15th YOUTH CLASSICS Swiss International Music Academy
July 11th - 20th, 2025
The Swiss International Music Academy SIMA is intended for talented and advanced musicians intending to study music as well as for college students. The lessons focus on in-depth technical and musical examination of musical works, interpretation and/or preparation for competitions, examinations and auditions. The focus is on the holistic development of the participants
Course content SIMA 2025
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Intensive solo lessons (4 lessons).
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New: in the cello classes, students receive 3 individual lessons with their teacher and another individual lesson with one of the other cello teachers. This is not possible for violin classes and viola classes. Dividing the lessons between two teachers (2 lessons each) is only possible in exceptional cases. The decision lies with the Artistic Director.
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Rehearsals with piano accompaniment
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Chamber music lessons
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Performances during studio classes and in-house concerts
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SIMA concerts featuring participants in Rheinau and Zurich
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Leisure activities
SSpecials at SIMA 2025
During the Swiss International Music Academy, all participants live on the campus of the Musikinsel Rheinau campus.
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Tuition fee
Course costs: none
Every student who is accepted to the academy 2025 receives a full scholarship for the course fee.
Costs for room & board:
For 10 days and 9 nights (3 meals/day included), departure on July 20th, 2025 after the final concert: 890 CHF or 890 EUR
For 11 days and 10 nights (3 meals/day included), individual departure on July 21st, 2025, after breakfast at the IBIS Budget hotel: 990 CHF or 990 EUR
The SIMA 2025 starts on July 11th, 2025 and ends on July 20th, 2025, after the final concert at the Zurich University of the Arts. Please indicate on the application form, whether you would depart directly after the final concert (9 nights on the Musikinsel Rheinau) or if you wish to stay in the Hotel IBIS Budget next to the Zurich University of the Arts for one more night.
Application fee: CHF 100.- or EUR 100.-
Applications without payment receipt proving the payment of the application fee will not be processed.
The application fee will be subtracted from the total costs. In case the applicant does not receive a place at the SIMA 2025 due to too many applications, the application fee will be refunded. If the participant cancels his/her participation, the application fee can not be refunded.
Family members:
Participants under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Parents/adult siblings who accompany participants pay CHF 100 or EUR 100 per night and per person for a double room with full board.
Due to limited number of rooms, parents of participants older than 12 years can not be accommodated on the Musikinsel Rheinau during the SIMA. Information about accommodation possibilities near to the Musikinsel can be found at: www.booking.com, www.hotels.com or www.hrs.com.
All prices are per person and include statutory value added tax applicable at the headquarters of YOUTH CLASSICS.
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Registration
Applying for participation at the SIMA 2025:
Please submit the online registration form below and note the following points as well as the additional documents that have to be uploaded to the application form or sent by email:
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Signed form "Rules and agreement" (scan as PDF or JPEG file)
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Payment receipt for the registration fee of CHF 100.00 / EUR 100.00 (scan as PDF or JPEG file) – (registration fee will be subtracted from the hotel costs)
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Your CV
The documents need to be uploaded on the online registration form.
Video Links
Please provide two YouTube links in the online registration form below. There are no mandatory pieces for these recordings. It is recommended to submit two works that differ in style and character.
Applicants who don’t need to send a video link upon agreement with their preferred teacher, please fill in the field with the link "www.youth-classics.com."
The members of the faculty will review all applications after the registration deadline (May 11th, 2025). Usually we receive at least 300 applications, around 100 participants will be accepted. The SIMA will notify about the places for the SIMA 2025 not later than May 30th, 2025.
Please submit your application for the 15th Swiss International Music Academy 2025 (SIMA 2025) by May 11th, 2025, using the online registration form below.
If you have questions about the registration process, please contact: registration@youth-classics.com
or Mobile: +41 (0) 76 411 68 16
For general questions about SIMA 2025, contact: info@youth-classics.com
For artistic questions about SIMA 2025, contact: anna.bertogna@youth-classics.com
Documents for Registration:
Online Registration Form (English)
After submitting the online form, you will automatically receive confirmation of your registration.
Agreements and Rules (English):
This form must be signed and uploaded as a scanned PDF or JPEG file to the online registration form.
Application for room and board cost reduction (English):
This form must be signed and submitted to registration@youth-classics.com after completing the online registration if applying for a scholarship.
For the complete application for room and board cost reduction, 2 recommendation letters from renowned musicians as well as a description of the financial situation must also be submitted. If parts of these documents are missing, the application for an additional scholarship will not be processed.
You can find a list of the clothes and other items that should be brought to the SIMA here.
Bank account details CHF account:
Account holder: YOUTH CLASSICS, Langweidstrasse 6, CH-8912 Obfelden
Bank: Zürcher Kantonalbank
Swift code: ZKBKCHZZ80A
IBAN: CH31 0070 0114 8023 3338 0
Bank account details EUR account:
Account holder: YOUTH CLASSICS, Langweidstrasse 6, CH-8912 Obfelden
Bank: Zürcher Kantonalbank
Swift code: ZKBKCHZZ80A
IBAN: CH54 0070 0130 0091 1880 2
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Important dates
May 11th, 2025
Registration deadline
May 30th, 2025
By this date, all registered candidates will receive a notification whether they can participate and who their main teacher will be.
June 13th, 2025
Announcement of chamber music groups and allocation of works and chamber music teachers
July 11th, 2025
Arrival of all participants between 12 pm and 5 pm. Opening of the YOUTH-CLASSICS SIMA 2025 at 6 pm.
July 20th, 2025
Individual departure after the SIMA final concert in Zurich (around 8 pm)
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July 21st, 2025
Individual departure (Hotel in Zurich) after breakfast
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How to travel to the Musikinsel Rheinau
Public transport
From Zurich Airport:
From Zurich Airport, there are various InterCity (IC) or InterRegio (IR) train connections to Wintherthur – or
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S24 Zurich Airport – Marthalen
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Postbus 620 Marthalen – Rheinau Unterstadt (terminus)
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5 min. walk down towards the Rheinau Abbey
From Zurich main station:
There is a fixed-interval timetable with one hour of travel time (departure every hour from 6:17 am until 11:17 pm, with changes in Winterthur and Marthalen).
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S12 Zurich main station – Winterthur
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S33 Winterthur – Marthalen
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Postbus 620 Marthalen – Rheinau Unterstadt (terminus)
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5 min. walk down towards the Rheinau Abbey
Last connection from Rheinau Unterstadt to Zurich main station at 11:18 pm.
Car
Distance: Zurich: 40 min./47 km, St. Gallen: 55 min./80 km, Winterthur: 20 min./26 km
Route:
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Take the Zurich-St. Gallen highway
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At the junction with the A4, take direction Schaffhausen
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Take the exit for Benken/Rheinau
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From Rheinau, follow signs to the Rheinau Abbey
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Preview SIMA 2026 and 2027
2026
Arrival - Friday, July 10th, 2026
Departure - Sunday, July 19th, 2026
2027
Arrival - Friday, July 16th, 2027
Departure - Sunday, July 25th, 2027