Inaugural Season · South Weymouth, MA
Great Music Doesn’t Have to be Made Alone
The South Shore Chamber Music Academy brings together serious young string players — ages 6 to 18 — to learn the art of playing as one. Coached rehearsals, real repertoire, and a recital at the end of every four-week session.
Applications close one month before each session begins.
Why Chamber Music
The skills you can only learn in a chamber ensemble.
Chamber music asks something of a player that nothing else does. Each musician holds a single part alone — no section to hide in, no conductor to follow — while listening, leading, cueing, and breathing with everyone else in the ensemble. It is the most complete musical training a young player can have, and it is joyful precisely because it is shared.
And those skills don’t stay in the ensemble. Students who play chamber music grow into more well-rounded, mature musicians everywhere else — sharper listeners in orchestra, more confident soloists, more expressive and self-aware players in every lesson and performance.
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Listen and lead at once.
Every player shapes the group’s sound while holding their own line — the core discipline of true musicianship.
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Communicate without words.
A breath, a glance, a lifted bow. Ensemble players learn to cue and respond in real time.
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Belong to something.
There’s no better way to make lifelong friends than to find other people who love to play.
How It Works
Four weeks. One ensemble. One performance.
SSCMA runs in focused four-week sessions. Sign up for as many or as few as your schedule allows — there is no yearly commitment. Here’s the arc of a session:
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Audition & placement.
Once accepted, you’re matched into a chamber group by level and instrumentation.
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Payment due and music arrives.
Once accepted, non-refundable payment is due 4 weeks before your session starts. Your parts are sent out 3–4 weeks before rehearsals begin, so there’s time to prepare.
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Prepare with your private teacher.
Students arrive at the first rehearsal with their parts well learned. This work happens in your regular private lessons before the session starts. Accuracy is more important than speed here. Be sure to prepare with the metronome and figure out good fingerings!!
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Four coached rehearsals.
Your group meets once a week for one hour, coached by Dr. Roberts or a guest artist, over four weeks.
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Perform.
Each session ends with a chamber recital for families and friends, shared with the other groups completing that session.
No yearly commitment. Join for one session or all six. Every session is a fresh on-ramp.
Who It’s For
For young musicians ready to play with others.
SSCMA is built for string students, ages 6 to 18, who are ready for the demands and rewards of ensemble playing.
Playing level
A minimum playing level of late Suzuki Book 3 / Junior Districts is preferred. Music-reading skills should be close to your current playing level. Special consideration is given to younger students not yet at this level who show strong solo skills and can read at a minimum level of Suzuki Book 1.
Private lessons required
All students must be regularly enrolled in weekly private lessons on their instrument. Ensemble coaching builds on private study — it does not replace it.
Open to violin, viola, cello, and bass players.
Auditions
How to audition.
Admission is by audition, in two rounds. The process is designed to be low-pressure and to help us place every accepted student in the right group.
Round 1 · Video
Submit an unlisted YouTube link
- Two scales of your choice, up to three octaves
- One or two polished pieces that demonstrate your highest playing level
Round 2 · Zoom
A short video call with the director
Sight-reading and a brief interview.
Schedule
Six sessions across the year.
The inaugural year runs six four-week sessions. Choose the ones that fit your family’s calendar.
Coached rehearsals
Saturday afternoons. Each group is assigned a mutual weekly time.
Homeschool option
Groups made up of homeschooled students may arrange to meet during daytime school hours.
Recitals
Sundays at 2:00 pm, following the end of each session.
Location
South Weymouth, Massachusetts. Specific venues are confirmed for each session.
Applications close one month before each session begins.
Tuition
$250 per student, per four-week session.
Each session includes four one-hour coached rehearsals and a closing recital. There is no registration fee and no yearly commitment — you pay per session, and join only the sessions that fit your family’s year.
Four coached rehearsals A performed recital Real repertoire, prepared and performed
Meet the Director
Meet the Director!
Dr. Amanda Smith Roberts brings twenty years of teaching experience and a lifelong love of chamber music to South Shore Chamber Music Academy, believing every student’s musical education should include the chance to play with others. An avid violinist and teacher in South Weymouth, Dr. Roberts saw early on that quality chamber music and group opportunities for dedicated South Shore string students were few and far between — and she set out to change that.
Over her thirteen years teaching on the South Shore, she has created countless ways for students to come together and experience ensemble playing: coaching classical chamber groups, hosting sight-reading parties, holding weekly fiddle classes, and putting on studio recitals. From 2015 to 2019 she ran the American Music Camps for strings, where students formed bands and learned to perform, arrange, and compose music together.
South Shore Chamber Music Academy is the culmination of that work — a unique, high-quality, low-commitment opportunity for dedicated young string players to come together in meaningful four-week coached chamber group sessions throughout the year.
Dr. Roberts received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied under Paul Kantor, the Cavani String Quartet, Peter Salaff, and Virginia Weckstrom — there she met her husband and now duo partner, pianist Dr. Jonathan Roberts. The two went on to earn their Doctoral degrees at the University of Alabama on full scholarship, where Dr. Roberts served as first violinist of the graduate string quartet. Her other notable teachers include J. Patrick Rafferty, Cornelia Heard, and Stephen Clapp.
The Roberts duo continues to enjoy performing together whenever possible. They homeschool their two young daughters, who are also avid musicians. Free time in the Roberts household means trips to the beach for cartwheels and yoga, bike rides, visiting museums in Boston, and spending quality time with their mini golden-doodle, Annie.
Sessions are coached by Dr. Roberts and a rotating roster of guest artists throughout the year.
The Inaugural Season
Be a founding family.
“Every ensemble I’ve ever loved began the same way: a few people in a room, deciding to make something together. This October, that room is ours. The families who join this first season won’t just enroll in a program — they’ll shape one.”
— Dr. Amanda Smith Roberts, Director
Join Us
Ready when you are.
Apply for a session.
Applications close one month before each session begins.
Application received.
Thank you — we’ll be in touch shortly upon review of your round 1 video.
Not ready yet?
Join the interest list and we’ll let you know when applications open for upcoming sessions.
You’re on the list.
We’ll let you know as soon as applications open for the next session.
Questions
Answers for families.
Do we need our own group?
No. We match every accepted student into a chamber group by level and instrumentation, but pre-formed groups are welcome.
What if my child is younger or not quite at the preferred level?
Less advanced students with strong solo skills who read at a minimum Suzuki Book 1 level or above are considered case by case. Go ahead and submit an application if you feel your child is ready for chamber music!
Do we have to commit to the whole year?
No. Sessions are stand-alone. Join one or all six.
What if my child is accepted into our preferred session, but we decide not to participate?
Please only apply for a session if you are serious and available to commit to it!! This is the only way our application model works, and it’s how we guarantee a seamless, positive experience for every applicant. Each group is hand-picked and assigned repertoire to prepare in advance, so a student who backs out derails that process for their whole group — and will not be considered for future sessions that year.
What happens if a session is full?
If the session of your choice is full and your audition video is accepted, we will offer you the option to join a future session.
How much preparation is expected before a session?
Music is sent out 3–4 weeks ahead of each session. Students are expected to arrive at the first rehearsal with their parts well learned, prepared through their regular private lessons. Accuracy is more important than speed here. Be sure to prepare with the metronome and figure out good fingerings!!
Does this replace private lessons?
No — students must be enrolled in weekly private lessons throughout. Ensemble coaching builds on that foundation.
Where exactly is it?
South Weymouth, MA. The specific venue is confirmed for each session and shared with enrolled families.
When are recitals?
Sundays at 2:00 pm, at the close of each four-week session.