The Academy

The Lucerne Festival Academy is a school for new music and a laboratory for the future. Every summer, some 100 talented young musicians from all over the world are given the opportunity to concentrate on a repertoire that is still too much overlooked in the classical music business: the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The heart of the Lucerne Festival Academy is the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO). This is where all of the participants in a given year unite to spend three weeks rehearsing central works of the 20th and 21st centuries – from modern classics to many world premieres. They meet with renowned conductors, soloists, and composers. In recent years, these have included such figures as Sir George Benjamin, Peter Eötvös, Isabelle Faust, Alan Gilbert, Heinz Holliger, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Sir Simon Rattle.

Every summer, Academy Director Wolfgang Rihm conducts together with co-teacher Dieter Ammann a two-week Composer Seminar. During the first week, participants discuss their works with Rihm, Ammann and other guests in plenary sessions and in one-on-one discussions. They then go on to study and rehearse their scores with the IEMA-Ensemble and present them in moderated closing concerts.

The Contemporary-Conducting Program is aimed at young, aspiring professional conductors and should serve as a platform for a future conducting career. We believe in the importance of contemporary music for the development of young conductors and are looking for curious, talented, and interesting conductors with a strong interest in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

During the Summer Festival 100 young musicians from all over the world attend the Lucerne Festival Academy. In order to make this unique experience for young people as personal and culturally relevant as possible, we are looking for host families who can accommodate musicians.