// We are midway through Camp #1, its been a really great week. Swimming, singing, yoga, Jenuine Cello guest workshops, arts and crafts, master class and of course making lots of music!
Its always a lot of fun every day at camp with plenty of great activities to support our musical development. From swimming, providing a space to unwind after hard work and maintaining focus during music sessions, to singing, which directly aids recognition of good pitch as well as challenging our ability to be open and self expressed, our curriculum utilizes mutually supporting activities that keep learning fun and engaging.
This week has also seen the first stages of preparation for the camp show - 'Where The Wild Bugs Are'. Character development so far has taken the form of short musical motifs and costume making. Each student is responsible for creating their own musical motif and designing and making elements of costume during the art sessions. Creating a characters musical motif is a great way to explore connection to the meaning or message in music, important especially to the musician who is tasked with communicating it to the listener.
At String Camp, there is also the chance to get experience being the teacher as well as the student. Each Motif created by a student will be memorized and played by the whole group, that's a lot of Motifs to memorize! Every student teaches their Motif to the rest of class. Mrs Laura guides them on how to structure the lesson, how to deliver instruction and how to manage group and individual behavior. This last experience is especially educational as each student has first hand opportunity to understand more fully the foundation and value of positive, learning oriented behaviors during class and the effects of disruptive behaviors. Not only do the students gain experience instructing, they also experience what it is like to BE a teacher, leaving the students more enabled to respect the role of teacher and student.
Masterclass was another great opportunity this week. Masterclasses are one-on-one and attended by an audience. This camps masterclass teachers are Rachael Ringeisen, an accomplished Austin teacher and musician and our very own camp teacher, Devan Bell. A piece is performed and the teacher focuses on one or two aspects of the students technique to improve on. Parents, ask your string camper about their master class, they will probably have some good exercises to add in to their home practice! If clarification is needed, feel free to talk with Mrs Laura. You can talk with her at morning drop off or via email.
Something we are particularly excited about are the workshops with Jenuine Cello. Improvisation and self expression is a big part of camp. Jen Mulhurn, the workshop leader is a loop pedal artist and has been working on creating sounds with the students that tell a story. We are lucky to have Jen with us for the concert this year where you will hear a collaborative piece from Jen and the students. F.U.N!
Thanks for a great week string campers!
Two students having fun while creating their characters musical Motif!
Wild bugs invade our camp art session!
Jen Mulhern of 'Jenuine Cello' performs using her six string electric cello and loop pedals.
Angelena teaching an up beat story based yoga lesson
The students become teachers!
Great focus during group class!
Students performing for the group at the end of the day.
You can find out more about String Camp and even enroll in one of the few remaining spots for the second 2016 camp through our website.