Students are housed according to age and gender in large residence houses. Minors are chaperoned by live-in resident assistants (counsellors).

Each residence has two single beds, closets, desks and chairs. Bath towels and hand/face cloths are supplied daily. Full bedding is supplied and refreshed once mid-stay. Each residence house has coin operated laundry machines. Single occupancy requests will be accommodated for students at a surcharge of $838 CAD.

Each residence house is situated to provide easy and quick access to the Arts Building, T. Gil Bunch Theatre, various sports facilities and the cafeteria. The houses are also grouped in close proximity to each other, allowing students the opportunity to socialize with friends and family. Each of these houses have been newly renovated in the past five years. These buildings are modern and comfortable with spacious kitchen and eating areas, wireless internet access, televisions, and common areas for socializing with friends from other houses. Each house has its own character and unique traditions that help foster lifelong friendships.

Students who register for “on-campus” tuition will be provided three full buffet-style meals per day for the duration of the Academy. Students who register for “off-campus” tuition will also have the option to register for full cafeteria privileges. Please indicate this on the application form if applicable to you, and fees will be advised on request.

The Food Services at Brentwood offers a large variety of healthy and delicious foods for every meal, and will cater to any specific dietary restriction. Please indicate any specific nutritional/dietary/allergy requirements in your application.

Any student over the age of 18 who is living on campus has the option of using the common-area kitchen in the residence house to prepare light snacks. Parents may of course use the kitchen as well. No student under the age of 18 can use the oven in the kitchen.

Private Lessons and Classes

Please find the VIMA 2024 skeleton schedule here. For more information about the content of our program, please visit Our Program section. Please note that the timings of certain events are subject to change.

Each student at VIMA will receive a minimum of six (6) private lessons with our distinguished faculty members. Private lessons are offered for Strings (as a principal or secondary instrument), Piano (as a principal or secondary instrument), Composition and Conducting. Students will have the opportunity to indicate the teacher(s) of their choice during the application process, and every effort where possible will be made to match them with their choices. Students will also have an opportunity to indicate how many private lessons they would like for each category. For example, a violin student can indicate to have all six private lessons on violin or four (4) private lessons on violin, and two (2) for conducting. A piano student can indicate to have all six private lessons on piano or three (3) private lessons on Piano, and three (3) for composition. Any combination which equals to six (6) private lessons is acceptable. For students who wish to have more than six private lessons during the two-week Academy, this will be accommodated with a surcharge of $150 CAD per additional private lesson.

All VIMA classes and rehearsals take place in the Arts Building and the T. Gil Bunch Concert Hall Building. Each student’s daily schedule depends on their assigned studio classes and individually scheduled events. Students must arrange their individual practice time on their instrument in the intervals between the Academy’s scheduled events. Attendance at all scheduled concerts are mandatory throughout the Academy. Time free from lessons, chamber music and orchestra rehearsals, coachings, masterclasses, guest artist events, accompanist’s rehearsals, concerts and off-campus trips is designated as leisure time and may be used for any activity of the student’s choice.

Chamber Music

Participation at VIMA's Chamber Music and Ensembles Program is mandatory for every student. Each VIMA student is automatically registered for the Chamber Music and Ensembles Program and will receive a minimum of six coachings with faculty members. Placement is established according to your chamber music experience that was described in the submitted student’s application. At the discretion of the Director and Faculty, students may be moved from groups as necessary due to individual music ability, group dynamics, or coaching preference.

Most students will be assigned to one chamber music group for the duration of the Academy. Some strings and piano students will have two groups. Chamber music groups consist of duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and octets if necessary. Advanced students are responsible to schedule and manage their own daily rehearsals, but help is available for the younger groups. There are a minimum of four chamber music concerts held during the Academy.

Piano Ensembles: each piano student (as their principal instrument) will automatically be enrolled in the piano ensembles program at VIMA. There will be daily rehearsals and coachings with faculty in the afternoons while the orchestras are rehearsing. 

Orchestra

Participation at VIMA's Orchestra Program is mandatory for every student. Students will take part in either the VIMA Senior Orchestra, VIMA Intermediate Orchestra, or the VIMA Junior Strings. Placement is be determined by the audition video recording that accompanies each student’s application. 

The orchestras perform regularly in various on-campus venues. The rehearsal and performance schedule for the VIMA Senior Orchestra is rigorous, and performances are at a high professional standard.

The VIMA Senior Orchestra is directed by our resident conductor, Maestro David Bui. The Orchestra will present two complete programs in the Academy.

The VIMA Intermediate and Junior Strings is led by our faculty that specializes in working with and accomodating young students. 

Concerts

The Academy holds daily indoor and outdoor concerts on campus, and students are highly encouraged to perform in as many concerts as possible. Your Academy teacher and the Director select which students perform in concerts. All concerts are free and open to the public. Weather permitting, the open-air concerts are held on a beautiful ocean front lawn garden. All indoor concerts, including the final music theatre production, are held at the T. Gil Bunch Theatre Concert Hall. Concert programme information is available on the day of the performance.  

Practicing

The daily schedule and performing demands at VIMA are rigorous, and students are expected to have sufficient practice time every day. Students should also feel assured that they will find more than enough free and recreation time during each day.

Students will find many designated practice rooms in the Arts Building and T. Gil Bunch Concert Hall Building. The vast majority of student bedrooms are large enough to also serve as their practice room. There are other areas (including common areas) in the residences that could be used for practicing as well. Piano students will get practice room priority.

VIMA offers a wide variety of on-campus non-musical activities. Our Recreation Program includes basketball and tennis courts, track and field, soccer, football and ultimate frisbee. Brentwood College will supply all the necessary equipment for every recreational sport and activity. There is approximately 90-minutes of recreational activities scheduled every other day. Each residence has a common area with cable television. The entire campus has Wi-Fi. There will be an all day, off-campus excursion which includes sightseeing, hiking, and swimming. The cost of this excursion is included in the tuition fee.

Here is a list of things to bring to get you started:

 Instrument (for string players only)

 Scale and Etude books

Performance pieces and piano parts for the accompanists

 All orchestra and chamber music and other scores that have been sent to you

 Metronome and tuner

 Extra sets of strings– mandatory

 Music stand – portable, attach a name tag (for string players only)

 Mute (for string players only)

 Pencils, erasers and tape

 Rain gear

 Stationery

 Alarm clock

 Insect repellent

 Plastic drinking cup or mug

 Toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, soap shampoo, brush)

 Extra pair of glasses or contacts (if necessary)

 Sun protector appropriate to your skin type

 Underwear

 Socks

 Pants

 Shorts

 Beach towel

 Swimsuit and any other water activity wear

 Concert wear (including shoes); suits/sport coats or dresses/dressy pants.

 Footwear (suggest running shoes and hiking boots)

 T-shirts (also to make sure to have long-sleeved shirts for outdoor activities)

 Rain coat

 Sweaters/sweatshirts

 Hat

 Prescription medication, if necessary

 Health Card

 Personal items (writing paper, books)

 Water bottle

*Remember that you will have to carry all of this stuff, so keep it light.

*Brentwood College will supply all the necessary equipment for every recreational sport and activity.

*If you are planning to store food in the residence kitchen refrigerator or your room, it is required that all food be kept in glass, metal, or hard plastic containers so as to not attract any pests.

*It would be a good idea to have a small amount of money on hand to purchase a snack or souvenir during our out-of-campus excursion. $50 is the suggested amount. The office at VIMA would be happy to safe-keep any pocket money should the student wish.

What NOT to Bring

The following items will be confiscated and returned at the time of departure:

 Weapons of any kind (pocket knives, guns etc.)

 Drugs of any kind

 Cigarettes or any other smoking paraphernalia

 Alcohol (for students under 19)

 Air Conditioners / Dehumidifiers

 Cooking equipment

 Coffee Makers

 Refrigerators

 Candles, matches, fireworks, incense

 Desktop computers

 Furniture

 Gym Equipment such as bar bells or treadmills (small hand weights allowed)

 Clothing needing to be hand washed, air-dried, or dry cleaned