life.”
PIMF is currently enrolling for its summer 2025 sessions near Philadelphia, PA – but stay tuned for “Music in the Mansion, Part 2” for MORE REASONS you should reserve the week after Christmas next year for the 2025 PIMF Miami Music in the Mansion!