History of Hartwick College Summer Music Festival

The Hartwick College Summer Music Festival was founded in 1947 as the New York State Music Camp by Dr. Frederic Fay Swift, then a professor of music at Hartwick College. The original location of the camp was at Otter Lake in the Adirondacks. In 1956 the camp moved to the Hartwick College campus where, except for 1968 and 1969, it has remained. In 1985 the New York State Music Camp was renamed the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival & Institute.

Festival alumni may be found in professional orchestras, stage bands, radio and television shows; teaching in schools and colleges; and serving as composers and arrangers. But a career in the music is not the goal of everyone attending the festival. Hundreds of Festival alumni are in other professions, each finding music a continuing source of satisfaction and enjoyment.

The current Festival aims to create an atmosphere where collaboration is encouraged and fostered, bring together interesting and highly skilled artists, and provide a one-of-a- kind experience for curious, talented, and enthusiastic students of music.