Baroque Academy Opera Project

Rameau's Platee

July 11-18, 2026

Muhlenberg College
2400 W Chew St
Allentown, PA 18104
United States

Tuition:

$750

Baroque Academy at the Amherst Early Music offers a unique opportunity for music students, advanced amateurs, and young starting professionals to explore music in the 17th and 18th centuries. Students work closely with internationally renowned faculty members to expand their knowledge of Baroque style, technique, ornamentation, and repertoire.

The 2026 Baroque Academy will be held at Muhlenberg College in Allentown PA, July 11-18, 2026. Opera singers should plan to begin rehearsing the afternoon of Saturday, July 11. (The Festival week runs July 12-19.)

Pitch is A=415.
Application due date: April 1, 2026 for singers.
Tuition: $750.

The Opera Project at the 2026 Amherst Early Music Festival will be the Rameau's Platee.

Musical direction by Gary Wedow and stage direction by Nell Snaidas, vocal coach, Lawrence Rosenwald, language coach, Dorothy Olsson and Peggy Murray, historical dance, Ronnie Snader, costumes, and Paul Guttry, sets and props.

Perform a role in our fully staged production with Baroque orchestra and historical dance. Master classes, coachings, sessions on period acting and performance technique. Performance Friday, July 17, 2026. Audition by April 1, 2026 (singers), April 15, 2026 (instrumentalists).

Baroque Opera Project General Daily Schedule 9:00-10:30 Master class, 11:00-12:30 staging rehearsal, 1:30-3:00 musical rehearsal, 3:30 to 5:30 tutti rehearsal with orchestra. Opera dress rehearsal: Thursday evening, July 3 after the Baroque Academy Faculty Concert.

Photo Credits this page: John Daggett

Dafne, opera at the 2025 Amherst Early Music Festival

Audition Due date

April 1, 2026

Faculty

Nell

Snaidas *

stage director

Gary Thor

Wedow

Where

View larger map

Festival FAQs

TRAVEL
Muhlenberg College: 2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA
Closest Airport: Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), is approximately 7 miles from the Muhlenberg campus.
Trans-Bridge Lines offers service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC, and Newark Airport to the Allentown Transportation Center, 603 Linden Street, Allentown, PA (2.3 miles from campus)
Greyhound offers service from Philadelphia to the Allentown Transportation Center.

MEALS
The meal card is $280 and covers one week of meals starting with dinner on Sunday, July 12, (July 19 for second week) thru breakfast on Sunday, July 19, (July 26 for second week).
A la carte meal prices are:
Breakfast - $11.12
Lunch - $15.22
Dinner - $22,83.

ROOMS
All standard rooms are air-conditioned. Budget rate housing is not air-conditioned, with hall baths. Basic linens (sheets, pillow, and towels) are included with all housing. Beds are twin, extra long.
Standard rooms with private baths are in Taylor Hall. Standard rooms with hall baths are in Martin Luther Hall, Kitchenette Suite rooms are in South Hall. Budget (non-ac) rooms are in Brown Hall.

Baroque Academy Audition Information

To apply for Baroque Academy, please submit the following through our audition portal. Due dates are April 1, 2026 for singers, and April 15, 2026 for instrumentalists.

$30 audition fee
Instrumentalists should include a resume or brief description summarizing your musical background and experience, including formal and informal training and education along with 10-15 minutes of music showing your technique, expression, and understanding of Baroque style. The piece(s) need not be accompanied. Please include composer and title information with your submission.
Singers auditioning for the Baroque Opera Project should provide unedited video or audio of you performing two contrasting arias, one of which is a high baroque aria (e.g., Handel, Vivaldi) with fast passage-work and its opening recit if available. If you have a third selection that you would like for us to consider, you may include it. One sample should be in Italian, and all samples recorded within the past two years. Please include a publicity photo, bio/resumé describing music and stage experience and link to website if applicable.

Scholarships & Work-Study

Work-Study

All participants are welcome to apply for tuition assistance through AEM's Work-Study program. The work-study application form can be found here. Questions about Work-Study can be sent to Click here to show mail address. Applicants are encouraged to early, and before May 31st.

AEM Scholarships

To apply for all AEM scholarships, including the Washington McClain Scholarship, please fill out the Scholarship application form here. Applications due by May 15.

The Washington McClain Scholarship Fund honors the memory of Baroque oboist and Amherst Early Music faculty member Washington McClain. It will fund scholarships for students who have historically been underrepresented in the early music field, including African-American, Latinx, and others. Awards will cover tuition, room and board, and travel and may be used for any in-person AEM event, particularly the Amherst Early Music Festival.

In addition to scholarships, AEM offers work study tuition to all of our workshops, and the Amherst Early Music Festival. Work study is an option for students of any age.

Other Organizations

American Recorder Society offers scholarships to recorder players for Weekend Workshops as well as Summer Festivals. Any ARS member who needs financial assistance to attend a weekend or week-long workshop may apply for this scholarship. Deadline: May 15.

Lute Society of America scholarships include full tuition, room & board, and some travel. Due Date May 1.

Early Music America offers scholarships to help students attend early music and historical performance workshops in North America. Applications due April 1.

Viola da Gamba Society of America offers Grants-in-Aid to its members to attend Workshops and Masterclasses.

The Historical Keyboard Society of North America has established the Funaro Fund Award to support its members to offset the cost of traveling to an early keyboard event.

COVID-19 Policy

Policy for 2026 is tba. The 2025 policy is listed here.

The Festival is a congregate living environment, with a population ranging in age from 1 to 90+ where we live, play music and dance together for several days. Our main approach to preventing Covid will be testing, and, like last year, we need everyone to test and to let us know if they experience symptoms.

Rapid testing is required to attend the Festival for all participants, faculty, and staff. Please take an at-home COVID test the day before arrival at Muhlenberg College, a second test the morning of arrival, and an additional test mid-week on Wednesday morning. Two-week students should also test on Saturday July 5. Bring extra tests in case you develop symptoms during the week. We will have a limited supply available for purchase.

Masking is optional. Masking decisions are personal and will be respected.

Vaccinations and boosters are encouraged but not required. Anyone with symptoms, or feeling unwell should notify us immediately, and not attend any classes or events. Self evaluation: Before coming to the Festival if you are experiencing symptoms that may indicate Covid, regardless of test results, DO NOT COME. Notify us right away.
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID before arrival, please do not come to the Festival until your symptoms abate and you have tested negative twice over two days. f you begin to experience symptoms of COVID while at the Festival we will ask you to isolate or leave campus until your symptoms abate and you have tested negative twice over two days

(Updated June 12, 2025)