Medora Music Academy
August 3-8, 2025
Strings, Piano, and Voice
Ages 13-27 years old – with consideration outside these parameters.
The Medora Music Academy offers five immersive days of intensive music instruction, performance training, master classes, and concerts. Students will learn from and perform alongside distinguished guest artists and esteemed college faculty, all within the historic heart of Medora.
Applications for summer 2025 open January 2, 2025
Priority Deadline: March 31st, 2025
Past the priority deadline, applications are accepted until spots are filled.
Get Notified About the 2025 Academy:
MORE INFO
Strings, Piano & Voice
$735
Lodging, Tuition & Meals
$485
Tuition & Meals
Limited Scholarships are available if applying by the priority deadline of March 31st, 2025.
ACADEMY ACTIVITIES:
Strings & Piano
- Individual Lessons
- Group Masterclass and Technique Class
- Chamber Music or Collaborative Piano (selected)
- Chamber Orchestra (strings)
- Showcase Performances for All Instruments
Voices
- Voice Lessons
- Stagecraft, Characterization, and Movement
- Musicianship
- Staged Final Concert with Piano Accompaniment
- Classical/Opera, Musical Theatre, and CCM (Popular)
Additional Opportunities
- Concerto & Aria Competition
- Attend the Medora Musical
- Visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Tour Medora historic town and attractions
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:
Video recording of two solo pieces of contrasting style from appropriate literature that showcases the student’s best-performing ability. Videos should be uploaded as ‘Unlisted’ to YouTube (not Private), or in online storage accessible by a simple click of a link.
For voice, the songs should be recorded with piano/guitar accompaniment or a backing track.
Once you submit your audition, please check for our confirmation email. If accepted, you will receive an email and a promo code to register for the Medora Summer Music Academy.
Instructors
Simona Barbu (Strings)
Co-Artistic Director
Burgum Endowed Chair, Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Dakota
An astounding international cellist, Simona Barbu began her musical studies at age seven and gained public attention as a member of the leading string quartet of the Conservatory of Timisoara in her native Romania, where she made her solo debut in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the conservatory’s symphonic orchestra. Ever since, she has traveled to Asia, South America, Europe, and the United States as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and orchestra musician.
Nariaki Sugiura (Piano)
Co-Artistic Director
Associate Professor of Piano and Music at the University of North Dakota
International concert artist Nariaki Sugiura has performed solo recitals and concerto engagements in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia at prestigious concert halls. His arrangements for chamber ensembles and piano ensembles have been frequently performed.
A devoted teacher, Sugiura has become of the leading piano pedagogues of his generation giving piano master classes around the world.
Ioana Galu (Strings)
Associate Professor of Violin/Viola, co-director of the USD Chamber Orchestra
Ioana Galu, a native of Romania, has enjoyed a national and international career in both Europe and the United States. Former Assistant Professor of Violin and chamber music at Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, Galu has also been on the faculty at Heidelberg University, Bowling Green State University, and The College of Wooster. Galu joined the University of South Dakota in 2016 as is currently Associate Professor of Violin/Viola, co-director of the USD Chamber Orchestra and member in the Rawlins Piano Trio. She has served on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival (Greenboro, NC) between 2004 and 2022.
A graduate of Gheorghe Dima Music Academy, Galu earned a second master’s degree in violin performance from Bowling Green State University, an Artist Diploma from University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music and a doctorate in Contemporary Music from Bowling Green State University.
Galu has been awarded prizes in several national and international competitions, including Second Prize in the Mozart International Competition for Piano Trios (Romania), and First Prize and Special Prize of the SOROS Foundation at the George Enescu Violin National Competition (Romania).
In 2014 Galu performed the world premiere of Marilyn Shrude’s violin concerto Libro D’Ore with the Central Ohio Symphony and the European premiere with the Sibiu State Philharmonic in Romania. She gave the US premiere in October 2014, and subsequently recorded the concerto for Albany Records. In January 2015, Galu recorded “Music Under Political Unrest” – Works for Two Violins by Grażyna Bacewicz, Henryk Górecki, and Michał Spisak with Iuliana Cotirlea, violin.
Grigor Khachatryan (Piano)
Associate Professor of Piano at Concordia College
The cover artist of the prestigious International Piano magazine, Dr. Grigor Khachatryan is recognized worldwide as one of the most preeminent pianists of his generation.
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Khachatryan began his musical studies at Barsej Kanachyan’s Music School of Yerevan. Shortly thereafter, he moved to the United States and continued his musical development at the esteemed Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University under the tutelage of distinguished professor of piano, Luba Edlina-Dubinsky, where he earned his Bachelor, Master and Performer Diploma degrees. In addition, Khachatryan holds a doctorate degree in Piano Performance, with academic minors in Composition, and Music Theory from the Jacobs School of Music.
Khachatryan is an Associate Professor of Piano at Concordia College, and is the co-director of the League of David Conservatory.
Justin Montigne (Vocal)
Assistant Professor of Voice: Music Director & Musical Theatre Production at the University of North Dakota
Justin Montigne teaches workshops, classes, and private voice lessons in North Dakota and abroad. At UND he teaches Applied Voice, Diction for Singers, and is music director and conductor for the annual Musical Theatre Production. Dr. Montigne has taught on the voice faculties of UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and Sonoma State University. He co-founded the Bay Area Vocal Academy, and for many years was Director of Voice Studies for the Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus. Dr. Montigne is a versatile countertenor comfortable in many styles and eras of music. He toured the world and recorded for three years with Chanticleer, and is a founding member of Clerestory, curating more than forty different concert programs and recordings over fifteen seasons.
Dina Maria Neglia (Strings)
Co-director of the League of David Conservatory
Violinist Dr. Dina Maria Neglia enjoys a multifaceted musical career dedicated equally to teaching, performance, and scholarship.
As a performer, Dr. Neglia has concertized extensively as a chamber musician and soloist around the world. She has been featured on MPR Classical Radio and has had the honor to perform by invitation for U.S. Presidents and other public figures. Her first love is the orchestra, where she has served as concertmaster for many orchestras in both the United States and Europe.
Dr. Neglia has served as part of the faculty at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, Vincennes University, North Dakota State University, and Concordia College in Moorhead. She is the co-director of the League of David Conservatory.
Xiao Xue Sun (Piano)
Associate piano professor of the Capital Normal University in Beijing, China
An associate piano professor at Music College, Capital Normal University in Beijing, China, Xiao Xue Sun actively shows her talents and passions in both performing and teaching. Dr. Sun has performed throughout mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and major places in the United States. She has appeared in Beijing Concert Hall, National Library Concert Hall in Beijing, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York, Syracuse, Buffalo, Delaware, Taipei, among others. Besides, Sun devotes her time to the collaborative piano performances as well. She is one of the founders of Encore Trio, Harmony Piano Quartet. Since 2015, Dr. Sun has been invited to perform and teach at the bilingual music festival “Master Players Festival & School” where is founded by the world-known violinist Xiang Gao at the University of Delaware every summer. Also, she has been involved in the China Philharmonic Chamber Music Series in 2016, which is the first piano cooperative chamber music activity between China Philharmonic and Capital Normal University.
Keith Teepen (Vocal)
Tom Kenan Assistant Professor of Piano at Flagler College
As both a collaborative and solo pianist, Keith Teepen enjoys a multi-faceted career in performing and teaching. Keith has performed in Europe, Asia, South America, and throughout North America. He has collaborated with a diverse spectrum of celebrated artists including: American operatic tenor, Bryan Hymel, baritone, Christopher Job, trumpeter, Tine Thing Helseth, Broadway stars, Laura Osnes and Donna Vivino, internationally renowned euphonium virtuosos, Adam Frey and David Thornton, tuba virtuosos, Øystein Baadsvik and Alan Baer, as well as internationally renowned trombonist, Scott Hartman.
Frequently sought after as a musical theatre pianist and coach, Keith has had the pleasure of music directing a variety of different productions. Recent engagements include: Edges, Last Five Years, Cinderella, Children of Eden, A Chorus Line, and Into the Woods. In January, Keith will be collaborating with Broadway star, Laura Osnes in a serious of cabaret performances. Keith is also a frequent collaborator in the opera world and was the “official pianist” for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions – North Dakota-Manitoba District from 2015-2018.
In addition to his performance schedule, Keith is a respected educator. He taught on the piano faculty at Pró-Música Music Festival in Juiz de Fora, Brazil and has held collaborative piano positions at DePauw University School of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and the University of North Dakota. Keith has taught master classes in both the solo and collaborative piano areas in New York, Macau, Hong Kong, Brazil, and many other cities across the United States and China. He has given lectures discussing the importance of a collaborative pianist in both Asia and the United States.
Keith received his D.M.A. in Collaborative Piano at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is currently the Tom Kenan Assistant Professor of Piano at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.
Registration Includes
- Three days of master classes, music fundamentals, and seminars
- Meals starting with dinner on Sunday until lunch on Thursday
- A complimentary voucher to the 2023 Medora Musical
- Lodging for registrant for four nights at the Elkhorn Quarters
* Registration Fees are due on or before June 1st after acceptance notification to save your spot.
Lodging Details
Lodging includes accommodations in an Elkhorn Quarters family room with 3 campers.
Parents and Families
Families are invited to join their students in Medora. Student registration includes:
- 15% Off Medora Musical Tickets for parents.
- 10% off Elkhorn Quarters Family or Queen Rooms
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LITTLE PICTURES. BIG MOMENTS.