McGill Conservatory Day Camp

The McGill Conservatory of Music camps attract about 1,100 campers each year for 17 different programs, said associate director Jennifer Pelletier. “We aren’t a teaching camp, but we do push a lot of skills training and it’s a ball.” For Glee wannabes ages 12 to 17, Pop Camp is the place. “Pop, R&B, they do it all,” Pelletier said, “but we stay more within today’s music.” The two-week camp stages a show each week and incorporates some “traditional outdoor camp stuff,” she explained, “but most time is spent rehearsing, and learning about the music industry, history and more.” Counsellors are professional working musicians, many with degrees in their field. “It’s open to boys and girls, but it’s mostly girls who show up.” For Garage Band, it’s more boys than girls — “but not completely. We do get girls who definitely rock the house.” Kids 12 to 17 years old form bands and play covers — even their own material. Guitarists work together and pick up valuable points on everything from laying the right riffs to stringing guitars and refining their stage presence. Anyone who plays an instrument can join, Pelletier said. “We have 15-year-olds writing their own songs, and we have 12-year-olds who can just perform one. If you play an instrument or have a background, we’ll put you in a band.” Existing bands also attend, eager to change “from rehearsing twice a month when your parents aren’t home, to two weeks of all-day, every day, with pros coaching you.”

Choir Camp features big ensemble performances with more classical rehearsing and training in voice technique and performing. The weeklong program has kids singing classic choir fare like gospel, pop classics (e.g. Joy to the World) and titles in French, English and maybe Spanish. “It’s not about the words, but developing the right sound.” It’s a perfect complement for students in school choirs who cannot get enough during the year. The camp is open to teens as well as children as young as 8.

At Explorations Camp in N.D.G., music programs tap into campers’ talents and desires, said long-time coordinator Bertha Dawang. “Our Stomp program, is incredibly popular” she added, describing how kids “use trash-can lids, coins, shoes and anything else to make music.” The rhythmic, noisy fun appeals to budding percussionists and parents will appreciate the stomping far from home, as well as the quality of instruction. “Our teacher, John Dodge, is a professional musician who was performing at the Jazz Festival at night and playing with the kids during the day.”

Chords, Songs, Melody is a great summer offering for those wanting to learn guitar, but who cannot during the school year. “They get an important base and the taste for it.”

And the Band Played On allows campers to select instruments to play in the orchestra. For Grades 4 and up, no experience is necessary. “That’s the point isn’t it? They learn, and we meet up with them years later and they’re still playing!” The same goes for School

of Rock “that puts on a heck of a show!” Of course, the Glee program is a huge draw, teaching kids melody and harmony and getting more popular each year. “We try to keep it under 15 kids,” Dawang said, “but given the popularity of it, we’ll accept more.”