Compose Yourself! Project Submission Deadline
2026-02-14
The annual Compose Yourself! Project Workshop is a unique and special opportunity for students to share their compositions with visiting professional composers/teaching artists and receive feedback.
Submissions are due by February 14, 2026.
Download the submission form here.
The Compose Yourself! Project Workshop will be held on Saturday, February 28, from 1:00-5:00 pm.

Compose Yourself! Project Composition Master Class
2026-02-28 13:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
Each year, the Hoff-Barthelson Composition Master Class invites young composers to step into the spotlight. Directed by Dr. Derek Cooper in partnership with Copland House, this highlight of the season offers students an extraordinary opportunity to present their original works and receive thoughtful, professional feedback from celebrated, award-winning composers through the HB Compose Yourself! Project. This year’s composers are Haralabos (Harry) Stafylakis and Max Grafe.
Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge.
Haralabos (Harry) Stafylakis is a New York City–based, JUNO-nominated composer from Montreal whose music blends classical tradition with the intensity of heavy metal. Critics have described his work as “dreamy yet rhythmic” (The New York Times) and “ferociously expressive” (Times Colonist), marked by visceral energy and bold harmonic language. He is composer-in-residence with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and co-curator of the Winnipeg New Music Festival. Stafylakis has collaborated with leading classical and metal artists and ensembles worldwide. His album Calibrating Friction (New Amsterdam Records) received a 2024 JUNO nomination, alongside major honors from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP,
and SOCAN.
Max Grafe is a composer whose music harnesses modernist vocabularies to create striking, dramatic, and narrative impact. Described by Gramophone as featuring “jagged declamations and muffled filigree,” his works have been commissioned by ensembles including the New York Philharmonic and presented at festivals such as Tanglewood and RED NOTE. Grafe is a founding member of ICEBERG New Music, and his compositions appear on recordings by major ensembles and soloists. He has received numerous honors from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, and ASCAP. Grafe teaches at Montclair State University and the Kaufman Music Center and is Composer in Residence at Kinhaven Music School.
Pictured: Haralabos (Harry) Stafylakis
View flyer here.

Vocal Master Class with Janna Baty
2026-03-07 14:00 - 16:15 | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
Described by The Boston Globe as having “a rich, viola-like tone” and singing with “a rapturous, luminous lyricism,” mezzo-soprano Janna Baty enjoys a versatile career performing with opera companies, orchestras, and at festivals around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist.
At the Yale School of Music, Baty directs the undergraduate voice lessons program and has often appeared in recitals as a soloist and in collaboration with other Yale School of Music faculty members. She has also been a featured performer at the Yale Summer School of Music/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
A specialist in contemporary music, Baty has worked alongside many celebrated composers on performances of their music. She is an alumna of Oberlin College and the Yale School of Music.
Master Classes at Hoff-Barthelson are open to the public to observe free of charge.

Piano Master Class with Victor Cayres
2026-03-22 13:00 - 15:30 | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
Pianist Victor Cayres has earned praise for concerts with the Sine Nomine string quartet and as soloist with Boston Pops, Orchestre des Jeunes de Fribourg in Switzerland, and Brno Philharmonic in the Czech Republic. He has been a guest artist at Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Universidade de São Paulo, University of Connecticut, Claflin University, Wesleyan University, Western Washington University, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory and State University for Arts and Culture.
He has recorded for Albany, Centaur, Navona, and Parma Records, and frequently performs in Brazil, Europe, South Korea, and in the United States, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Preston Bradley Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall. His concerts have been broadcast live at Brazil’s TV Cultura channel, Boston’s WGBH 99.5 All Classical, and Chicago’s WFMT Fine Arts Radio. Mr. Cayres currently serves as Lecturer at Boston University, Co-Director for Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Piano Program, and Faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Rivers School Conservatory.
Master Classes at Hoff-Barthelson are open to the public to observe free of charge.

Elaine Stamas Chamber Music Residency
2026-04-12 13:00 - 14:30 | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
The 2026 Elaine Stamas Chamber Music Residency offers HBMS student ensembles the chance to perform for and receive coaching from musicians of the New York Philharmonic. These esteemed artists bring their deep expertise in ensemble playing, helping young musicians refine their technique, enhance their musicianship, and develop a deeper understanding of musical style.
This year’s coaches include:
Lisa Kim, violin
Anna Rabinova, violin
Matthew Christakos, cello
Mindy Kaufman, flute
Hanna Kim, piano
Coaches are subject to change.
The Master Classes are followed by a chamber music concert by musicians from the New York Philharmonic at 3:15 pm.

C³: Concert · Clinic · Conversation
2026-04-30 17:00 - 18:30 | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
Join us for an afternoon of discovery and inspiration as Hoff-Barthelson Music School partners with Caramoor to present C³: Concert · Clinic · Conversation, featuring the Poiesis Quartet, Caramoor’s 2025 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence.
The program begins with a short concert, followed by a guided conversation with the Quartet, who will share insights into their artistry and repertoire. The event culminates in a hands-on clinic, with Poiesis Quartet members coaching and performing alongside students enrolled in Hoff-Barthelson’s Chamber Music Program.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience chamber music at the highest level while supporting the next generation of musicians.
Free of charge and open to the public.
View flyer here.

Violin Master Class with Jennifer Frautschi
2026-05-02 14:00 - 16:15 | Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, 10583, United States
Jennifer Frautschi, violin
Two-time Grammy nominee and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Jennifer Frautschi has appeared as soloist with many of the nation’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, she is an artist-member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and has performed at Chamber Music Northwest, Music@Menlo, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and numerous festivals including Ojai, Santa Fe, Seattle, Spoleto, and La Jolla SummerFest.
Her wide-ranging discography includes Grammy-nominated recordings of Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra and String Quartet No. 3 with the Fred Sherry Quartet, Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with Robert Craft and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and, with pianist John Blacklow, Schumann’s three violin sonatas and American Duos, featuring works by contemporary American composers.
A Pasadena native, Frautschi studied at the Colburn School, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. She performs on the 1722 “ex-Cádiz” Antonio Stradivarius and teaches in the graduate program at Stony Brook University.
Master Classes at Hoff-Barthelson are open to the public to observe free of charge.
View flyer here.
