Clinic Details
and value breakdown
For Fellows
Masterclasses (Student Performance with One-On-One Coaching)
(Value: $200)
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Each MMB fellow receives 15 minutes of one-on-one coaching with Paul Haas in a masterclass format, recorded on video. The two main goals are:
1) Assess the student’s current level of artistry – which musical elements are in good shape, and which ones need attention
2) Allow all participants to study their peers’ performances, actively learning in context from Paul what it means to excel musically and observe common problems and opportunities live and in-person.
Private Lessons (One-On-One)
(Value: $150)
Additionally, each MMB fellow receives 15 minutes of private instruction with Paul in a lesson format, recorded on video. The contents of each lesson will vary according to the student’s needs and wishes, but the overarching goal is to give each student 1) a solid grasp of which musical elements need the most urgent attention and 2) a high-level strategic overview of what needs to be in place to play with next-level musicality.
Mock Auditions (Student Performance)
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(Value: $75)
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Paul has said on multiple occasions, “It’s not enough to play your instrument well – you have to be able to play it well under pressure.” Each fellow will receive 5 minutes to play their pre-assigned and -practiced excerpt in an audition format, following Paul’s auditions-related workshop “Performance Under Pressure”.
Total Value (Fellows Only):
$425
For All Participants
What Are They Looking For (Informational Session)
(Value: $125)
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One of the most important aspects of the audition process is to understand exactly what the audition panel is looking for in a musician. This workshop goes over all of the musical elements in play, both objective (rhythm, pitch, dynamics, articulation, tempo) and subjective (tone color, phrasing, style, character). The main goal of this workshop is to leave no question in the student’s mind what our goal is musically as they take an audition. A supplemental goal is for the students to learn what the most common pitfalls and disqualifying mistakes are in auditions, so they can work systematically to avoid them.
Advanced Practice and Organization (Informational Session)
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(Value: $150)
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​Most musicians, young and old alike, are about 20% efficient in their practicing. A less generous way of putting it is that they waste 80% of their time. This workshop goes over specific practicing techniques that flip the ratio around, so the student becomes closer to 80% efficient in their practicing, wasting far less time and speeding up their pace of achieving desired changes.
Performance Under Pressure (Informational Session)
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(Value: $200)
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There are nine abilities a musician has to master in order to perform well under pressure, whether it’s in an audition or performance context. In this workshop, Paul will walk the students through each of these abilities in broad strokes, introducing them to concepts and strategies they can be working on over the coming years to master the art of playing as well onstage as they do in the practice room.
Life Skills Workshop
(Value: $175)
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There’s a reason Paul has been asked to deliver the “Paul Haas Talk” at Tanglewood every single summer since 2007, and at the New York Youth Symphony the five years before that. Quite a few of his students have told him that this talk changed their lives. Over a period of an hour, Paul tells his students all the information he wishes someone had told him when he was their age, exploring different career paths, the meaning and purpose of life, the importance of being present in the moment (as well as how to do it!), and the idea of being profoundly inquisitive, plus so much more.
Q & A
(Value: $100)
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Paul will be available to answer any and all questions students might have, both during a dedicated 60-minute Q&A session as well as during any free or unstructured time over the weekend.
Total Value For All Participants:
Fellows
Value: $1175
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Masterclass
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Private Lesson
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Mock Audition
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What are they looking for
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Advanced Practice and Organization
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Performance Under Pressure
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Life Skills Workshop
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Q&A
Price: $ ̶7̶5̶0 $499
(Partial Scholarship for all)
Auditors
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Opportunity to attend all masterclasses and learn from peers
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What are they looking for
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Advanced Practice and Organization
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Performance Under Pressure
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Life Skills Workshop
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Q&A
Value: $750
Price: $ ̶4̶0̶0 $250
(Partial Scholarship for all)
For Parents
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(Value: $150)
Parenting a gifted musician is an incredibly challenging task, and it requires skills not all of us were born with. In this Zoom-based session, Sonia and Brent Urban share cumulative learnings from their years of supporting their own child – professional trumpeter Sophie Urban – throughout high school in Colorado and conservatory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Topics covered include: networking, choosing a teacher, selecting an instrument, resume development, college admissions strategies and organizational planning, amongst many others.
Virtual Presentation: What You're Facing Over the Next Few Years
Additional Resources
• List of musical elements to be worked on, with exactly what the committee is looking for in each case, as well as most commonly observed mistakes heard in auditions (Value: $50)
• Advanced practice: overview of what advanced practice should be, as well as a repertoire of professional-level practice techniques to be used going forward, complete with detailed instructions (Value: $75)
• Audition organization: from beginning to end, a battle-tested audition-preparation process that leaves you at the top of your game on the day of the audition (Value: $50)
• Performance under pressure: ongoing access to a 90-minute set of videos describing all of the elements necessary to play in an audition at the same level as you play in the practice room (Value: $200)
• Mindset Best Practices Guide (Value: $50)
• Mindset Conversion Method PDF – step-by-step fillable template to assist with taking control of your life through a series of shifts in mindset (Value: $35)
What’s behind the philosophy of MMB?
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The goal of MMB is to provide high school classical instrumentalists and their parents with the knowledge, tools, and strategies they need to stand out from the competition and gain entrance to excellent colleges and conservatories, based on their musical talent.
Often, the parents of a talented child know deep down their child has talent, but they don’t know how that talent measures up to peers on the national level. They also don’t have the experience, connections, or skill base to know exactly how to support and nurture that talent. They want what is truly best for their child, and they entrust Paul/MMB with structuring and leading their child through the complex and fraught process of becoming an exceptional musician.
This MMB “weekend intensive” is the first step in this process, where students and their parents learn what the students’ strengths and weaknesses are, and what is required to stand out from the competition, as well as both immediate and long-term strategies for acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to play with next-level artistry.
Equipped with this new knowledge, students and their parents are now in an ideal position to put into practice the strategies they have learned, either through continued work with MMB and Paul or by relying on their own knowledge and networks.
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Logistical Details
Location:
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Thaden School, Bentonville, AR
Date:
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Spring 2025 (exact dates TBA)
What to bring:
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Note taking materials
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Food is provided
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Music, instrument, i.e. everything you need to perform well.
Other:
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Itineraries will be distributed 1-2 weeks before the clinic.
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Results will be announced 4 weeks before clinic
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Payments will be due 2 weeks before clinic