Music Camp Memories

I returned last night from a full week of music camp and am feeling highly blessed.  I had a wonderful time and made many happy memories. Every year I get anxious about my responsibilities, but every year things work out fine in the end.

As camp started off, my anxieties were compounded.  The officer who was supposed to be my assistant (and piano accompanist) ended up being unable to make the first several days of rehearsals.  One of the girls she brought to camp had lice.  Groan.  The officer didn't arrive back at camp until Monday (which left me managing the first days of rehearsals by myself and without her assistance in selecting a second number to perform).  But I barreled on alone. 

The song I had already selected had cd accompaniment ("An Old Irish Blessing" by Teresa Jennings - a beautiful piece with a moving brass band introduction and accompaniment) and I selected another number with cd accompaniment from the resources at the resource table.  The second selection was a Gowans and Larsson piece called "Hundreds and Thousands."  It was a bit more difficult than I felt my choir could manage (I saw many tone-deaf kids in the auditions).  It had a wonderful up-beat tempo, but included a counter-melody during the last verse.  Even though it was "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," the pitches were a bit different than the normal chorus, so I wondered if my kids would be able to stay on the proper pitches.

After seven days of twice daily rehearsals, I think we were all growing weary of both songs, but the kids really rallied and did well for the final performance (at the awards concert).  They nailed the tricky lyrics ("two a penny, far too many, there must be," "and flowers fair the meadows wear for all to see").  Amazingly, the counter-melody worked well and I felt they did a fantastic job.  The sound crew didn't raise the volume enough for the Irish Blessing piece, and the kids got ahead of the music, but I was able to slow them down and get them back on track.  All in all, I was proud of my students/campers and enjoyed the process.

My rhythm band class (all the senior vocal students) was a nightmare for the first session.  The kids were all talking and not participating appropriately.  It got so bad that one of my assistants stood up and reamed them out for not respecting instructors who were volunteering their time to come work with the campers.  I left the first class session feeling really discouraged.  But, for the second session, I decided to place some of the students in front of the class (first with some rhythm imitation exercises and then with dividing up parts for the candy bar rhythm demonstration).  I was greatly pleased when the teens really responded to these exercises and took ownership of their various parts.

I suppose I should explain the demonstration more fully.  We talked about candy bar names and tried to determine which rhythm patterns fit which candy bar names.  Then, we passed out the rhythm pattern posterboard strips and had one or two individuals chanting the candy bar names in rhythm.  So we started with the whole note ("Mounds" held out for four beats) and then added the half notes ("Mars, Mars"), then the quarter notes ("Twix, Twix, Twix, Twix"), then eighth notes ("Snickers ..."), etc.  We had all sorts of rhythm examples, like Raisinets, Mr. Goodbar, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Butterfinger BBs, etc.  The teens really were enthusiastic about their performance of these rhythms.

They also enjoyed the choral reading of "Whirligig Beetles," written by Paul Fleischman.  I had only intended to use the "Candy Bar Choir" number (as we came to call it), but when I pulled out the Whirligig poem again on the final rehearsal, the teens begged to perform it as well.  Now that's encouraging!

I was pleased that my students were both having fun and learning.  I enjoyed working with them and getting to know some of them better.  Still, my favorite part of the week had to be the times of fellowship with the other faculty members.  One night a dozen of us went out to Steak-and-Shake after the evening activities were over.  We had a great time of conversation and laughter.  Another night, we had pizza brought in.  Then there were two nights of nachos in the faculty lounge and the final evening offered an ice cream social specifically for the faculty members.  I had a blast.  It was such an encouragement to my heart and soul (I get far too few moments of fellowship with like-minded individuals in my isolated daily life).

Faculty band was a bit anxiety-laden.  The pieces we played were often difficult to follow.  My highest anxiety stemmed from a piece called "Serenity."  I had an alto horn solo of "When Peace Like a River," which got up into the upper registers, and I really struggled with it.  In the end, even doing my best, I failed to play one note correctly (it was natural and because of the previous key signature, I played an E-flat).  Even though I felt like I failed, it was still fun to challenge myself and fun to play outstanding music with other fine musicians.

I was equally nervous about leading the Variety Show (something I never would have blinked at years ago, but now causes great anxiety).  In between numbers, while groups were setting up, I led the audience in some choruses (like the chorus "Father, I Adore You," done in a round).  It all went by quickly and turned out fine.

I am really hoping to get to participate on faculty again next year.  We shall see.  My husband seemed really exhausted, from dealing with the boys, when I arrived home.  He said it was a long week.  Oh, well.  I'm just grateful for the opportunity I had to spend a week away from home in a challenging, stimulating environment with other like-minded individuals.  I had a blast.