Only the beginning!

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!