Piazza dei Signori, where daytime market stalls make way for al fresco dining with the restaurants and bars that line the galleries.
TACONIC MUSIC INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Padua, Italy, August 3–13, 2026
Joana Genova, Elisa Kohanski and Gergana Boycheva, directors
Open to intermediate to advanced instrumentalists—violin, viola, cello and piano (ages 18 and up, adult amateurs, college students, semi-professional musicians)—who are interested in playing chamber music in a non-competitive setting and would like to explore the culture and history of Italy.
The daily schedule consists of coachings and rehearsals, and visiting famous sights in Padua. Students will participate as an ensemble in a faculty concert and have their own performance.
Coachings and rehearsals take place at Scuola Diocesana di Musica per la Liturgia: Via Sant Andrea 6, 35139 Padova
Accommodations in the City Center: apartments for 2–3 people with a kitchen, Wi-Fi, AC and laundry. Walking distance to the music school (5-8 minutes).
Two day trips by train: Venice (30 minutes away) and Bologna (1 hour away)
Tuition: $3,000
Tuition covers all musical activities, housing, transportation to and from the airport, local train tickets, entrance to scheduled museum visits and 2 group dinners. Students are responsible for their airfare and meals (food in Padua is relatively cheap—there are plenty of supermarkets, open air markets and affordable restaurants).
Enrollment is limited to 15 students:
6 violinists
4 violists
4 cellists
1 pianist
Application deadline MAY 1, 2026
Requirements: application form, a short audition video and a $20 application fee.
50% tuition due upon acceptance. Remaining balance due July 1.
For more information contact Joana Genova at
taconicinternational@gmail.com
ITALIAN STUDENTS aged 16 and up, can participate in the chamber music program for an adjusted rate, which does not include lodging, meals or tourist attractions. Intermediate to advanced English is preferable.
For information contact Gergana Boycheva at gheri.boycheva@gmail.com
PER PARTECIPANTI ITALIANI:
Nel programma di musica da camera sono benvenuti anche degli allievi italiani (violini, viole e violoncelli), età minima 16 anni.
Quota di partecipazione dedicata, la quale non include vitto, alloggio e attrazioni turistiche.
Per informazioni contattare Gergana Boycheva, mail: gheri.boycheva@gmail.com
2026 FACULTY:
Gergana Boycheva, piano Pianist and organist at Catholic Parish Church, Legnaro, Italy
Joana Genova, violin Artistic Director, Taconic Music; Artist Associate, Williams College; Violin Instructor, Bennington College; Second violin, The Indianapolis Quartet
Elisa Kohanski, cello Adjunct professor, Grove City College, Washington & Jefferson College; Manager and cellist, IonSound Project; Principal cello, Wheeling Symphony and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater; Cello section, Pittsburgh Symphony and Pittsburgh Opera
Alessandro Fagiuoli, violin First violin, Paul Klee Quartet; Faculty, Liceo Musicale di Padova; Artistic Director, Musica in Serra (Ancona); Artistic Director, "I concerti d’Autunno” (Rubano-Padova); Artistic Director, “Prospettive Musicali” Music Competition
Antonina Gerassimova, piano Community Music School at Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri; private studio.
Basil Vendryes, viola Principal Viola, Colorado Symphony; Adjunct Professor, University of Denver, Lamont School of Music
2026 Sample Schedule
August 3: Arrivals • 6pm orientation • 7pm welcome dinner
August 4: 9am–1pm coachings • free afternoon/evening
August 5: 9am–1pm coachings, free time • 3pm sightseeing (Baptistery, Palazzo della Ragione)
August 6: 9am–1pm coachings; free time • 8:45pm Opening Concert, Legnaro
August 7: BOLOGNA all day trip
August 8: 9am–1pm coachings; free time • pm sightseeing (Scrovegni Chapel)
August 9: 9am Play-in (all groups perform for each other) • sightseeing (Il Santo Basilica)
August 10: VENICE all day trip
August 11: 9am–1pm coachings • afternoon concert in Nazareth Assisted Living Home, Padua • final group dinner
August 12: free morning • afternoon soundcheck and Final Concert in San Gaetano Church, Padua • farewell drinks
August 13: Departures
A LOOK BACK AT SUMMER 2025…..
The third Taconic Music International Festival, co-directed by violinist Joana Genova, pianist Gergana Boycheva, and cellist Elisa Kohanski, took place in Italy, August 4–14. Violist Basil Vendryes and Italian violinist Alessandro Fagiuoli returned as faculty, and we welcomed new faculty pianist Antonina Gerassimova.
Ten violin, viola, and cello participants, music and non-music majors, undergrads and recent graduates, traveled to Padua to play chamber music together. The festival was filled with rehearsals and coachings, dinners, drinks and gelato, day trips to Venice and Florence and visits to famous sights in Padua (Palazzo della Ragione, Baptistery, Il Santo Basilica and Scrovegni Chapel).
The standing-room-only opening concert was held in the historic Corte Benedettina—a former Benedictine monastery in Legnaro, dating back to 1400 and converted to University of Padua use in recent years. The participants’ and final faculty concerts took place in Padua's spectacular San Gaetano Church, completed the late 16th century and renovated over the first decades of the 21st century to its current glory. Returning audience members from 2024 brought along friends, while tourists and locals saw the poster outside and came in, and the concerts were hugely successful despite the sweltering weather.
