Day 5

Today we started and ended our day at St. Stephen and the Incarnation. 16th and Newton St., NW. On this morning we loaded the bus for our first stop on our field trip excursion day - Great Falls, Va.
Ranger Larocca talked about floods over the years, and the habitat of Great Falls. We met "Athena", the corn snake.

He then took us on the trails to the overlook.


Ariel and Phillip enjoyed their counselor duties.

Great Falls was beautiful but the water was very low.











We had lunch at a park near Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.







And toured a printmaking studio and Archeology Museum.




We arrived at St. Stephen and demonstrated what we had learned during the week. Afterwards, cupcakes and lemonade were had by all as goodbyes were exchanged.




We are grateful to the volunteers from St. Dunstan's, St. John's Church and St. Stephen and the Incarnation, and to D.C. Children's Charities - all of whom made this project possible.

Sincerely,

Cynthia DeDakis, Director
Chorister Academy, St. John's Church, Lafayette Square
Julie Vidrick Evans,
Director of Music, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church
Marianna Judy
Teacher, Canon Road Elementary School
Ariel Evans,
Master's Candidate, Art History, University of Texas at Austin
Master Shiro Shintaku, Martial Arts Instructor

Day 4.5

Dear friends,
Did you really think I would have this day's blog entry up by 9:20 p.m. on Friday night? After a celebratory feast?
Try again later.
Julie

Day 4

Today the classes got to go up in to the balcony and hear the organ. We first saw a picture of the organ console of Saint Sulpice, in Paris. It has 5 manuals (keyboards). The organ at St. Dunstan's has 2 manuals. We heard a demonstration of it's flutes and reeds, (which make the sound of a trumpet because of the way the vibration is produced). Then we opened the organ case and saw the pipes standing at attention on the wind chests. We even took one out and blew into the "toe" of the pipe to hear the sound.

Music for the organ demonstration featured halloween favorites. After the demonstration, each of the children sat on the bench and created their own sound. It was frightening to see the pedals played with flip-flops and sneakers.
You organists know what I mean. It's not very practical, but I guess it can be done!

Ms. Judy's class worked on polishing their compositions.

A hush fell over the room as Master Shiro demonstrated nunchucks, swords and fan.

The final group sing at St. Dunstan gave us time to rehearse the songs we will sing tomorrow at St. Stephen and the Incarnation at 5:00 p.m..

Before that we have field trips to Great Falls and Torpedo Factory.

Hope to see you later at St. Stephen's.

Day 3

After an energetic whole group warm up, we were ready to divide and conquer the music for the day. Each group has advanced nicely and we are looking forward to sharing it with you. Our concert is Friday at 5 p.m. at St. Stephen and the Incarnation, 16th and Newton St., N.W. There will be a short reception following. We're looking forward to friends and family coming out to enjoy the show.

Tomorrow the kids will look inside the pipe organ case and hear it soft and grand, up close and personal.



Look for pictures of the composition classes tomorrow. During art class, everyone will decorate their official camp t-shirt.

No camp would be complete without one.

Until tomorrow.

Cindy, Julie and Marianna

Day 2

So glad the 22 campers returned. Who wouldn't? We are having a great time. Handchimes,
singing, composition.

Composition is the great mystery. Ms. Judy had everyone read a poem and illustrate it with music and art. We expect to have a multi-media production come concert time on Friday. Sorry I didn't grab a picture of her class hard at work. Look for that tomorrow.

The masks are coming along nicely.

A word about the camp and it's mission:

The summer music camp provides a week of educational, artistic and recreational activities to families in the summer at no cost. The neighborhood of Columbia Heights is targeted, but a wide net is cast in the city. June 2006 was the first time this camp was offered and was made possible by a grant from the outreach committee of St. Dunstan's and largely underwritten by the people of St. John's Lafayette Square. This year we are very grateful to D.C. Children's Charities which contributed a generous grant to make our cooperative effort possible.

The Co-directors and full-time teachers of the camp are Cynthia DeDakis, Director of the Chorister Academy at St John’s Church, Julie Vidrick Evans, Director of Music at St Dunstan’s Church, Bethesda, and Marianna Judy, elementary music teacher and composer in Montgomery County. In addition, karate instructor Master Shiro
and artist, Ariel Evans are providing a special time for the children. We are grateful for the help of volunteers from St Dunstan’s who are assiting the teachers, supervising recreational activities, and making lunches and snacks each day. Thank you Patricia, Marietta, Elin, Kiska, Jessie, Eileen V, Ross, Sandra, Galen, Phillip. And we really appreciate the home-baked goods by Patricia, Phyllis, Cindy and Bert!

See you tomorrow.

Sleep well.

Music Camp Day 1

Our Second Year!

Twenty-two campers arrived at St. Dunstan's on a beautiful air-conditioned bus. The children were ready to begin.
Divided into 3 groups based on their grade - entering 3rd through 7th - we began the day with Ms. Evans' Handchime class for the oldest group. The middle grades did music composition with Ms. Judy, and the youngest set began their day with singing in the sanctuary with Ms. Dedakis.


There are 2 "specials" during the week. The entire group was divided in half. One group went to Art with (the other) Ms. Evans ,and began work on their african mask/shield. Tomorrow is painting day.



The other group began study with Master Shiro on fundamental movements and self-defense techniques.


Lunch was great, ladies.


After more singing and ringing, free play was a hit.

Everyone met for singing at the end of the day. What a beautiful sound already and we're just beginning our time together.

Tomorrow is coming. Bring a smock.

Ciao.

PS. If you want to look at last year's blog click here