Growing Families at the Amherst Early Music Festival

The Amherst Early Music Festival is the largest presenter of early music workshops in North America, attracting students and faculty from all over the world. Its dedicated staff and vibrant work-study program have ensured a positive experience for attendees since 1980. When special accommodations were made for members of teaching faculty who wanted to bring a child and caregiver to the festival, news of this arrangement spread positively across the festival, and other faculty and staff took advantage of complimentary lodging and meals for families and caregivers. The case builds toward the question of formalizing a policy for family accommodations and the effects such a policy might have on attendees of the Amherst Early Music Festival.