What a fantastic experience! I've spent vacations at folk camps, acoustic guitar camps, and even a catchall crafts/social conscience/arts camp in pursuit of my guitar hobby before, but this was my first classical guitar camp. Actually that's not surprising - I'm not sure there are many are available for adults as opposed to summer camps for kids. Other folk camps are arranged around workshops or seminars that are either on a one-off basis or repeated daily with the same teacher over the course of the camp; in some ways classical guitar camp was the same, and in others entirely different.
What was the same? It took place at a college (the picturesque Endicott College) during summer recess, and the accommodation was in the dorms. However in this case we had the choice of a private bath, which was nice even though the dorms were the usual variety of basic. Meals in the college cafeteria were included - and the food was actually pretty good, with lots of options that included real vegetables not cooked for hours and choices that didn't include "fast food" franchises. Another similarity was great concerts given by faculty in the evenings, and it was especially nice for early risers because they started at 7pm allowing time afterwards to socialize without burning the midnight oil. There were also a daily seminar - topics appeared to be largely determined by the teaching faculty - for instance there was a great presentation on guitar music written by contemporary Australian composers (including excerpts of the pieces) given by one of the teachers, Janet Agostino. Speaking of teachers, there was an outstanding line-up of teachers including Raphaele and Janet Agostino from Oz, Ben Verdery and Gohar Vardanyan from New York, Dave Belcher from N. Carolina and of course, Simon Powis from New York. They expended an enormous amount of effort coaching us in our ensemble pieces and working with us in our individual lessons, in addition to giving us great concert performances.
What was different? Well it was classical guitar after all - not so much jamming, more sight reading.😳 We were all assigned to ensembles at one of 5 different levels on the first day, and spent the 5 days learning 3 ensemble pieces and 2 pieces for the entire orchestra, none of which we had seen before, for a performance on the last night. In other words, over 3 hours of rehearsals a day plus a lot of practicing (!) We also got 2 private lessons with the teachers where we could present a piece we were working on. All in all we were playing or practicing many many hours every day - (perhaps not the best thing for a recovering tennis elbow - but you only live once...). And did I mention the student "open mic" night? What a blast! This was not a 'seriously let's present a classical piece' such as you might find at your local classical guitar society open mic night. Indeed, people not only played classical pieces, but also presented their other guitar lives, and my were there some great performances! There were original compositions, singing, duets, other guitar genres... you just didn't know what to expect but it was all good! About half the attendees presented something, and I think it might have been my favorite evening except I was on edge all night because I was almost the last to present. (Of that, we will say little, except that I didn't collapse and it was a very very long way from perfect.) Despite the stress, many of us were talking about getting together to play duets so we could perform them at camp next year... I've already got a piece picked out and a new guitar-buddy to practice with. Other great things? We had a guitar-oriented stretching seminar given by Simon's wife, the Lindy Hop dancer, Evita. To be honest, we would have liked that every day given the amount of practicing we did! And Simon arranged a special BBQ next to the beach right after the final performance. Simon also arranged a Q and A session - from the students to the teachers - that everyone can hear in a podcast.
What did I like most?
When I got back, I was asked by my guitar teacher what I liked most about the camp. The short answer is that I really liked meeting, interacting with and working together with other classical guitar learners towards a common goal. Most of us are not so young, and maybe the last time we had such an experience was way back when in college. Learning classical guitar is after all so often a solitary hobby. However none of that would have been possible without a wonderful camp framework and committed teachers recruited by Simon, and the mutual support and encouragement of a camp attendees - we see it on Simon's ClassicalGuitarCorner.com website and it was amply demonstrated when we met in person.
What, if anything, would I change?
I will sign up again in heartbeat if it's exactly the same as this year. Personally I would prefer fewer ensemble pieces to learn, and maybe more technique-oriented workshops. Although there was no scheduled down-time, I wouldn't change that - I personally skipped one of the talks to take a break, but that was when it fit my schedule and interests.
Goals for next year?
If I wasn't convinced before, I'm convinced now. I need to learn to sight read. I'm on a mission. Also this year wasn't the best for me for presenting a piece either for a lesson or a performance - my enforced rest beforehand meant I really hadn't prepared, and of course the stage fright was there in force. I'm determined next year will be different. I'm definitely going to start taking opportunities to perform in addition to practicing in my room.
BTW if you want to see what we managed to make of 5 pieces in 5 days - Simon has posted them, plus many pictures, on his CGC facebook page. And if this kind of experience appeals to you, I couldn't recommend it highly enough... already can't wait for next year!
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