Viola Camp

A Few Pictures

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Wednesday

2011-08-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

We started off Wednesday with a breakfast of cereal. The morning was spent rehearsing with our various ensembles. After lunch (sandwiches), we had a fun game-time, complete with a rousing game of Apples to Apples. After more viola plaing and a tasty dinner of lasagna and garlic bread (and more salad), we headed down to Gold Fork Hot Springs, where we spent a relaxing evening.

Tuesday Pictures

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Monday Pictures

2011-08-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Viola Camp 2011 - Monday & Tuesday

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Our first full day of Viola Camp (Monday) was full of delightfulness. We got up bright and early and, after a breakfast of cereal, we all piled into our respective vehicles and headed over to the church. We had a full day of viola playing, including large ensemble (everyone together), smaller ensembles, and even smaller ensembles, as well as individual practice. Renaud led us in a session of pilates/yoga exercises to get in tune with our spines. Back at camp, we had a yummy dinner of hamburgers (or veggie burgers for some). We went on a scenic hike up to a cliff that overlooks the lake, then returned to camp for smores and (for some), a late-night swimming adventure.

Tuesday, we had a nice breakfast of pancakes, followed by a morning full of viola-playing (yay!). We went back to camp for lunch (hot dogs), then went to beach for a refreshing break of swimming, volleyball, frisbee and suntanning. After that, we headed back to the church for more playing and practice time. Back at camp again, we had a nutritious dinner of baked potatoes. After dinner we had some free time to swim or walk or play badminton.

Viola Camp 2011 - Sunday

2011-08-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting first day at Viola Camp. The caravan arrived at camp uneventfully (or at least it looked that way from the outside of the cars...) and got the campsite set up. A massive pile of firewood was collected and everyone settled in with their new tentmates. Then we all headed back to the church with our violas (or bass) to play get-to-know-you games. We had a pleasant supper of pizza and salad, followed by a little viola playing. In the evening, we went back to the campsite and enjoyed the fruits of our firewood-collecting labors, then retired to our tents.

No photos yet, but there will be soon!

2010 Camp Wrap Up

2010-08-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hello from the Viola Camp Office! While I'm certain you visualize that as being a well organized space somewhere, it's mostly at my desk in the music room, with a lot of Post-it notes.

I hope everyone enjoyed yesterday's concert at the Cathedral of the Rockies. I was very proud of all of the small ensembles. For many students, this was their first experience working in a small chamber music setting. We accomplished a lot in six short days, and I am grateful for the time and experience of working with such an accomplished and hardworking group of students.

Music is often a conduit for greater things. While most students who study viola do not go on to have a career in music, the lessons they learn through study are invaluable. Learning patience, delayed gratification, striving for the betterment of a group through personal effort and responsibility, communicating without words, working in a small group with a variety of communication and personality styles, these are all life skills applicable to a myriad of situations.

I'm always impressed at the deep friendships formed at camp year after year. Sometimes, campers only see each other once a year, and they pick up right where they left off. Other times, the friendships formed at camp can help ease a transition time, as many campers find themselves off to junior high or high school. Seeing a friendly, older face in a new environment can really make things less stressful. Even our campers that live in other states keep in touch with each other, through Facebook, e mail and more. I've seen campers help their new found camp friends through difficult situations, as well as celebrate triumphs together. Viola Camp is truly a family.

Thank you so much for you support of Idaho Viola Camp. Next year is the 5th year of camp, which will bring many exciting developments. Stay tuned for more!

Viola Camp 2011 is set for August 8-14-a full 7 days of camp, with our final concert in McCall as a special celebration.

Jen Drake
Director, Idaho Viola Camp
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Thursday

2010-08-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

This morning, viola campers experienced the traditional canoe adventure, complete with ambushes, canoe tipping and paddle stealing. Luckily, this year no possessions were lost to the bottom of Payette Lake, and everyone emerged soaked but happy.

We are spending this afternoon rehearsing a final time before the concert at the Ponderosa Park Amphitheater at 6:00 tonight. The concert tomorrow will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise (717 North 11th Street).

Following the concert this evening, we will be heading back to the campsite for dinner before heading to Ice Cream Alley! After that, we will sign each others' t-shirts that we decorated yesterday. The t-shirts will be debuted at the concert tomorrow afternoon along with Jen's impressively drawn alto clef hats (pictured below).

T-shirt making and canoe pictures:

Wednesday and Thursday

2010-08-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was an incredibly busy day! After a full day of viola action (including trips to several thrift stores to pick up props for the final concert!), we walked to Toll Station Pizza and ate our fill of scrumptious pizza. From there, we headed to Zim's Hot Springs. Games of "Hey, Cow!" (a game in which you scream "Hey, Cow!" out of the open window of a car, and if the cow looks at you, you receive a point) provided much entertainment on the car ride to the hot springs. The game was so successful that another rule was added: if the cow runs away from you, you get two points! At the hot springs, we played water basketball and relaxed in the warm water.

Thursday's highlights have so far included a morning run and performances by each ensemble. Things are really starting to come together, and we are excited for our concert tomorrow in the Ponderosa Amphitheater! This afternoon, we are planning to spend most of our time playing together as a large group before heading back to the campsite for an eclectic, yet sure to be delicious dinner of quesadillas and chicken nuggets.

Here are some pictures from Toll Station:

Tuesday

2010-08-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Here are some pictures from the past two days...

Camp started off well this morning with an optional run, which many campers participated in. We then headed to the church for a morning of viola playing, both in large and small ensembles. Two campers celebrated their birthdays today, so we got to sing happy birthday...twice! Everyone got a break to walk around downtown McCall for lunch, and then viola-ed a little more before heading back to the campsite for an afternoon at the beach! Many campers braved the icy waters for a swim, while others stayed on shore for lovely games of frisbee and giant checkers.

After some more viola and delicious baked potatoes, campers went on a hike, where they indulged in a spectacular view of the lake. After that, s'mores and off to bed!

Monday

2010-08-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Everyone arrived safe and sound at Viola Camp at about 1:00 this afternoon. We set up camp for the week and then piled into cars to begin viola-ing at the church!

After a rousing game of Get To Know Your Fellow Viola Campers (musical chairs style), we sightread some large ensemble pieces and then split into small ensembles, followed by individual practice time.

On tap for tonight is the traditional Ponderosa State Park hike, where we will do our best to avoid the mosquitoes! Viola campers are looking forward to the first full day of viola excitement tomorrow!

Viola Camp 2010

2010-08-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hello from the Idaho Viola Camp Headquarters!

Final preparations are underway for a fantastic Viola Camp 2010. The Volkswagen (Base Camp!) is clean, music folders are organized, ensemble assignments are ready to go. Campers and parents have kept me busy today with last-minute questions.

Monday will be a busy day for campers. We arrive at camp around 1:00, set up our tents, eat lunch and then head to the church to begin the fun of creating great music together. Then it's back to camp for dinner and a hike to the the "Scenic Overlook" in Ponderosa State Park. A fire and general hanging out at the campsite will conclude our day.

Our camp intern Madeleine will be updating the blog each day as well as creating an online photo album. The album website will be posted sometime Tuesday.

Thank you for your support of Idaho Viola Camp!

Viola Camp 2010

2009-07-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Thinking ahead! Next year's viola camp will be the SECOND week of August. Do get it on your calendar right away!

Jen

Thursday, July 30th

2009-07-30T12:33:00.001-07:00

Hello from McCall!

We're had many exciting adventures the past couple days. Due to server issues, there are no pictures for today, but everyone is healthy and happy.

Wednesday started with students rehearsing large and small ensembles. They are learning several fiddle tunes, a couple of pop tunes and some classical pieces. The high school students are working on a pieca titled "Viola Camp" written by Idaho composer Jim Cockey.

After rehearsing for 5 hours, everyone went on the annual viola camp canoe adventure. This is a time to really find out what students are REALLY like. Canoes were ambushed and tipped over, alliances formed and broken, and fun is had by all. After paddling to a beach, several students had a go at the rope swing. After canoeing, we all went to Toll Station for pizza.

Tonight, we are performing at Ponderosa State Park at 7PM. Our concert Friday is at 3:30 at the Cathedral of the Rockies. See you there!

Monday and Tuesday!

2009-07-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the viola camp blog for 2009!

The first two days of viola camp have been full of excitement and hard work. Students arrived to McCall around 1:00 pm on Monday and after setting up camp/eating a quick lunch, they got right to work on their new pieces!

Viola-ing wrapped up around 6:00 and students headed back to the campsite for dinner and a hike! Jen's dogs came with and everyone had fun taking turns walking the dogs and seeing the gorgeous trails in Ponderosa Park. After that, everyone finished setting up camp and had fun making smores and talking around the campfire.

Tuesday started early with an intense morning of large and small ensemble work. Things are starting to sound like they're really coming together and it's truly impressive how hard everyone is working!

We had a beach barbeque for lunch and students were given a bit of time to explore McCall and get ice cream or swim. After lunch was more viola-ing with a theory class led by Andrew and a eurythmics class led by Jen! Students did a great job of staying focused through all of their rehearsals.

Tonight, everyone is either going swimming or hiking (to finish the trail everyone was too sleepy to do last night!) and going to bed so they can be ready for another exciting day of viola camp!

Only the beginning!

2008-08-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

The last day of viola camp went off without a hitch! Everyone started the day off right with a wonderful breakfast at McCall's "Pancake House." It was also Anna's birthday, so there was of course a rousing rendition of happy birthday while Anna received candle-lit cinnamon roll.

One last round of rehearsals was had as we all prepared for the final concert. Students had one more go at the high volume of large ensemble music and their small ensembles which were followed by a dress rehearsal. After all the rehearsals, everyone headed back to the campsite to pack up their tents, jump in cars and head back to Boise.

The final concert was truly impressive. It is incredible to see what can be pulled together in one short week. Keep in mind that not a single student had seen any of their music before Monday afternoon! We were all amazed by the level of talent, positive attitudes, hard work, and most importantly the willingness to learn. It was sad to see Viola Camp 2008 come to an end, but we look forward to the future and what is to come for Viola Camp 2009.

Planning is already underway for Viola Camp '09...actually, it was underway within 20 minutes of the final concert ending! We are planning to have 2 sessions next year. The first will be approximately 3 days long and geared towards violists that are going into 5th-7th grades. The second will be 6 days long and for grades 8-12. Everything will still take place in McCall and both sessions will have a very similar layout to what was done this year.

We hope that this way each student can have an experience more tailored to their needs. We also hope that this will keep any one session from becoming too large, as one of the excellent things about viola camp is the ability to get to know everyone there! We are constantly striving to find ways to make this program even better than it already is and will definitely accept any feedback or input that any of you might have to offer!

Here is a link to the site where you can see more pictures from viola camp!

We look forward to seeing everyone back at Viola Camp 2009!

Wednesday and Thursday!

2008-07-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a rather eventful two days here in McCall!

Yesterday entailed an epic canoe adventure. After spending the early afternoon rehearsing, everyone piled in the cars. There were varying levels of canoe experience, from the people who spun around in circles approximately seven times before leaving the immediate area to those who arrived at the beach early just to dunk an unsuspecting soul into the water. All in all, it was a fabulous time and much enjoyed by everyone!

We then had a pizza dinner, which was sponsored by an anonymous donor. Thank you!!! The food was much appreciated after such a busy day.

Today was also rather busy. Students spent most of the morning/early afternoon rehearsing with their ensembles and in the large viola ensemble, polishing things for the concert we had tonight at Roseberry! Though there was a wee bit of a battle with the wind at first, everyone had lots of fun playing everything from "Turkey in the Straw" and other fiddle tunes to the Dragonetti bass concerto, with soloist Renaud! Renaud also got to conduct the premier performance of his piece, "Golden Crocuses." Another highlight involved the all-viola rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, including cannons!

After their performance, there was ice cream and, of course, ultimate frisbee with the dog named "Lucky Bear" who was better at it than many of the humans!

Tuesday

2008-07-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a day chock full of rehearsals and fun...work hard, play hard! Students spent time working hard to pull together their small ensembles and it certainly shows! The groups are all coming along quite well and things are really starting to sound great. There was also some time devoted to large ensemble and learning some new fiddle tunes for our upcoming performances.

For lunch, students headed to the Rotary Park for a beach barbecue. Everyone enjoyed a delicious meal, some played a rousing game of badminton and a few braved the slightly chilly water for a quick swim.

Tuesday evening contained exciting games of catch phrase and several people got together and played some soccer near the campground. Tonight we all look forward to a canoeing adventure!

Monday!

2008-07-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

The first day of viola camp was filled with much excitement! Everyone piled in cars for the drive up to Ponderosa State Park and proceeded to unpack and set up their 'homes' for the week. We then headed to the church in McCall for the first read-through with groups. There was also the first read through of many viola ensemble pieces, including one by our very own composer!

After an afternoon of intense viola-ing, everyone headed to the campsite for dinner and an evening hike. We hiked up to a viewpoint of Payette lake (pictures soon to come!) and journeyed back for some delicious smores and generalized hanging out by the campfire.

This morning (Tuesday) was filled with more viola ensemble and another stab at all the small groups, followed by a barbecue lunch at the beach.

More stories and pictures from our day to come!

The Day Before!

2008-07-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today has been very exciting as people have begun arriving for viola camp. Three states are represented: Iowa, North Carolina and Washington!

Having people come in early for viola camp is cause for celebration! We enjoyed delicious wood fired pizzas from the earth oven. Many other campers and their families came along for a fun pre-camp evening. Here are pictures from our gathering.

Tomorrow is the big day! If you are getting your viola camp info from this site, here are some reminders:

Campers should arrive at my house no later than 9:30 am. Don't forget your community items! We will arrive at Ponderosa State Park around noon, at which time we will set up our camp and have lunch. At 2:00, we will begin the viola festivities. The camp begins with a 45 minute scale warm up, followed by viola choir and small ensemble time. We will end the day with delicious hamburgers (flown in from Whidbey Island, no less!) and a hike up to the viewpoint of Payette Lake.

July 24

2008-07-24T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day at Viola Camp Headquarters. I laugh when I say that, because "Camp Headquarters" is basically the desk in my studio, and the surrounding floor space. I imagine most people would visualize some sort of office space that's not littered with empty Diet Hansen's can, or an area that doesn't contain geriatric napping dogs. Feel free to conjure up a nice, organized looking vision if it suits you.

Music is almost all ready to go. Our young composer-in-residence will be getting parts for his piece to me by Saturday. Tomorrow we'll be assembling folders, purchasing some supplies, and having a meeting to finalize the schedule.

Viola Camp 2008!

2008-07-23T23:09:00.001-07:00

Idaho Viola Camp 2008 will be an exciting time of music, friendship and the great outdoors! Stay tuned as campers from 4 states gather in McCall, Idaho for five days of viola ensembles, hiking, canoeing, and more.

Each day, there will be a post from viola camp. Check out our photobucket for daily picture updates.

Viola Power!