 Although Lambert Massart took Camilla in without asking for pay, he was known for his rigorous coursework and strictness, keeping a stick on hand to beat any student that did not keep up.Camilla, despite being female, was not exempt from this punishment.According to Susan Kagan, “Camilla Urso had no real childhood; between the ages of seven and ten, while a student at the prestigious Paris Conservatory (the first girl ever admitted there), she practiced eight hours or more a day.”

In 1852 in the annual student competition she won third place certificates of merit in "solfège" and violin (Viotti's Violin Concerto No.