Attendees: Frequently Asked Questions
On this page we’ve answered the most common questions asked by attendees to the Mostly Modern Festival Institute. If you are considering applying to the Institute, we have a separate FAQs page for Applicants here.
Room and Board
Attendees under age 21 cannot opt out of room and board. Attendees should live on campus, with rare exceptions and those must be done on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions can be made by contacting Victoria Paterson directly at victoria@mostlymodernprojects.org.
The campus is 1.5 miles from downtown Saratoga Springs. The schedule is quite full, so it is much easier (and cheaper) to stay on campus for housing and meals. The Skidmore Dining center is right across the way from the Zankel Music Center. It caters to many dietary needs and has a myriad of world cuisine offerings. There is also a Starbucks on campus.
On-campus housing is required for all 18-21 year old students. There is a Resident Advisor (RA) who will supervise at the dorms. Case-by-case exceptions can be made by contacting Victoria Paterson directly at victoria@mostlymodernprojects.org.
Check-in is Monday, June 1st: 12:00pm onward. The welcome orientation meeting is at 6:30pm, so we recommend that you arrive in Saratoga Springs sometime in the mid-afternoon, before the meeting, in order for you to have time to get situated. Residence halls open at 3:00 PM. You’ll want to come straight to Arthur Zankel Music Center when you arrive, where you’ll be given a welcome packet, festival badge, room key, and other necessities.
Check-out is Sunday, June 21st by 11:00am & participants may stay for lunch on the day of their departure, but must be out of their room beforehand.
Taxis, buses and Lyft ride sharing are available transportation from the Albany Airport to the Skidmore College campus. There are also taxis available from the Saratoga Springs (SAR) Amtrak Train Station to the Skidmore College campus. Click here for more information.
Students and faculty are provided housing on the Skidmore College campus in the residence halls.
A complete list of campus resources available to all students and faculty, as well as all hours of operation, can be found on Skidmore’s website here.
All residence halls have kitchens, shared bathrooms, and shared common spaces. Note that kitchens are not supplied with tableware (plates, cups, bowls, silverware, etc.). This can be supplied by the festival for $50 per summer, per townhouse.
All participants and faculty are given a single occupancy room. Both faculty and participants have shared kitchens, bathrooms and common spaces.
The residence halls at Skidmore College are fantastic and all are in excellent condition.
Click here for more information on the residence halls.
No, linens are no longer provided by the festival.
There is most everything at the campus bookstore, as well as the local Target and Walmart, and hundreds of other shops and stores in town.
Three meals a day are also included for everyone. Skidmore College Dining Services have various stations that offer a variety of cuisines, everything from diner style meals and deli sandwiches to Asian and Italian cuisine, a pasta station, a salad bar, a pizza station, etc. The chefs in Dining Services are happy to accommodate those who are vegetarian or vegan, those with gluten sensitivities, and those who are lactose intolerant.
BREAKFAST hours: 7 AM-9:30 AM | LUNCH hours: 11:30-2:30 PM | DINNER hours: 5:00-7:00 PM
Click the button below for answers to questions regarding meal cards.
Yes! All participants eat together in the dining hall. The dining hall is quite large, and there are no assigned tables or seats. Everyone is encouraged to eat together and mingle.
The Burgess Café on the Skidmore College campus serves STARBUCKS coffee and other drinks and pastries, and is open seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.
Other than your equipment or supplies (scores for composers and/or a laptop, instruments for performers), you should bring clothes for three weeks, a comfortable pair of walking shoes, dress clothes, dress shoes and an umbrella and/or a rain jacket, toiletries and anything else you might need for your stay. The weather is typical New England summer weather. You will not need winter clothing, but bring a light jacket and/or a sweater, and any other clothing you’ll feel comfortable wearing. There are washers and dryers on campus for residential use for a nominal fee.
Yes. There is a FREE bus from campus to downtown and other locations, that starts about 7:30 AM and goes until 10:30 PM. They arrive basically on the 1/2 hour or hour. This bus does not go to the Amtrak train station but you can connect and get there.
Yes: parking is FREE on the campus at Skidmore College. All participants with vehicles will be required to display a festival pass on their dashboard for the duration of the festival, and park in designated parking areas.
There is a FREE bike share program on campus, BikeMore. There is a registration process for people to sign up when they are on campus to use the program and then it is first-come, first-served.
Smoking is not permitted in campus buildings. Drinking is not permitted on campus if you are under 21. All participants are required to abide by campus rules and all state and federal laws with regard to smoking, drinking and other recreational substances.
MMF welcomes children and families on campus, but unfortunately we are not able to house children on campus. Childcare will be provided at your own expense. If you must bring your children you will need to find your own housing off campus. If you are in need of childcare during the festival, please contact Victoria Paterson to work out the details. Note that children under six years old may not be admitted to any of the performances.
No pets are allowed in campus buildings or residence halls and townhouses.
There are many hiking and walking trails in the Saratoga Springs area, including the 250 acre North Woods, which is part of the Skidmore College campus.
Private Lessons and Masterclasses
- Composition lessons are taught in pairs: two composers at a time receive a 55 minute lesson or meeting with each member of the Composition Faculty.
- Conductors receive a group masterclass with each Guest Conductor, with a string quartet and piano as their ensemble.
- Instrumentalists and singers receive one lesson per week with their respective instrumental faculty member. Studio classes TBA each summer.
Unfortunately, we cannot allow performers to take lessons with composition faculty members. However, performer participants may attend any composition lectures, seminars, etc. if they are free, but not take composition lessons.
It’s certainly possible, but if you are a composer, make sure to apply as a composer, if you want a performance of your piece, video, audio, etc. For example, if you are a flutist (who composes) but you don’t want a performance of a piece, then only apply as an instrumentalist. While you may apply for more than one program, you will only be permitted to attend one program – if you are accepted to more than one program, you will need to choose which you prefer to attend.
Faculty are under no obligation to reschedule no-shows. It is up to them whether they choose to reschedule.
In the unlikely event this happens, it will be re-scheduled during the festival.
Composer Rehearsals
Each performed work will receive three ca. 20 minute rehearsals (length depending on the difficulty of the piece) in addition to the dress rehearsal and performance. For readings, each work will receive ca. 20 minutes of recorded reading time, with at least one read-through. Please note that scheduling rehearsals and reading sessions is an imperfect science. MMF will do everything possible to make sure composers are provided with excellent recordings/videos of their pieces.
All rehearsals are set at 3 rehearsals and the dress, and at the discretion of the ensembles. All ensembles and/or conductors decide how much rehearsal time each piece receives.
Recordings
No, the tuition covers ALL recording costs and editing for performances (i.e., post-production, crossfades, intro and outro fades, credits, logo, design). Recordings of rehearsals will not be made available. All participants will have access to audio WAV files online after the festival ends at no extra cost. Performers may request audio files of their chamber performances at no additional cost. Video recordings of works by composer fellows will be also available via links on YouTube. MMF reserves the right to post any and all video and audio footage of any works from the festival for promotional purposes.
Yes, however you must credit MMF and the ensemble that played or read your work, and link back to the festival and respective ensemble.
If your work was read and not performed, we require that you state that it is a reading, not a performance.
Yes.
No, MMF audio recordings are for archival and promotional use only.
Yes.
No. Anyone caught doing this will result in the video in being either privated or removed from YouTube and there may be potential legal action taken. Videos may only be embedded using official YouTube links.
No outside recording devices of any kind are allowed in rehearsals, readings, performances, masterclasses, lessons, or any other official MMF events. Participants, faculty, staff, guest speakers, guest artists, or audience members breaking this rule will be expelled immediately with no refund, no performances or readings, and no MMF recordings.
Please be mindful that we are trying to represent our festival and everyone’s performances in the best possible light, and we are professionally recording all concerts with professional camera video and audio, as well has hiring professional photographers for many of our events. Therefore, we are particularly careful with regard to our rules about recording, photographing, or posting on social media.
What Is Allowed
- Still images of rehearsals, concerts, lessons, practice sessions, social events, receptions, etc. We ask that you be mindful of the quality of your images, and please tag us at #mostlymodernfestival or with whatever tags are being used each season.
- Short videos in the hall before or after rehearsal, no longer than 60 seconds, with or without sound, but with no music (for example, saying, “Hi, I’m in the hall getting ready for rehearsal”), are perfectly fine.
- Short videos with or without sound, no longer than 60 seconds, of practice room practicing is acceptable.
What Is Not Allowed
Video or audio recordings of concerts, other musical events, or practice sessions.
Practicing & Building Hours
The music building is open from 7am – 11pm, seven days a week.
The MMF Office is open from 9am – 5pm, except on “off-days.”
Yes. There are rooms at the Arthur Zankel Music Center. They are available via sign up on the first day of the festival. Slots are limited to 1.5 hour increments per day. You can also practice in your room from 9am – 9pm.
Yes. Visit our Reserve Room Page, to reserve a practice room. Please make sure you read the rules and regulations before you book a room.
Yes. Most practice rooms have pianos. Pianos are fantastic at Skidmore College, and were hand-picked by Emmanuel Ax.
No, unless you want to practice in your room. We recommend bringing a folding stand, just in case.
For Composers
For your works being performed or read, please bring all parts printed and correctly bound, and at least three extra physical copies of your scores. We strongly recommend bringing a laptop and PDFs of your scores and parts, in the event that one of the parts is lost. We will also have your submitted PDFs on file, but it never hurts to be safe, just in case. For composition lessons, please bring two printed copies of any score you wish to review with the composition teachers. iPads or other tablet computers may also be used for one of the printed copies for lessons.
Although there are no formally scheduled meetings outside of officially scheduled seminars and parties, there will be a few casual get-togethers in the evenings, meant for the participants to get to know each other.
Yes: there will be several composition student seminars for students to present their works. Each student is given up to 15 minutes each to present a short work or movement. 15 minute slots are on a first come, first served basis and will open up at the beginning of the festival. Composition student seminars are moderated by the composition faculty.
If my assigned ensemble is American Modern Ensemble, may I compose for a subset of the ensemble listed on the Composer’s Corner page?
Absolutely. While all of the ensemble members are happy to perform, you don’t need to compose for all of them. Note that we recommend not composing for subsets of guest ensembles, but if you really want to, just get in touch with us so we may discuss the possibility.
I changed my mind about which chamber ensemble I would like to write for after I submitted by signed letter of agreement. May I switch to a different ensemble?
Usually, that’s not possible, unless by chance, another composer also wants to switch, but it’s unlikely to happen. Two reasons we have multiple chamber ensembles at the festival are to give composers a variety of options, and also to make sure no one ensemble is overloaded with new works. Once composers are accepted, we go through their applications and try to give them their first choices, while at the same time making sure no one ensemble is taking on too much or too little. In the end, it benefits the composers to structure programming this way, and ensures that ensembles will have as much time as possible on each composer’s piece.
If it’s a few seconds or a minute over, that’s fine. Anything beyond that will need to be approved by the Composition Faculty on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, that’s perfectly fine.
We won’t know which pieces are selected for performance until after the readings.
For Conductors
The Mostly Modern Orchestra orchestral readings are for conductors to receive podium time with the orchestra, and for the composers to hear their pieces. Each conductor and composer will receive a certain amount of time per piece, probably ca. 20 minutes. The readings are not performances: there is no audience (other than the composers, and anyone else who is part of the festival and wants to listen), and they are not open to the public. However, the readings will be recorded, for archival use only. We suggest that conductors run their piece or pieces from beginning to end at least once, and rehearse as needed.
Composers are allowed to submit pieces that are up to 8 minutes in length. Usually conducting participants are assigned at least 2 pieces, depending on the number of conductors each summer. Readings are limited to 20 composers per summer.
Two pieces will be chosen at maximum for performance on 2 of the 3 orchestral concerts. We won’t know which were selected until the day following the reading.
The pieces for American Modern Ensemble will be performed for an audience as part of our concert series. If you were wondering where to place your emphasis, make sure you know the AME pieces well as these will be conducted those for a performance. There will be three rehearsals and a dress for each piece, but conductors will consult with the members of AME to determine how much time each piece receives for rehearsals as some will need more time, and some will need less time. This will be determined after the first AME rehearsal each week, which all conductors will be required to attend.
Each season, there are chamber concerts at the festival. Occasionally a work will need a conductor, and conducting applicants are more than welcome to compile an ensemble and propose a performance at one of the chamber concerts. That form is found here. On a case-by-case basis the faculty conductors may ask participant conductors to conduct orchestral rehearsals or parts of rehearsals. Conductor participants, not faculty conductors, will conduct the two works from the orchestral reading sessions that are chosen for performance.
Yes: we strongly recommend you reach out to any composers whose works you are conducting at the festival before the readings and first rehearsals occur. You may also reach out before the festival, if you have any questions for the composers. Each season, before the festival, we provide private access to a page with contact information for everyone at the festival for this very reason.
Yes, absolutely. We will be recording all AMO reading session and AME concerts, both video and audio.
Concert Details
- Men should wear black pants, black dress shirts and dress shoes.
- Women should wear black slacks or skirt, and a black shirt, or a black dress. Short sleeve or sleeveless are not permitted.
- Casual attire for readings and other functions is perfectly fine.
Not always. Rehearsals for AME and guest ensembles are closed to institute participants unless otherwise noted. Composers will be invited by the ensembles when they are ready for their work to be heard.
Participants are, however, allowed and encouraged to attend any rehearsals and readings of the Mostly Modern Orchestra.
While MMF enthusiastically encourages composer/performer collaborations, for security, financial, logistical and insurance reasons, we cannot allow the facilities to be used for performances or readings other than officially-scheduled MMF events, and other than the scheduled ad-hoc concerts.
If you are a composer, you are required to attend all rehearsals (except the first rehearsal) and performances for any work you are having performed or read. Instrumentalists and singers are required to attend ALL rehearsals, dress rehearsals, readings, and concerts of the programs they are performing on. MMF strongly encourages everyone to attend all concerts, classes, and festival activities.
Concerto Competition
Yes. The jury needs to hear the same piece you would perform if you won, and we need to see what it sounds like.
For the competition, you may perform the solo part with a piano reduction (we will provide the accompanist), or perform along with a recording, without the solo part. We really can’t accept pieces for the competition that don’t allow us to hear what the pieces sound like, both the solo part and the orchestral part, either as a reduction, or as a recording.
Credit and Licensing Agency (ASCAP and BMI) Info
If your work is new and was premiered at MMF, you may say that your work was written for or is dedicated to MMF, and/or the ensemble that performed or read your work. You may not state that MMF or any of the ensembles commissioned your work.
We will post all programs on the MMF website as downloadable PDFs after the festival ends. MMF also submits programs to both licensing agencies for every concert, but if you are a composer, you should submit them regardless. We do not make or submit programs for readings, which are private and not opened or advertised to the public.
WiFi and Cellular Access
There is cellular access all over Skidmore College. There is guest WiFi access as well. Festival participants will be given a WiFi password for the duration of the festival.
Printing and Copying
The printer in the MMF office is for official MMF staff use only. There are copy machines and printers located on campus. On-campus copies are generally ca. 10-15¢ per copy.
Skidmore College has a Print Services, which you are welcome to use and pay for. For composers, we strongly recommend not waiting until you arrive at the festival to print your materials, since we can’t guarantee how quickly the turn-around will be for your materials.
Info For Those With Special Needs/Non-Discrimination Policy
Skidmore College is wheelchair accessible, and we welcome applicants who require the use of wheelchairs. However, we lack the ability to fully accommodate applicants with severe physical or mental disabilities. Acceptance of all applicants is at MMF’s sole discretion, and those with extraordinary needs will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Arriving at the festival and failing to disclose any need for accommodation could result in a dismissal from the festival as we may not be able to accommodate all needs with no notice.
MMF does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age (institute open to ages 18 and up only), physical disability, or veteran status.
