Members of Forget Last Friday perform at the 2011 Jam Camp Finale Performance
2012 Community Music & Arts Network Summer Jam Camp—a camp that teaches musically inclined area youth, ages 8 to 18, how to make modern music. The Day Camp will be held for two weeks, August 6th – 10th and August 13th – 17th at the S.E.V.A. Center (School for Environmental and Vocational Arts) in South Kortright. The program runs from 9:00 am to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a public performance on Friday, August 17th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The fee for two weeks is $250, or $125 for one week. T-shirts, recordings, and camp pictures are also available for an additional $25.
On the first day of camp, students will form a band, working with others based on skill level and interest, whether that be country, electronic, rock or other genres. Throughout the weeks, they will receive coaching in group improvisation, song analysis, music theory, drumming, stage presence skills, songwriting, arranging, recording, and song interpretation, as well as tips about the industry, promotions, and video/photography.
This is the 4th year for the local “School of Rock” style modern music camp, run by local teaching/performing artist Pamela West-Finkle. It is funded in part with a generous grant from the A. Lindsay & Olive B. O’Connor Foundation, administered by the 501c3 organization Performance Plus of Stamford.
“Our mission is to bring quality music programs to geographically and economically challenged students in the Catskills. We are so grateful to the O’Connor Foundation and Performance Plus for supporting our mission over the years.”
To help provide the matching funds for the grant, The Community Music & Arts Networking is reaching out to area businesses to help give scholarships to kids in the communities they serve. “We normally have three or four scholarship requests,” says West-Finkle, “but this year I have a waiting list of fourteen requests. Any help that local businesses or members of the community can provide is greatly appreciated because we don’t want to say no to any of them.”
Director Pamela West-Finkle is certified K-12 music teacher and award-winning composer and producer with a Masters in Music Education and 25 years of professional performing experience in many areas of the music industry. Her staff includes bassist Sean Deegan, Hartwick graduate, 2011 counselor, and the string teacher at Delaware Acadamy in Delhi; Jefferson Piasek and Cassie Deluise, graduates of Roxbury and Stamford Central School who are studying music and theater in college; Arthur Piszcz, technical director and president of SUCO’s music industry club; and guitar prodigy/producer Matthew Curran.
Contact Pamela West-Finkle, Director at FunMusic4Kids@aol.com, 607-652-2330 or 607-441-8448. For more information visit www.communitymusicnetwork.com.
