• 2000 - PMP Moves to a Waterfront Campus on Shelter Island
    2000 - PMP Moves to a Waterfront Campus on Shelter Island
  • 2002 - Residency in Shanghai, China
    2002 - Residency in Shanghai, China
  • 2006 - Merry Peckham leads the First Annual Family Concert at PMP
    2006 - Merry Peckham leads the First Annual Family Concert at PMP
  • 2009 - PMP Celebrates its 15th Anniversary
    2009 - PMP Celebrates its 15th Anniversary
  • 2009 - Opening of the Cumming Stires-Stark Practice Facility on the PMP Campus
    2009 - Opening of the Cumming Stires-Stark Practice Facility on the PMP Campus
  • 2010 - Residency in Jerusalem, Israel
    2010 - Residency in Jerusalem, Israel
  • 2012 - Grand Opening of the Kristy and James H. Clark Arts Center
    2012 - Grand Opening of the Kristy and James H. Clark Arts Center

History

Celebrating a rich 20-year history in 2014

Camp History
Before 1994
Early Years
1994 - 2000
New on Shelter Island
2000 - 2011
The Future of PMP
2012 - beyond

BEFORE 1994: A HISTORY OF OUR CAMPUS

In 1994, Toby Perlman’s dream to educate young musicians in a richly supportive and nurturing environment became a reality with a little summer music camp based in East Hampton. Twenty years later, The Perlman Music Program (PMP) has grown into an internationally recognized year-round program attracting the best young string players in the world. 

In 2000, PMP established its home on Shelter Island with the purchase of a 28-acre waterfront campus, nestled between the North and South Forks of Long Island. Our campus has become a musical oasis, where PMP welcomes the local community to experience the joys of beautiful music played by the next generation of classical music leaders. 

Originally home to Doctor Pettit Camps, established in 1922, and repurposed in 1964 as The Peconic Lodge, our Shelter Island home is a historical landmark. For a brief look back at the property’s rich history as compiled by The Shelter Island Historical Society, click through to view “Greetings from Camp.”

1994

  • Toby Perlman, along with her husband Itzhak, start what was later to be called “The Perlman Music Program” as a two-week summer camp in East Hampton, NY

1995

  • Program renamed and incorporated as The Perlman Music Program and the fiddler boy becomes our official logo

1999

  • Fiddling for the Future, a documentary about The Perlman Music Program, is produced and aired frequently on PBS
     


Toby Perlman, Founder and Director

2000

  • A visionary group of individuals – David Geffen, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, and Alberto Vilar – purchase PMP’s 28-acre permanent home on Shelter Island, NY

2002

  • PMP travels to Shanghai, China
  • Itzhak Perlman and The Perlman Music Program are featured on 60 Minutes
  • The Program is featured on the front page of The New York Times

2003

  • Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder begin a recital series at the Neue Galerie New York
  • Merry Peckham, Associate Director, establishes the Chamber Music Workshop

2004

  • Merry Peckham and the Cavani Quartet present the first annual Family Concert
  • The Perlman Music Program celebrates its 10th Anniversary at Carnegie Hall

2005

  • The Contemporary Music Project is established
  • David Klein and Heidi Castleman help the Program establish the Sarasota Winter Residency

2006

  • James H. Clark makes the first of four leadership gifts and establishes an endowment fund to secure PMP’s future

2007

  • A new Wellness Center is built on the Shelter Island Campus
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art establishes a concert series in which Itzhak Perlman performs chamber music with alumni

2009

  • The Perlman Music Program celebrates its 15th anniversary
  • Annette and Ian Cumming and Sidney and Morgan Stark invest in the construction of the Cumming Stires -Stark Practice Facility

2010

  • PMP holds a two-and-a-half week residency in Jerusalem

2011

  • PMP establishes a residency in Stowe, Vermont with the help of Sidney and Morgan Stark
  • Acclaimed photographer Bruce Weber creates Virtuosos, a short film about PMP

The PMP Camp Sign on Shelter Island

THE FUTURE OF PMP: 2012 AND BEYOND

2012

  • PMP celebrates the Grand Opening of the Kristy and James H. Clark Arts Center on the Shelter Island campus. The Clark Arts Center provides modern living quarters, practice spaces, teaching studios, and an intimate recital hall ideal for chamber music concerts and recitals. The new space enables PMP to provide year-round programming for students, alumni, and the East End community.
  • PMP founds The Virtuoso Society to recognize and celebrate patrons of the Program.

2013

  • Chamber Music Workshop celebrates its 10th Anniversary
  • Sarasota Residency celebrates its 10th Anniversary

2014

  • PMP celebrates its 20th Anniversary!

The Virtuoso Society, Est. 2012