>> OAK HILL MIDDLE SCHOOL
Oak Hill Middle School hosted its annual Fast Start Music Camp after school on Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The camp kicks off fourth through sixth graders in the band program by allowing them to learn the basics of their instruments including: opening the case, assembly of the instrument, how to care for the instrument, how to hold the instrument, sound practice and note practice.
“This year we extended the Fast Start Music Camp to include fourth and fifth graders. The camp is focused on students in the three grade levels who are beginners to band,” said Trent Henderson, Oak Hill Middle School band director. “If we take the time to have professionals teach the individual instruments then the band classes have more time in school to focus on what all the students can do together.”
Band classes typically have a large group of different instruments playing at once. For beginners this can cause a lot of stress and makes it hard for the teacher to work one-on-one with students to teach them about their personal instrument. Therefore, the camp aims to hire professionals who can focus their time on individual instruments and work with the students to learn all the basics before they start playing together in a band.
“A beautiful thing about music at that age range is that it’s not competitive.
Students can learn about performing arts, discover a sense of themselves and explore their instrument with more concentration and at their own pace,” said Elise Allen, fellow band director. “We want to encourage that exploration and growth in band class so if we start early with more focus on individuality, it makes that process easier on the student.”
Participating students were from Midway Hills, Lakeview Academy and Oak Hill Middle School.
During camp they met in the cafeteria of Oak Hill Middle School before dividing into their specific instrument group to attend an opening workshop taught by professional players of that specific instrument. These professionals were from across the country with some being from Georgia College & State University and others hailing from South Carolina.
“Among all the basics I talked about before, we always hope we can get them to learn the first five notes. In the past, when I hosted these camps, our students would learn to play these notes and a tune that uses them.
One of the most common tunes that does so is Mary Had a Little Lamb,” said Henderson. “So in past camps, we would bring all the students back together and play the tune for a recording at the end.
At their winter recital, later that year, we would show everyone the video so both the students and parents could see how much they’ve grown and be proud.”
Henderson is only in his third year in Baldwin County but he has hosted or assisted with Fast Start Music Camps for 25 years. He debuted the first camp in Baldwin last year for sixth graders at Oak Hill Middle School and hopes to continue to develop the program now that fourth and fifth graders are included.
“We have some logistical things to improve, like getting teachers here earlier and rearranging some things, but the camp itself is thriving for the students,” said Henderson.
To conclude camp this year, Henderson and Allen hosted a pizza party to celebrate the growth and determination of the students who attended.
Both expressed they believe in rewarding the students for their hard work. They are also both very thankful for the support from all the schools that made the camp possible.
“Without the collaboration of our transportation department, principals, directors and our professionals, none of this would be possible,” said Allen.
“We thank everyone who was involved for making this possible for us and our students.”