Varmia Musica Academia is a music workshop programme held since 2005, dedicated to historically informed interpretations of works by early masters. The courses are intended for students, pupils, and professional musicians who wish to broaden their knowledge in the field of rhetorical performance. In addition to core activities such as individual lessons, chamber music, and orchestra, the organisers strongly encourage participation in optional additional classes, such as a Renaissance viol da gamba consort, a Baroque oboe–bassoon consort, or classes in harpsichord tuning and maintenance. Practical activities will be accompanied by seminars and lectures. Active participants of VMA receive a festival pass granting access to all events of the Varmia Musica festival. It is worth noting that some VMA projects, such as the final concert or selected musical afternoon gatherings, are carried out in a “side by side” format, that is, through close and creative collaboration between faculty and participants. The culmination of the week-long workshops will be a performance of Venus and Adonis by John Blow, in a special version prepared exclusively for the Varmia Musica festival. All workshop participants are invited to take part in the final concert.
Varmia Musica on tour is a continuation of the idea of the Lidzbark course and an initiative aimed at presenting the results of intensive work on welcoming concert stages in Poland. After the week-long course, a selected group of young musicians sets out, together with their teachers, on a short concert tour, during which they have the opportunity to gain experience — so important at the beginning of their careers — and to establish contacts with managers and leaders of musical ensembles as well as directors of cultural institutions. This year, invitations for Varmia Musica on tour have been extended by the Feliks Nowowiejski Philharmonic in Olsztyn (11 August) and the Creative Work Centre in Radziejowice (12 August). Participants wishing to take part in Varmia Musica on tour will be subject to an additional selection procedure, the details of which can be found in the regulations. You cannot miss it!