AIMS has offered a 6-week summer program in Europe for singers (opera and German Lieder), collaborative pianists (aspiring opera coaches) and orchestra players (both symphonic and operatic repertoire) since 1969. Thousands of musicians have attended. Admission is only by audition and the number of attendees is limited. The program trains singers and others in their craft at the critical juncture of starting their professional lives, emphasizing professional competency with an international faculty, auditioning and marketing techniques through exposure to artists' agents , and performance opportunities through its summer music festival in Graz, Austria. This is usually the first introduction of the participants to worldwide professionals in their fields. Demand for the program has increased in recent years and a capacity number of participants attend. The financial health of the organization is sound with no debt. Scholarships are offered based on audition results and range from 5 to 50% of the tuition. Scholarships are the only funds the organization seeks in its fundraising appeals. There are many professional musicians who have seen the AIMS experience as a transforming period in their lives. The greatest pleasure I have had as a volunteer working since 1995 for the organization, is to attend an opera or recital featuring one of the young people who learned that this is what they wanted to do in life while at AIMS in Graz. Every year, I have this pleasure at one of the opera houses or concert halls in the U.S. or Europe. For example, several AIMS graduates have sung leading roles at Sarasota Opera, Tanglewood, Atlanta Opera, etc., and last year I attended the debut of one of our singers at the Vienna Staatsoper. And if I could, I would have heard others at the MET, in Berlin, Bohn, Sydney, and at regional opera houses all over America. It is a time-tested educational experience of personal growth and emotional maturation for young people.
The web site for AIMS is www.aimsgraz.com
Review from Guidestar