Vivo Summer String Institute
The ASO's first summer camp!
2025 Dates Coming Soon!
Atlanta Symphony Hall | Woodruff Arts Center | Atlanta, GA
This four-day day camp is open to violin, viola, cello, and bass musicians – rising 5th grade through rising 12th grade. Students attending Vivo Summer String Institute will be conducted by string orchestra experts, coached by professional musicians, inspired by master artists, and challenged by engaging music elective sessions.
2024 Vivo Daily Schedule
A $400 registration fee will be required.
For 2024, we welcomed Maestro Soo Han and Maestra Jennifer Drake to the podium. Students were placed in one of two string orchestras, based on their experience levels. All full rehearsals and the end of camp performance took place on the Atlanta Symphony Hall stage. The end-of-camp performance was open to the public on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Conductor Biographies
Dr. Soo Han
Dr. Soo Han is the Director of Orchestral Studies at George Mason University’s Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music in Fairfax, Virginia; Music Director of the Elkhart County Symphony in Indiana; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is a composer and arranger with Hal Leonard, and is also a contributing editor for Essential Elements for Strings.
As an active conductor, Dr. Han has appeared with numerous professional and university orchestras. He is a frequent conductor for all-state, regional, and honor orchestras, appearing in more than 30 states, and has conducted ensembles in Australia, Austria, China, and Thailand. He has produced multiple recordings of complete symphonies, and has premiered several commissioned works for strings and full orchestras. Dr. Han has presented workshops and clinics internationally and for nearly every major national and state music conference, including Australian String Teacher Conference, Maryborough National Australia Conference, The Midwest Clinic, ASTA National Conference, NAfME National Conference, and Ohio University Summer String Teacher Workshop. Prior to his position at George Mason, Dr. Han served as the Director of Orchestral Studies at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio and was the program coordinator and faculty member with Los Angeles Philharmonic’s summer YOLA program.
Dr. Han is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, and co-author, contributor, and managing editor for Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, Vol. 4, one of the leading orchestra pedagogical resources published by GIA. He is a past president of the Indiana American String Teachers Association and his high school orchestras were nine-time Indiana State School Music Association champions. Having taught in the public schools for fifteen years, he is a passionate supporter of school music programs, and continues to remain active in instrumental classrooms throughout the country.
Soo received his Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he studied piano under Edward Auer. He received his Master of Science in Education from the Indiana University School of Education, and his Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the Michigan State University College of Music, where he studied under Kevin Noe. Soo grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and now resides in Arlington, Virginia, where he has a beautiful view of the monuments of Washington, D.C. He enjoys distance running, eating amazing food, and traveling near and far with his partner, Gregory, and his faithful canine companion, Lenny.
Jennifer Drake
Inspired by the power of music to connect people, ideas and communities, Jennifer Drake is a conductor, violist, teacher, clinician, and camp director. One of the most enthusiastic musicians you will ever meet, Jennifer is known for her versatility, humor, and energy. Jennifer is the Music Director of the Serenata Orchestra and the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestras She has been a guest conductor for the Idaho State Civic Symphony and Opera Idaho. Jennifer is the principal violist for the Boise Baroque Orchestra, as well as a section violist for the Boise Philharmonic. Jennifer has enjoyed an international chamber music career, performing at the 33rd International Viola Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland and the International Bass Clarinet Convention in Rotterdam, Holland. She has performed concerts in Iceland, Holland, Denmark, Romania, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and Canada. Jennifer is the founder of Idaho Viola Camp. She is also the co-artistic director for the Idaho Orchestra Institute. Both camps provide students with unique outdoor experiences, in addition to high quality musical engagement.
Jennifer is a highly sought after teacher and clinician. As a clinician, she is known for her infectious energy and ability to engage with ensembles of all levels. Recent All State orchestras conducted include Texas, Alabama, Nevada, Indiana, South Carolina and Minnesota. She has also done MEA clinics in Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Montana, and Idaho. She has also been a featured clinician for Music for All and The Midwest Clinic. She has also been the cover girl for HerLife magazine. When she is not living the obviously glamorous lifestyle that being a conductor and cover girl must afford, she is cruising around in her 1985 Volkswagen camper van, calling the vet for hernot-exactly- Corgi dogs Fergus and Cameron, thinking of how to avoid grocery shopping, and planning trips with her husband, Chad Marvin. Jen and Chad climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in January 2016. Jen is a very mediocre CrossFitter, cyclist, and hiker, and will gladly talk your ear off about any of these endeavors.