Banding together - Hundreds attend university's music camp

You never know how a high school musician will turn out, says Larry Bennett, one of the instructors at this week's Southeast Missouri State University Music Camp.

When he became the band director at Macon High School many years ago, one of the students Bennett wrangled with most was a top trumpet player named Barry Bernhardt.

"He was cocky," Bennett said. "I wanted to prove myself, and he wanted to prove himself."

Bernhardt, director of bands at Southeast, is in charge of the music camp and now is one of Bennett's best friends. "He really is like a younger brother," said Bennett, who retired from high school teaching after 31 years and now teaches at Central Methodist College in Fayette, Mo.

'Socializing a lot'

Bennett and Bernhardt are among 35 staffers at the 46th annual Music Camp. Their goal is to teach junior high and high school band and orchestra students some musical skills. At the same time, they realize that these students at first are probably more excited about getting to know each other than about playing music. Getting too serious too fast is a mistake, Bennett said.

"We want to rehearse like its the Boston Symphony. No. It's band camp. ... We're socializing a lot."

When he was in high school, Bernhardt went to music camps at Truman State University. Music camps do offer students an intense learning opportunity, he said. Quoting a teacher at last week's camp for elementary students, he said, "You'll play more in one day than you play back home in a week."

The music campers, who include both band and string instrumentalists, checked in Tuesday morning and will rehearse five times a day as a group and twice a day in smaller sections before their final concerts Saturday afternoon. The music camp students will attend tonight's concert by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band.

The two summer music camps at Southeast now draw a total of 400 students compared to the 900 drawn by three camps when Bernhardt started out at Southeast in 1990. Summer music camps now have to compete for students with camps offering many different types of activities. The campers are among many hundreds more from first through 12th grades who have come to the Southeast campus this summer for camps in cheerleading, dance and drill teams, volleyball, soccer, football, basketball, gymnastics, theater, chemistry, rock climbing and other activities.

The music camp students come from many different sizes of schools in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and the St. Louis area. Some, like 16-year-old Katie Kalinowski of St. Charles, Mo., are attending their first band camp. She is home schooled but has played in a home school band and is a member of the St. Charles County Youth Orchestra.

Auditioning for spots

Music campers start off by auditioning for a seat in the band. Kalinowski, who plays clarinet, auditioned well enough to earn a chair playing the first part.

She is rooming with her sister, Paige, who is attending the orchestra camp. The social part of music camp does not worry her. "I have six brothers and sisters, so I have plenty of diplomatic skills," Kalinowski said.

She thinks she wants to make music her career.

Michael Wilson does, too. A sophomore-to-be at huge Hazelwood Central High School in St. Louis, Wilson composes music and is returning to the Southeast music camp for the third year. He likes the chance to meet new people as well as the music.

"Every year I have roomed with someone different. We always come out good friends and stay in touch with each other," he said.

Only a small percentage of these students will make music their career, but that is not the point, Bennett said. Through playing music, students learn attention to detail, yielding to another point of view and getting along with other people, he said.

"These life skills are what's so vitally important."

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182