Internationally renowned composers and performers are gathering at UC Davis July 20-Aug. 3 to inspire a group of more than 50 students who could be the next generation of composers and performers.

The students will attend UC Davis' inaugural Summer Arts Institute, developed to provide a creative space for young composers and performers to collaborate on new compositions under the tutelage of professional musicians.

"What sets this apart from most other summer music programs is that the focus is on bringing together creative and interpretive artistic peers who will be working side-by-side to create new music," says institute director Lara Downes.

The institute offers opportunities for two age groups. High school and college students ages 16-22 and already preparing for a musical career competed for 26 apprentice-artist positions at the institute.

The two-week program will give them close-up-and-personal experience with, among others, composer Steve Mackey of Princeton University and eighth blackbird, a contemporary-music ensemble hailed as the ambassadors of new music.

The second track, called junior scholars, will be for 27 youths with intermediate musical experience, ages 9-16, looking for a fun musical experience on a college campus.

During the institute, the students will form partnerships with each other while developing performance and composition skills through private instruction, workshops and master classes. They will also rehearse and perform in UC Davis' new Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, considered the premier performance venue in Northern California.

The institute was created, in part, to enhance UC Davis' national reputation in music education and represents the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies' interest in providing summer programs for junior high and high school students in the arts, says Assistant Dean Lucy Bunch. It is the only such summer arts program at UC Davis.

For more information about the institute, go to the Web site at http://summerarts.ucdavis.edu/.