By Peter Leggett, Walker West Music Academy

Walker West Music Academy is gearing up for summer and the Summer Music Enrichment Program, the Academy’s annual 3-week summer day camp! Even though the Minnesota weather has kept us bundled up and covered in snow, we know that sunny summer days are right around the corner.

Designed to provide an access point for students to experience music for the very first time, the Summer Music Enrichment Program teaches students to play violin, piano, African drums, a woodwind or brass instrument and sing in a group choir.  Conducted by veteran Walker West faculty members Earl Ross, Tom Zosel, Ghana Mbaye and William Duncan, the SMEP has been offered at the Academy for more than 10 years.  This year’s camp will be offered July 8 through July 25.

The camp has had great historical success because of its capacity to teach students new instrumental skills in a very short period of time.  This is achieved through the short, focused group lessons that take place on each instrument every day of the camp. By challenging young students of music in this way, the Academy has had remarkable success in teaching students simple songs on each of the instruments in a very short time period.  Many students even go on to take lessons following the camp because they’ve identified the instrument that they are most drawn to.

At the heart of the program is the idea that music is a language that a student of music must learn to speak. The concept used by faculty is that just as a child learns to speak before they read or write, so too should the student of music learn to play an instrument before they need learn the theory behind it. With this concept in mind, no written music is used during the camp. Students learn by listening, watching teachers and their peers and trying with a hands on approach.

Join us for the final performance of the program a the Hallie Q. Brown Center on Thursday, July 25^th!

Check out this link a video from last year’s Summer Music Enrichment Program.  For more information about Walker West Music Academy check out our website. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!