What could be better than spending part of my summer sharing my musical gift, talent, knowledge, and experience? I had the opportunity to do just that with a group of young Christians looking to invest their summer vacations to both hone their craft and grow in their spiritual lives. As many as eighty campers hailed from various areas of Oklahoma and Arkansas to participate in the overnight, five-week intensive Music Conservatory Camp hosted yearly by The Salvation Army. This selected group of delegates earned the privilege to learn their craft in a beautiful, inspiring nature setting with some of the Salvation Army’s best musicians and composers, along with an impressive list of brass experts and faculty guests.
Held at the scenic Camp Heart O’Hills in Welling, Oklahoma, this music conservatory provided a unique blend of musical and spiritual training on a lush campus equipped with all the amenities found at any local resort. In addition to a great facility, campers are blessed with a group of counselors that not only commit to coming back year after year but are also all great Christian role models and educated musicians as well.
Oh What A Beautiful Day – It’s Oklahoma!
Enjoy a short clip I have put together summarizing some of the highlights of my time at Camp Heart O’Hills in Welling, Oklahoma.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre – Psalm 150:3
The campers spend six days a week in classes, where they learn music, leadership, life skills, and how to live in community with one another. These young people are hard workers and very dedicated! This five-week of fellowship and learning plays a critical role in shaping character, building confidence, and perfecting the craftsmanship of these up-and-coming music ministers and gospel ambassadors.
Areas of concentration offered this year include brass, percussion, piano, guitar, dance, and stagecraft. The curriculum also included daily involvement and studying in singing, choir, band, theory, worship music, and, of course, Bible study. During my two-week participation at the camp, I was assigned to conduct jazz improvisation master classes and do private lessons with brass instrumentalists. I also took on the flugelhorn part of the advance band. There were rehearsals twice a day where we mostly worked on new pieces and assisted student players on intonation, phrasing, and dynamics. During private lessons, we mostly worked on breathing, tone, flexibility, and learning jazz scales and improvisation techniques.
In addition to the very qualified counselors who provide all daily classes and lessons, there was a distinguished list of guest artists who conducted master classes, private lessons, demonstrations, and recitals. Guest instructors included Dr. Ryan Sharp, trumpet professor at Oklahoma Central University; Danny Vaughan, jazz guitar professor at Oklahoma Central University; Brian Dobbins, Tuba/Euphonium instructor at the University of Oklahoma; and Jeffrey Barrington, trumpet instructor and brass quintet coach at Asbury University.
The camp concludes with a public performance, complete with the participation of all campers demonstrating their newly acquired skills and abilities. The program included a variety of worship performances in choreography, choir, timbrels, guitar, piano, and brass band.
Demonstrations By The Guest Faculty
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To learn more about The Salvation Army’s Music Conservatory in Oklahoma, please visit: http://aokmusicandarts.squarespace.com
or follow them at: https://www.facebook.com/AokMusicAndArtsTheSalvationArmy