A Whirlwind Music Camp

The Salvation Army's Indiana Music Camp for 2017 has come and gone in a blur. Trevor accompanied me and we both had a lovely week together, I enjoying the fellowship with the faculty and he enjoying the camaraderie of the campers. Because two other excellent teenage drummers were there this year, Trevor placed in the Intermediate Band. This was a blessing as he was able to really shine on the drum set during their Wednesday evening performance, despite only practicing on a drum pad in rehearsals. Plus, their conductor selected really fun pieces that Trevor thoroughly enjoyed. (Sorry for the shaky video - I never do well at holding it steady.)



On Wednesday evening, the faculty all headed into town for the annual trip to Steak-n-Shake. We sang our grace in harmony together and then enjoyed food and laughter.

On Thursday afternoon, Trevor competed in the solo competition and managed to snag second place with this outstanding minute-long performance:




I think he did a fine job on adhering to the dynamics and rhythm of the piece.

Thursday evening the program showcased the various elective classes. I was thrilled that two of my Creative Writing students got up to share their poems. Really, for the most part, my elective students chose to work on short stories, so we didn't have enough space to print out their work in a small flyer to give to the other campers (as I had hoped). Still, I think they all loved the class. I brought in worksheets demonstrating various types of poetry and offered to copy off whichever ones they were interested in attempting. Plus, I brought along last year's writing prompts for personal essays and short stories.

After the Thursday evening program, the faculty enjoyed a bonfire with hot dogs and s'mores.

Before I knew it, Friday arrived and Trevor and I had to prepare to leave for my niece's Saturday wedding. We enjoyed one last moment of entertainment as the faculty band paraded around and then down into the pool in what they called a "Parade of Wetness." I must admit, I was none too displeased that I couldn't participate, but it was rather funny watching and videotaping it all, especially the end of the video when the front players met the deep end a bit before they were expecting.




I also was thrilled to discover, after the fact, that Trevor received the 1st place award for Intermediate Band at the final awards concert on Saturday. All in all, it was a wonderful week and I was, as always, grateful for the opportunity to participate.