“Did you have a good time?” was the question shouted through a megaphone to a huge crowd of teenagers and young adults who had assembled on the grounds around the flag pole at Willamette University.
“YEAH!” exploded the youth with an effusive vigor that could have taken the paint off your living room ceiling.
Good thing that they were outside.
The affirmative blast marked the end of the Young Musicians & Artists camps this past summer.
Yep! That sonic boom of vocal affirmation happened twice: the first time on July 5 and the second time on July 14. That’s because YMA has two sessions – each lasting two weeks – for kids who have a committed interest in music, dance, theater and/or visual arts. I attended the final concerts of both camps and stayed afterwards to catch the vibe. I can firmly report that the vibrations were sky-high.
The YMA sessions take place at Willamette University with the first offering classes for choir, band and orchestra, and the second focusing on theater, musical theater, technical theater and stagecraft, dance, song writing, creative writing, visual arts and photography. Honchoed by a dedicated group of staff and counselors, all of the attendees stay in dorms and eat at the college cafeteria during each session, which extends over the weekend. The experience also gives each participant a taste of what college might be like someday. (For a full background on YMA, read Young Musicians & Artists: A fun and supportive experience for young creative students.)
The two final concerts I heard were full of enthusiasm and showed a high degree of skill and concentration. All of the students were performing pieces and creating new artworks that they had never done before, so the learning trajectory was quite high.
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Session 1 – Music Camp Final Concert
On the afternoon of July 5th, the lobby of Hudson Hall in Willamette’s Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center was jammed to the gills with families and friends as a woodwind ensemble serenaded them with an assortment of tunes. After the doors opened, everyone patiently filed into the main auditorium for a full program, which kicked off with the Guitar Ensemble, under director Storm Tucker, playing Ernesto Lecuona’s “Malagueña” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by the English rock band, Tears for Fears.
Next came the choir, which was expertly prepared by the choir directors Anna Song and her husband Blake Applegate. They switched back and forth to conduct four pieces, beginning with a sophisticated gospel number,Rejoice! by Jeffery L. Ames, then an English Renaissance piece, the “Sanctus” from the Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd. It was followed by Frank Bridge’s tender Music, When Soft Voices Die and a very serious piece, A Silence Haunts Me by Jake Runestad.
Taking up almost all of the real estate on the stage, the Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Scott Wright, launched Carole Brittin Chamber’s Fanfare Esprit with gusto. The ensemble had a fun time with Claude T. Smith’s Emperata Overture and the foot-tapping medley of tunes in Jerry Brubaker’s Ol’ Blue Eyes. A perky performance of John Philip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever, featured the flute section standing up for their tricky theme and then the brass and horns when they had the spotlight.
The Orchestra, under Dr. Raúl Gómez-Rojas, explored Dances in the Canebrakes by Florence Price before delving into Brahms’ Hungarian Dances No. 5 and No. 6. They topped that off with a lively rendition of Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, which had a lot of musicians swaying back and forth to its infectious theme.
Before the concert, I talked with Rebecca Dyson from Ashland, Oregon. Over the last four years, three of her kids have enthusiastically participated in YMA’s programs.
“They love the sense of community and being able to get together with kids from around the state,” said Dyson. “For students from smaller communities, this is a great opportunity to play with a much larger ensemble. They might have not had an orchestral ensemble in their schools. They might only have a strings program or a band ensemble, but not a full orchestra.”
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“Ashland has a youth symphony,” Dyson added, “but that is fairly unique for a small town. YMA gives them the chance to experience and learn more with top-level instructors. The best part of the program is that they take away their phones. No phones for two weeks! That’s amazing!”
Another parent, Danielle Morone, from Bend, Oregon, echoed that sentiment.
“I have two kids in the YMA band,” remarked Maoone, “My seventh grader, Keira Tee, plays clarinet and my sixth grader, Henry Tee, does trombone. The experience at YMA provides inspiration that lasts the whole school year. Also, I’m taking a girl from Hawaii home with us. She will return for the second camp. She needs a couple of nights off and needs to get her laundry done.”
Cora Traetow, a 14-year-old, clarinetist, who will be a freshman at Roosevelt High School in Portland next year, loved her experience. “It was amazing,” exclaimed Traetow. “The people and the community are terrific. I made new friends and learned a lot!”
Lucia Turk, a French horn player from Portland who just started at the University of Oregon returned to YMA for her second year. “I love to improve my musical skills,” noted Turk. “The teachers and the community at YMA are outstanding.”
A soprano from Sherwood, Oregon, Kaisa Amer spoke glowingly of her choir experience. “We did challenging pieces,” said Amer. “YMA improved my singing and technique. The teachers and everyone are really supportive, and I made a lot of new friends.”
Counselor Grace Applegate, the daughter of the couple who direct the choir program, is studying clarinet at Gonzaga University. “I’ve been involved with the YMA camp for eight years,” remarked Applegate. “I love to work with the kids. They are all so wonderful. It’s fun to be inspired, and all of us learn a lot. Everyone is so kind and amazing. Sometimes someone will get homesick. Emotions run really high. But that we are all brought together with the music and passion is a good sign.”
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After the concert, I also ran into Dr. Wright who was carrying an armful of orchestral scores. He teaches music at the University of Kentucky, and has been YMA’s Symphonic Band instructor for 36 years.
“The kids and the organization are outstanding,” beamed Wright. “All three of my sons participated in this program. By the way, next year will be the 60th anniversary of YMA. From the earliest days, the program not only had a commitment to arts training but to the whole student. The caring and nurturing for one another is exceptional. The music camps I went to as a kid involved music all day long, but YMA looks at the students as more than just musicians, and that’s the way to go.”
Session 2 – Theater, Dance, Writing, and Visual Arts Final Show
On July 14, Smith Auditorium on the campus of Willamette University was flooded with family and friends for the final show of the second YMA session. Visual art pieces lined the walls of the lobby to greet the audience. They eagerly found seating in the auditorium and enjoyed a show that rotated between dance, songwriting, poetry, improv sketches and theater. Well-trained Tech Theatre students took care of the lighting, curtains, microphones, pianos and other props needed for each act in the program.
The students in the GhostEgg Improv Core took suggestions from the audience, everything from car models and book titles to fast food joints, and created funny sketches that might go forward or in reverse. Hilarious skits were formed in relation to arbitrary phrases written on sheets that were placed on the stage floor. Even two parents got into the improv act, which generated even more laughter.
The Musical Theater troupe performed selections from Stephen Schwartz’s musical, “Wicked.” Interspersed throughout the show were recitations by the Creative Writing class of poetic lists called “Alternate Names.”
Slides were shown of a wide variety of pictures taken by the Photography class. Subjects included nature scenes, downtown snapshots, dancers in rehearsal, kids having goofing around and abstract imagery.
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Original songs performed included Open Your Eyes by Evan Roussin for piano and voice; Someday by Coral Wheeler for acoustic guitar and voice; Cherry Tree by Tekla Tkemaladze for piano and voice; and Containment by Noah Morales for electric guitar and voice.
The Shakespeare Core performed passages from the Bard’s plays and poetry. The modern dance class did Wildfire, with music by Kevin Olusola and choreography by Sara Martins and the cast. The African Dance class wrapped up the show with a super-energetic performance of N’Yo N’Go Djo, with music by Sekou Soumah Walker.
As the audience filled out of the auditorium, I talked with one of the parents, Delia Grenville from Portland.
“I have two kids who are counselors here,” said Grenville. “My son, Jason Putnam came starting when he was eleven in the musical theater program. He is 19 now and has been a counselor for the past two years. My daughter, Aislyn Putnam, came as a 12-year-old, and she is 21 now. She was a camper for three years and a counselor for six years. She did songwriting and visual arts. They love YMA because it builds a huge community. They want to support other campers – as they were supported as well. They like the growth of the students.
“My niece is also here, too, “Grenville adds. ‘This is her second year. She is 14 years old and came from Switzerland. She wanted the experience while her cousins were still counselors. She is a dancer and the program really expanded her world of dance because she was doing ballet. She learned modern and African dance, and had to learn it really fast. It broadens your mind and what you can do.”
Ryan Yaden, a former YMA board member and camper, enjoyed watching his 14-year-old son, Ellis.
“Last year he did the strings in the first session,” said Yaden. “This year it’s visual arts in the second session. Next year, he wants to do the full four weeks. It’s great for him to be around the other students. They push him. He gets exposed to things that he’s never seen before. You can see the growth. They treat you like an adult. It’s inclusive but they push you. At the end of two weeks you have really grown.”
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While talking with Ryan, Ellis came by. He created a beautiful abstract mosaic piece with glass tiles. He titled the piece “Celestial Vacuum,” and said that it would go up on the wall in his family’s home in San Antonio, Texas, where he is a student at the International School of the Americas.
Madison and Aaron Schaffer, twin 18-year-olds from Philomath who are homeschooled, loved their experience at YMA. Madison took the creative writing course and Aaron did photography.
“I was able to write poetry and short stories and visualize them, said Madison. “We used prompts – like the alternate names prompt. Some prompts were like a card with a picture – a beautiful image – you could use the image to write a poem. Combine it with wonder, hope, joy. Or write a story. It was fantastic.”
“I loved taking photos every day,” remarked Aaron. “I really practiced my skills and took pictures of things that were out of my comfort zone – especially people. I think that I probably took over two thousand photographs.”
Max Young from Portland returned for a second year as one of the musical theater counselors.
“This year I had ten students,” said Young. “That was kind of a mighty group. They were all lovely and fun to work with. Most were going into the sophomore year of high school, which is a cool stage of life. I got to hang out with them and learn about their lives. Everyone came from such different places. After a week, the barriers came down and I couldn’t get them to sleep because they were talking so much. A couple of kids have cell phone withdraw, but quickly adapt and find it refreshing to focus on art and the community and leave the outside world behind. I love it here. It’s inspiring to watch people grow and change. So much happens in a short amount of time.”
Another Successful Wrap-up at the Flagpole
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According to Camp Director Galen Cohen and Executive Director Kate Andries, 135 students attended the first session and the second drew 166, which was the largest number ever.
“The increase means more dorm rooms, more food, more counselors, more everything,” said Andries.
It certainly meant more fun than ever for the campers. They milled about the flag pole for quite a while to say goodbye to the counselors, teachers and staff. There were lots of hugs, tears and promises to stay in touch. It was genuine. It was heartwarming, and it explained why so many campers return year after year.
Speaking of which, next year, Session 1 will take place June 22 to July 4, and Session 2 is scheduled for July 6 – July 18. Registration opens in October via the YMA website. Good luck!
