A “Stage” in the heart of Provence:
An 8-day musical retreat in the idyllic setting of Provence, France, The Krakauer Institute for Intensive Summer Study (or K.I.I.S.S.) is a place for string players, pianists, and select vocalists aged 18 and above to focus on their personal artistry with the support of renowned faculty. With daily lessons, masterclasses, ensemble opportunities, public performances, and opportunities for workshops in technique, theory, composition, arranging, pedagogy, Feldenkrais, yoga, and more, K.I.I.S.S. aims to provide a learning environment for anyone looking to renew and strengthen their relationship with their instrument and their love of music.
About The Program
The French term “stage” (pronounced stahj) loosely translates to a focused period dedicated towards the study of an art form or other endeavor. While many meanings and synonyms resonate, such as “training”, “course”, “formation”, “éducation”, and “préparation”, the general intent of a stage is to provide the participants with an environment free from the many distractions of daily life, within a like-minded community of co-learners, in which concentration, progress, and joy can flourish. The Krakauer Institute for Intensive Summer Study represents a revival of this tradition as it was led by the renowned violinist and pedagogue, Barbara Krakauer; now carried on by her former students and teaching assistants: violinists Katie Kresek and Colin Pip Dixon, pianists Barbara Podgurski and Rolando Garza Rodriguez, and joined by new faculty, Arnaud Ghillebaert.
Listen to our recent podcast to learn more!
Our History
Barbara Liebermann Krakauer was born in Brooklyn and studied the violin with William Jones at the Third Street Music School Settlement and with Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School and at Meadowmount, and with Dorothy DeLay at Sarah Lawrence College. She also studied chamber music at both Juilliard and the Mannes College of Music, and continued her musical studies on her own in France with Nadia Boulanger, Pierre Pasquier and Jean Pasquier. As a student at Tanglewood, she served as the concertmaster of the Institute’s orchestra under Leonard Bernstein.
Barbara’s teaching has been described by her former students as “transformative” and “filled with humanity and love”. Returning to the violin after a long hiatus to raise her family, Barbara understood the opportunities and challenges of learning the violin. She gave her New York debut at Town Hall at the age of 57, and it was perhaps this quest to rediscover her playing as an adult that contributed to her special ability to problem solve with support and empathy.
Barbara was a longtime faculty member at The Mannes College of Music in the preparatory and extension divisions. Beginning in 1977, she began teaching at a series of summer master classes that were overseen by the violinist Zino Francescatti in St. Maximin, France. After leading classes under the sponsorship of René Garmy, a luthier in Aix, Barbara and her husband, Dr. William Krakauer, and the pianist Jeaneane Dowis, founded their own summer music program in Vaison-la-Romaine, France. These retreats were attended by countless students over the course of thirty years, and provided opportunities for focus, ample performance opportunities, as well as the forming of lifelong bonds of friendship and cultural exchange.
