Gourmet chef, Golden Beach mansion, media spotlights, and exclusive Millionaire’s Row Reception just some of amenities for youth participants of violin “boot campâ€.
An MTV Reality Show-type music program will be descending upon Miami later this week – only in this “show” the young musicians, ranging in age from 10 to 23, will be practicing Bach and Beethoven, not  Britney and Beyonce.
On December 18, twenty young classical musicians will make their way to “Casa Linda,†the spectacular mansion recently featured on MTV Teen Cribs (and in which rappers T-Pain and Flo Rida  filmed the video for their hit single Zooksgirl), to spend six days in a program that founders Sandy Marcucci, a “Juilliard Mom,†and Kimberly Fisher, Principal Second Violin of the Philadelphia Orchestra, call “Classical Music Boot.”
“It is an extremely intense program,” said Marcucci. “All 20 performers spend their entire day in lessons, practice, performance classes, and piano rehearsals. The house is bursting with music from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and every where you look there are students practicing: in their bedrooms, in the living room, on the porch, even in the laundry room. The wonderful sound of music is literally everywhere!â€
The festival – surely the first music camp to include luxurious Miami Beach living, an exclusive reception on Millionaire’s Row, a gourmet chef, and daily High Tea – will include outstanding young musicians from throughout the U.S. and from as far away as Thailand.
“We run this unique performance program as a family would run a home with 20 of its own talented children,” said Fisher – arguably one of the most accomplished orchestral musicians in the world. “When it is time to practice, everyone has to stop what they are doing, find a spot anywhere in the house, and practice for hours. And I’m in the house with the students; so even though practice is never perfect, it sure gets close to it! “
Students are required to practice four-five hours daily to meet the program’s goal of non-stop practice, lessons, performance classes, and recitals.
“In order to ask so much of the students, we found that we need to surround them with a more-than aesthetically pleasing environment.” said Marcucci. “That is why we secure a beautiful mansion with a beautiful view, wonderful food, a backyard pool for the occasional 30 minutes of free time the students receive each day, and a family atmosphere. We try to ‘de-stress’  the environment in every way so the performers can succeed in this intense environment. In other words, we try to make their extremely hard job as easy as possible!â€
This year’s program will include a student performance at an enchanting home on Millionaire’s Row Sunday, December 19. The affair is part of a lavish event sponsored by the Jewish Community Services of Southern Florida in an effort to raise funds for its far-reaching food bank. Kimberly Fisher will also perform at the event, as will the only two local students, Matthew Hakkarainen and Nicholas Abrahams, both 10 years of age.
“The JCS Kosher Food Bank is a portal to the nearly 40 other programs and social services provided by Jewish Community Services,†said Ilene Luby, Director of Major Gifts for JCS. “ Each year, more than 35,000 people, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background benefit from our trained, caring professionals and although each individual’s circumstance is different, JCS is a lifeline. No one is turned away.â€
The JCS provides critical help in the South Florida community by meeting a number of urgent-care needs, including delivering meals and emergency funds to frail seniors – many of whom are holocaust survivors – to enable them to remain at home; counseling families in crisis, including victims of domestic abuse; assisting the unemployed and offering basic job skills training  to developmentally disabled adults.
JCS is the largest Jewish Social Service agency in Florida. For more information about the JCS and the varied programs they offer throughout Southern Florida, please visit their website at www.JCSFL.org