Frequently Asked Questions

Ischia is an island in the Bay of Naples.    There are direct international flights into the Naples airport (NAP).  There is inexpensive bus service from the airport to the ferry terminals at the harbor.

Since there are more flights available through Rome, some participants choose to use those airports, then taking the one-hour train ride to Naples.

From Naples to Ischia you must use a ferry service, which have schedules listed here.

By Auto Ferry:

CAREMAR and MEDMAR: provide year-round service from Naples (1h and 15 min.) and Pozzuoli (50 min.) to Ischia. These Ferries can take vehicles to the island and reservations for vehicles are required. Passengers do not need reservations. For information please visit http://www.caremar.it or call (0039) 081-580-5111, or www.medmargroup.it or call (0039) 081-333-4411

By Hi-Speed Ferry:

A state-of-the-art High Speed Catamaran and the high-speed ferries provide year-round service from Naples to Ischia . The ferries depart from the Molo Beverello Pier in Naples and docks in Ischia Pier in under 50 minutes. Please visit www.caremar.it or call (0039) 081-580-5111, or www.medmargroup.it or call (0039) 081-333-4411 for schedules and more information.

Participants flying to Rome

There are hourly high speed trains from Roma’s Termine central station to Naple’s central station.   The trains can be booked here  www.trenitalia.com.

From Naples train central station, use the Metro, or city bus lines to get to the Molo Beverello Pier for the ferry to Ischia.  Google maps has an accurate description of the options.

Note:  traffic in central Naples can significantly delay taxis, so your should include that in our travel plans.

Besides your instrument, you should bring comfortable clothes appropriate to the mediterrean climate.   Some people enjoy wearing nice clothes for dinner in the evening.   However, we encourage casual attire for the workshops during the day.   There is 10 minute walk from the festival site and the hotel and local restaurants, so bring comfortable walking shoes

Participating musicians pay a $750 membership fee + the accommodation fees. Non playing guests only pay the accommodation fee.

Accommodation fees

Single room $749

Double room $569 per person

Triple room $479 per person

Quadruple room $419 per person

Accommodation fees are specially negotiated for Ischia participants and guests. They include breakfast and dinner, a bottle of water and of wine per person.

When you register for Ischia, the final step is to pay. We accept online payments with all major credit cards and debit cards. Payments are securely processed via Stripe.

Yes, thanks to the generosity of our partners, there are  limited number of scholarships for the workshop.   These are intended to support bringing in younger, experienced players who can contribute to learning across the groups.   Qualifications for the scholarship include:

• Amateur musicians between 18 and 26 years of age;
• At least five years of experience playing chamber music;
• Interest in and willingness to help other musicians;
• Currently working with a teacher.

To be considered for the scholarship, please fill out this form.

You can join by simply filling in this registration form.  And you can see more details about the workshop here.

The festival welcomes young and adult musicians at all levels and all classical music instruments.   We usually have a good mix of very experienced and new players.   We match groups based on their experience and interests and the difficulty of the pieces.

And we have players from all over the world, so you will hear many languages spoken. We generally use English or Italian to communicate in group settings, since those two languages are most commonly understood by all players.   So you should have a basic understanding of musical terms in one of those two languages.

Most of our past participants enjoy making new friends from these diverse backgrounds.   You will get the most for your Ischia experience if you are open to people of different backgrounds.

Yes, we welcome all instruments.

Yes, we welcome pre-formed groups.

Yes, we can provide quality string instruments at a modest additional cost. If you want to rent an instrument, please check that box on the registration form.   We will contact you about the details.

Keith Bowen, clarinet, has qualified in musicology since retiring from his scientific career, obtaining an MA in Music (with Distinction) at the Open University (UK) and a PhD at the Royal College of Music, London. He specialized in classical-period performance practice and in the history and acoustics of the bass clarinet, winning a University prize and two international awards for his research. He is an active chamber music and orchestral performer on clarinet, basset horn and bass clarinet, currently with the British Clarinet Ensemble. Keith is also Vice-President of Kammermusik Workshops based in Santa Fe, New Mexico USA, which runs woodwind chamber music workshops for amateur adult players in Santa Fe and Oxford, England, in which he frequently coaches and directs the large woodwind ensembles, often with his own arrangements. He has studied clarinet with Lesley Schatzberger (UK), Lori Lovato (New Mexico Symphony), and Forest Aten (Dallas Opera) and bass clarinet with Sarah Watts (soloist, UK) and Michael Harris (Royal College of Music).

Was born in Ukraine. At the age of 17 moved to study at the Saint – Petersburg Conservatory.Already at the of 20 was a Principal Bassoonist and soloist in State Chamber Orchestra. In 1989 Mr. Fine immigrated to Israel where continued Solo and orchestra duties.
All his life, Alexander teaching music on different instruments: Bassoon, Baroque Bassoon and Oboe, Chamber and Orchestra music.

Graduated in cello at the age of 19 at the State Conservatory of Music of Salerno, he immediately joined the Italian Youth Orchestra at the Fiesole Music School where he also attended chamber music courses held by Amedeo Baldovino , Maureen Jones, Milan Skampa. He studied for many years with Arturo Bonucci, obtaining a diploma of advanced studies at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, with Giacinto Caramia, Andrea Noferini and Luigi Piovano at the Music Academy of Pescara. From 1996 to 1998 he was Arturo Bonucci’s assistant at the international specialization courses in Riva del Garda. From 1999 to 2007 he held the role of first cello at the lyric-symphonic orchestra of the Teatro di tradition G. di Stefano in Trapani and has had professional positions with various cultural institutions including the Music Conservatories of Messina, Palermo and the INDA of Syracuse. During this time he has worked with internationally renowned soloists and conductors. He was also hired as first cello at the Vittorio Emanuele Theater of Messina, the Orchestra of the Taormina Opera Festival, the Vincenzo Bellini Symphonic Orchestra of Catania, the City of Ravello Orchestra. He has an intense concert activity to his credit which has seen him the winner of numerous national and international competitions both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles.

Ms. Niglio got her violin diploma in 1993 at the Conservatory of Bolzano with Christian Anziger. In 2004 she got her viola diploma. Giuseppina performs internationally in several orchestras and chamber music groups.
Her experiences range from classical to pop music.
Pina had many masterclass with great chamber music players like
Alain Meunier, Cristiano Rossi, Danilo Rossi, Miriam Dal Don and Gabriele Pierannunzi.
Ms. Niglio is the founder of the “Scuola d’Archi Salernitana”, promoting masterclass for young students held by great teachers like Stefano Pagliani, Christian Anzinger, Alessandro Perpic, Ulriche Hofmann. Pina is a violin teacher at music high school De Filippis-Galdi in Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy.

Ms, Squitieri, has performs piano concerts since childhood both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, including winning awards in national and international competitions.  Among her various activities, she has was accompanist for distinguished musicians such as Tamiati, Fabrizi, Fuchs and others.

Born and raised in Italy, Aldo de Vero studied piano at the S. Pietro a Majella Conservatory, at the Accademia Chigiana, and with renowned pianist Bruno Canino. He is a dedicated advocate of contemporary music and in particular of American Composers. He has performed many works by American composers in his solo recitals and with the Appalachian Ensemble including music by John Cage, George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Henry Cowell, Ernest Bloch, Samuel Barber and a rewarding first performance in Italy of “Three Quarter Tone Pieces” by Charles Ives for the 1994 G7 summit in Naples. His performances often include informative commentary on the composers, their pieces, and their places in musical history.

As director and conductor of the Coro Polifonico “S.Leonardo” di Procida, he has released a compact disc recording entitled “Fenesta che lucive” (PoloSud) of his own transcriptions of Neapolitan classic songs sung by the choir accompanied by non-traditional instruments.

Although focusing on his career as a pianist and chamber musician with worldwide performances, Aldo de Vero is also founding member of Key Largo (www.associazionekeylargo.it), an organization that produces musical events and chamber music workshops such as the engaging Ischia Chamber Music Festival (www.ischiachambermusic.org).

You can enjoy an example of Aldo playing a Ravel piece for four hands here.

The workshop can best be described as serious, friendly fun.   Every music is supported and encouraged to play their best.   And we also encourage building new friendships.  The goal is have a satisfying musical and personal experience.  There is a video of the 2022 workshop which will give you a feeling of the experience.

Generally, the first four days of the workshop are spent working on pieces assigned at the beginning of the workshop.   Each day, there are three 90 minute sessions, two each morning and one in the afternoon.  There is an optional orchestra session in the evening before dinner.

The fifth day is unscheduled, so that you can tour the island, perform free-lance pieces, practice, and just relax.

On the sixth and seventh days, each group will focus on a specific pieces which you, your colleagues,  and coaches decide will be most interesting.

There is a final public concert featuring these last pieces before dinner the last day.

The next morning, the workshop ends after breakfast together.

You can see a complete description of the ACMP self rating here.

No, it is fine if you prefer to end your participation at the workshops.   The concerts are extras, intended to add to your playing experience in front of audiences.

The festival works on pieces from the standard western classical music repertoire, from Baroque through Contemporary composers.   We select pieces based on players abilities and interests.   And the groups range from duets to nonets.   We include at least one orchestral piece for all players.