The Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra summer camp the second week of August culminated in a concert Friday night, Aug. 14.
The camp was for young musicians with two or more years of playing experience and had a movie music theme.
More than 50 youth from Maple Valley, Kent, Renton, Enumclaw, and surrounding areas attended the camp.
This camp was a recession buster at a cost of $10 per student, which included a T-shirt.
“The camp cost the MVYSO, but we feel the cost was worth it to generate this much excitement in the students and to get new students to give the orchestra a try,” Elisa Lewis said, the orchestra’s executive director.
The camp buzz grew daily as the players became more and more excited about the music they were working on and the friends they were making.
“It wasn’t like work,” April Whyte said, the conductor and artistic director of the orchestra. “It was energizing to me to be a part of the students’ electricity that seemed to grow every day.”
There was a focus on sectional rehearsals and professional players were brought in to perform for the students and to lead sectionals. The outcome was an outstanding concert put together in just five days of focused rehearsal. The students were clearly inspired by their experience and performance.
The orchestra had many of the campers sign up for auditions to join the orchestra in the fall.
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church donated a space for camp, the parent volunteers did everything from pass out T-shirts to organizing and serve lunch to the campers.
The orchestra begins its third season this fall. There are three orchestras to choose from; beginning strings for students with no experience wishing to learn violin, viola, or cello, philharmonic, an intermediate orchestra for students with two or more years of playing experience, and symphony orchestra, an advanced orchestra for students with approximately four years of playing experience.
For more information about the programs of the Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra or to register for an audition to the orchestra Web site, www.mvyso.org.
