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Students send (musical) notes from camp

Students and the public will get to sway to a little swing music during the Summer Jazz Camp at Sacramento State.

Sounds of all different kinds will fill the air at Sacramento State this summer when the music department offers students young and old a chance to lead the band, swing with jazz greats or receive coaching in classical chamber music.

All three opportunities are available June through July with the department’s annual summer music camps.

The summertime harmonizing kicks off in June with the Wind Conducting Workshop.

Leading a band is more than just waving a baton in front of musicians, Sacramento State professor Robert Halseth said.

Halseth is co-director of the symposium along with Northwestern University conductor Mallory Thompson. “She’s one of the finest conductors in the world,” Halseth said.

Together they’ll help guide the conductors as they lead the 59th Army National Guard Band.

Only 15 applicants are selected to actually lead the band and get instruction and reviews from Halseth and Thompson. But an unlimited number of participants will be allowed to observe the process and are invited to sign up.

The sessions run June 18-22. Cost is $650 for conductors and $325 for observers. For more information, call the band office at 278-5091.

Many people get the impression a conductor moves his baton in time to the music, but Halseth pointed out that it is the conductor’s moves that generate the music from the band.

And even that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the arm waving are years of score study and harmonic analysis, Halseth said.

While there was a time when the conductor was something of a dictator, barking out commands during rehearsal, Halseth said that has changed and a good conductor knows how to work with the musicians.

“It is a collaborative relationship,” he said.

The music offerings swing into their second session July 8-13 with the Summer Jazz Camp, coordinated by Sacramento State professor Steve Roach.

“It’s still wide open,” Roach said of registration.

Applications are being accepted until June 7 for participants staying in the dormitories. Those commuting to the courses may be accepted up until the first day of camp.

The camp is open to students age 14 or older who have spent at least one year of study on an instrument. College students and adult instrumental teachers also are encouraged to attend. Cost is $850 for participants lodging on campus and $395 for commuters. For more information, call Roach at 278-7987.

Courses consist of theory classes, master classes, and training in improvisation.

The students will find a wealth of instructors guiding them. Where similar offerings have six teachers, the Sacramento State camp boasts 18 of them, Roach said.

After spending the day hard at work, students are treated to the music of the Jim Widner Big Band, which includes alumni of the Stan Kenton Orchestra along with others who played for Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson or Buddy Rich.

Concerts will be held at 8 p.m., July 8, 9, 10 and 12. A student combo will perform at 7 p.m., July 11 and a closing concert featuring the band and students will be held at 7 p.m. July 13. All performances are free and open to the public and are held in the recital room of Capistrano Hall.

The camp is an offshoot of a course originally conducted by Widner, who now is the camp’s artistic director.

Roach underscored the commitment of the camp’s musical staff, who help keep costs down so more students can attend.

“These guys aren’t getting paid what they should be paid, but it allows for a really fun week,” Roach said.

The music department finishes its set with chamber music.

Coordinated by Sacramento State’s Pete Nowlen, The CalCap Chamber Music Workshop caters to individual players and pre-formed groups in two sessions, July 22-28 and July 29 through Aug. 3.

While group players will rehearse with their own ensembles on some days, all players are assigned different colleagues throughout the sessions. The workshop’s goal is to give each player a varied experience in terms of repertoire, the size and instrumentation of the ensemble, participants and coach.

Each session attracts about 60 participants. Registration for this summer has closed, but there is some turnover up to the last minute with people dropping out. “It never hurts to apply,” Nowlen said.

The cost is $320 per weekly session. Room and breakfast costs are an additional $195 for a double occupancy room and $245 for a single.

For more information, contact Nowlen at 278-7982 or calcapcmw@yahoo.com.

Formerly known as the ChicoSac Chamber Music Workshop, CalCap provides the musicians with intensive rehearsals and daily performances coached by some of the finest teachers and performers. This year’s instructional roster includes many music professors along with musicians from the Sacramento area, Northern California and even the Honolulu Symphony and Hofstra University.

The public can hear the results of the students’ efforts during a daily concert. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday performances are at 4 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday concerts begin at 3 p.m. and Friday concerts are at 4 p.m. The concerts are free and held in Room 151 of Capistrano Hall.

Nowlen is particularly proud of the workshop’s intergenerational makeup. Last year they had ensembles that had 15-year-olds playing alongside 90-year-olds. “I think that’s a really great facet of the workshop,” Nowlen said.

Applications and more information for all three summer camps are available at the Sacramento State Music Department web site, www.csus.edu/music/ or call 278-5155.