Summer Music Intensives in Downtown McKinney

Making music together is one of the greatest creative joys. Dedicated young musicians share this experience with professional musicians during the Summer Music Intensives, July 25-31, in downtown McKinney. This full-day, one-week program is designed to give middle and high school music students an opportunity to explore orchestra, chamber music, improvisation, music history, theory and a variety of musical genres in small groups under the mentorship of exceptional performers. The week of intense work is held in the HUB (Youth Center, FUMC, 102 W. Lamar) and culminates in a concert performed by students and faculty on stage at the Church Street Auditorium.

The Summer Music Intensives is offered by the Arts and Music Guild, with generous support from the McKinney Arts Commission, the McDermott Foundation and the Prothro Foundation.

Director Jason Lim performing with a studentfaculty ensemble

The director of the camp, Jason Lim, has gained a reputation as the creative director and conductor of the award-winning Odysseus Chamber Orchestra of North Texas. Mr. Lim also worked for ten years with the Abilene Summer Music Festival, building it into a reputable summer camp.

When he took the reins of the Summer Music Intensives in McKinney, Mr. Lim saw the potential in its emphasis on improvisation, theory, different musical genres and the small student-teacher ratio. Last summer, he added a strong classical element to the world music blend, and raised the expectations for the final performance. The student response was very positive.

Large ensemble in theory class

Motivated by the excitement and inquisitive nature of the young musicians, Mr. Lim has invited professional musicians to create a curriculum this summer, which can be customized to meet each student’s interests. Special emphasis will be on Intermediate and Advanced Orchestra (conducted by Mr. Lim).

Classes also will be offered in Celtic fiddle, folk, music theory, music history, and an ensemble that blends guitar, electric bass and strings. Students may choose to be part of a chamber music ensemble, or have private lessons designed to help the students with All-Region and All-State orchestra music.

Members of Student Chamber Ensemble

Mr. Lim summarizes the value of the Summer Music Intensives by emphasizing the creative esprit de corps that develops during the week. “Any opportunity for a student to spend a week with like-minded students to work on a skill or a craft gives a lesson in collaboration. And participation is not limited to young students; adult students and professionals are invited to attend as well. The faculty collectively works to provide diverse experiences for our future generation of musicians as well as fostering pride in their own professional work.”

Improvisation Class with William Foley

Scott Conway, a participant last year, commented enthusiastically, “The camp exposed me to things I never thought about. I play the cello and I had never thought about improvising on a cello. But the class showed me how to take a simple theme and play around with it. I made music from scratch without notes or anything. That’s really cool. We also were part of chamber music ensembles. I’ve never played in a string quartet before and this experience absolutely blew my mind. It was so exciting.”

Violinist Florence Wang with violist Sara Lipscomb and cellist Scott Conway

Violist Sara Lipscomb, a graduate of McKinney High School, enjoyed the challenging nature of the camp last year. “We were thrown into learning a bunch of difficult kinds of music, and by the end of the week I realized it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in a music camp,” she said. “I loved playing in the chamber ensembles. The experience taught me music theory and the basics of what we do.”

Students are asked to contribute only $160 and encouraged to register early. All string (including guitar) and wind orchestra instrumentalists are invited to participate. When registering, a student is encouraged to indicate if he or she would like to bring multiple instruments for study. Limited scholarships are available upon application. For registration forms, the camp schedule and specific questions, please visit http://summermusicintensive.wix.com/music. u