By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Young local musicians had a great new opportunity last week. They participated in a music camp hosted by the Lake Mead Baptist Church in Overton. The camp was held in partnership with the Five Forks Baptist Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
The local camp had 23 participants. It included orchestra and choir programs. Musicians of middle school age through recent high school graduates were welcome.
“The camp was a chance for students to get musical experience that they might not get in school,” said camp music director Walter White, who is also orchestra teacher at Mack Lyon Middle School.
The camp started on Monday and the students performed a final concert on Friday evening at the Old Logandale School. The orchestra worked to learn five pieces, including a patriotic medley, the “Radetsky March”, “The Magic of Harry Potter”, and other selections.
Each piece was focused at a higher level than the students were used to in order to help the students extend their talents and become better as musicians, White said.
“It makes the students focus at a level they normally wouldn’t have to,” White said. “They have to put an entire concert together in a week. That can really put the fear of God in you.”
The difficulty appealed to violin player Elizabeth Jorgensen. “They have really fun pieces,” she said. “They’re hard, but we practice them so we learn them, and the teachers really help you out. I would do this again next year, even if the music gets harder.”
The choir had three pieces to master. These songs covered a broad spectrum of music genres from medieval pastorals to “Happy” by Will Pharrell.
The orchestra met from 9:00 to 1:00 every day during the camp. The choir met from 1:30 to 3:00. Several kids went to both classes.
In the middle of their practice, the orchestra would take a break for lunch, provided by the church membership.
Before lunch, however, Mr. White focused on music appreciation with the students. They would sit together and each day would discuss a different artist or work. They covered the scale and how it related to “Joy to the World”, and “The Messiah”, namely “Worthy the Lamb”, and how it was composed by Handel in 24 days.
They also studied a Mendelssohn oratorio “Elijah”, and discussed the concept of faith and how it can help them to achieve great things.
The lessons were applied to what the students had accomplished as an orchestra in putting together the concert.
After lunch, the students were given the opportunity to showcase their skills to their fellow students. “Whoever wants to play something, even if it’s a couple of notes, can,” said White.
Originally, White was to act as co-music director at the camp with Reverend Howards from Five Forks Baptist there to collaborate. But Howards had to return home after the first day of camp due to a family emergency.
In a pinch, White asked MVHS music teacher Kim Delgadillo to co-direct the camp on short notice. She agreed to do so.
“I’m glad that I have been able to be here,” Delgadillo said, “I’ve got some of my students in here meeting some of my future students and learning music. They get the full orchestra experience, and are learning how to apply their faith in conjunction with their music. It doesn’t matter what their faith is, they get to use their God-given talents. That is something that I don’t get to teach in school.”
Jane Adams and Kay Gleaves were volunteers from the Five Forks baptist church in Simpsonville, North Carolina. They helped to get kids signed in and offered support. Adams helped to make the lunches and Gleaves helped with the music. Their church provided the music for the groups as well as helping to buy the food for the lunches.
The camp was free for participating students. As the volunteers helped students, they noticed their growth, and not only musically.
“The students have learned to work together as a team and make new friends,” Adams said. “It stretches them further. I have come to love them all. And that’s what it is all about, showing Christ’s love.”
Gleaves agreed with Adams. “A lot of kids didn’t know each other before they came here and they have really learned to work as a team,” she said. “They have learned that if they are focused and have their attitude in the right place that they can do it.”
