2008 Summer Sounds Music Festival

hear the waves...the sound waves of summer

Presented by: Mt. Baker Youth Symphony

Location: Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA

Schedule

Click here for registration form

Click here for 2007 brochure

Summer Sounds Music Camp is recommended for ages 11-21. Ensembles consist of the Junior and Youth Symphonies, chorale, jazz choir, uptown/downtown jazz, and chamber groups. Professional musicians lead a week of intensive training for youth, providing expert instruction for strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, jazz, and vocals.

The camp is held in Port Townsend, Washington, located on the beautiful campus of Fort Worden State Park. The site overlooks sandy beaches, rolling grassy fields, vintage Victorian buildings, and lovely forested areas. The seaside city of Port Townsend is a short distance away with a unique variety of shops and restaurants.

Tuition

• $575 for Summer Sounds Music Camp
  
• $300 for day campers (all classes plus lunch)
• Payable to:
  MBYS Summer Sounds
  P.O. Box 5611
  Bellingham WA 98227

Full tuition includes 3 meals daily, housing in a restored vintage dormitory with separate sleeping quarters for girls and boys, full bathroom facilities, master class, and faculty concerts.

$150 is due upon registration and the balance by July 15.
A prepayment schedule may be arranged at $50 per month.

Activities

Recreation: Afternoon activities include art, drama, music history and theory classes and a variety of musical choices. Recreational opportunities include swimming, beach and fort expeditions, field games, talent show, and evening recreation.

Private Music Lessons: May be arranged at camp with the
individual instructors, payable at the time.

Program: Musicians, ages 11-21, receive daily group and personal training in performance on strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, jazz, and vocals. A large variety of recreational and social activities provide a fun release after rehearsals! Art and drama classes also offer opportunities for growth and exploration.

Symphonies are separated into two groups: a Junior and a Youth Symphony. The age split corresponds roughly to Middle School and High School/College levels. The choral and jazz groups are divided by style of music and by size of group.

Junior Symphony: fun novelty pieces
Youth Symphony: classic masterpieces
Summer Chorale: choral standards
Jazz Choir: musical theater and jazz standards
Jazz: blues, swing, improvisation, standards, rock
Festival Grand Finale: Holst's Mars from The Planets

2007 Camp Report from the Director

Our 2007 Summer Sounds Music Festival went so well! This was the best year ever for serious music students, who were polite, attentive, and eager to learn more. They had such a great camp spirit, too! It was a dream. The Jupiter movement was truly beautiful, and I realized to my amazement that there is not even one rest in the melody line from the first note of the folk song part to the end of it-some 50 measures! That is why it feels like a flight through eternity. Everyone really gave their all to make the concerts successful. It was a thrill working with you all!

We will have camp again next year, August 17-23, 2008, and my goal is to increase it from 50 kids to 70 or 80. We can even hold 100 if I find alternate housing for the coaches. I wonder if we could raise some interest among students in California, New York, and Michigan? We did have students from Seattle, and of course, Bellingham, Anacortes, Oak Harbor, and Port Townsend as well. What a great experience-thank you all so much for your hard work!

We will be in touch with you regarding new information on next Summer's Music Festival. More soon.... Fondly, Sharyn Peterson

Festival Staff

Sharyn Peterson (Artistic Director)
Conductor, violinist, vocalist, and Northwest native, has led the SUMMER SOUNDS Camp for twelve years. Her expertise with all ages of symphonic and choral groups ranges over many years of conducting and teaching. She currently directs both the Mt. Baker and the Fidalgo Youth Symphonies, and has served on the faculties of Seattle Pacific University, Western Washington University, and Skagit Valley College. Mrs. Peterson has taught orchestra and string technique classes at Sehome High School and Shuksan Middle School in Bellingham, and has directed many musicals for community theatre groups. An active violin, viola, and vocal soloist and chamber musician, she is the founder and director of the Starry Night Chamber Series in Mt. Vernon, WA, where she solos regularly with symphonies, and maintains a private studio of over 40 students.

Malcolm Peterson (Brass Director)
Also a 12 year camp staff veteran, has led many musical groups including bands, choirs, and orchestras of all levels (notably, Cascade Cantabile Choir and the Skagit Opera). He performs with the Brass Menagerie Quintet, instructs band and choir at the Skagit Adventist School, and teaches private trumpet students (many of whom have won state awards and college scholarships) at the Peterson Music Studio. He is a frequent guest trumpeter in many venues, including recording studio engagements. In October 2005, he soloed with the Skagit Symphony and frequently can be heard in the Skagit Opera productions in Mt.Vernon, WA. Currently he manages the Fidalgo Youth Symphony and coaches the brass instruments of both the Mt. Baker and Fidalgo Youth Symphonies.

Robert Parker (Jazz Director)
Has led several jazz groups and recorded and performed extensively in Michigan and on the East coast. He maintains a trumpeter's website, and served for two years as orchestra manager at Manhattan School of Music. One of his more high profile engagements was a recent CD of his performance and arrangements for Marcus Belgrave, Wynton Marsalis's teacher. With his wife, Victoria Parker, he performed in Okinawa for two years at the lovely Manza Beach Resort Hotel.

Jamie Jordan (Choir Director & Vocal Instructor)
As a soloist Miss Jordan has performed in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York and Washington, in classical and jazz settings. An avid recitalist, she specializes in Baroque and Contemporary music. Recent roles: Bernstein¹s Trouble in Tahiti (Dinah), Menotti¹s The Medium (Monica), and Händel¹s Xerxes (Romilda). Miss Jordan has been the Choral Director at Summer Sounds Music Camp since 2000. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Jazz studies from Western Michigan University, a Master's in Opera Performance from Arizona State University, and a Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music. Miss Jordan currently resides in New York City, where she presents educational recitals in the schools, presented by the New York Philharmonic.

Victoria Parker (Director of Strings & Violin Instructor)
Ms. Parker began studying the violin with her mother, Sharyn Peterson, at age two-and-a-half, and was performing with her family quintet by age 5. Other private teachers include: Wai Chan-Mitsutani, Eric Shumsky, Barton Frank, Renata Knific, Walter Schwede, Burton Kaplan, and Michael Miropolsky. She has toured throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and music educator.
As an orchestra member, Ms. Parker has performed with Aretha Franklin, Sarah Brightman, Manhattan Transfer, Alan Vizutti, James Galway, Elmar Olivera, and many others. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with Barton Frank, John Barcelona, Peter Christ, the Bottom Line Duo, Wai Chan-Mitsutani, and her husband, Robert Parker. She is a frequent member of the Vermont Mozart Festival. Victoria has 15 years of concertmaster experience and 16 years of teaching experience. Victoria received a Bachelor's Degree from Western Michigan University, and a Master's Degree from Manhattan School of Music, in violin performance.

David Stangland (Jazz Director & Saxophone Instructor)
Mr. Stangland teaches bands at Heatherwood Middle School in Mill Creek, and performs on bassoon with the Starry Night Chamber Orchestra. A frequent adjudicator in the Northwest, he is a fine music educator whom we welcome back to our camp faculty for the 3rd time!

Robin Stangland (Assistant Brass Instructor, French Horn Specialist & Chamber Music Coach)
Ms. Stangland also counsels the campers and directs where needed. She has conducted a homeschool band in the North Seattle area for several years, which has grown to an enrollment of over 100 students.

2007 Masterclass Teachers: (2008 TBA)
   Emanuel Vardi, Internationally famed violist and artist
   Amos Yang, Cellist, San Francisco Symphony
   Mary Kantor, Clarinetist, Bellevue Philharmonic
   Michael Miropolsky, Violinist, Seattle Symphony (click here for bio)

We also have terrific talent directing our:
Art Department, which offers classes in drawing, painting, and textile collage
Drama Department, which offers classes in basic acting, musical theatre, staging, and more!

Click here for registration form

Click here for 2007 brochure

For further information regarding the Summer Sounds Music Festival, please contact:

Sharyn Peterson, Music Director,  360-421-2527  email
Anne Hildebrand, President, 360-733-1119  email