Day 5: Morning in Space and Night at the Opera
Today was another excellent day at choir camp. To wake everyone up at 7:30, Counselor Owen began blasting the bombastic finale of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony through his bluetooth speaker. After many groans and yawns, the kids made their way to the dining hall for a breakfast of eggs, bacon, cereal, and bagels. Next was warm-ups led by the singers of Ecco and their conductor Tim, who took turns dancing and gesturing for the kids to mirror.
In the musicianship classes, students worked on a challenging rhythm game created by Mr. Brown, modulating solfege scales, and dictation. Sofia, Fritz, and the other students of Owen and Talia’s musicianship class rocked it with their solfege scales!
Following morning rehearsal, kids lined up for hot dogs and steak fries - a very popular meal! Lunch is the one meal of the day when the kids are required to sit with their cabins for bonding. Otherwise, they can sit with whoever they please, so there was an interesting fusion of cabins Salt and Pepper and Mykonos during breakfast and dinner. At the end of lunch, Camp Joyful Voices came up to Counselor Owen to present a Frankenstein sticker in honor of his upcoming opera. He wore it proudly!
Today was Cowboys VS Aliens Day and several cabins had a strong showing. Honorable Mentions went to Mykonos and the alliance between Aiden (Ensemble) and Fritz (CC) for “Meteorweed” (See video linked below). The top three were Butterfly, Flora, and Fire Sprites.
Everyone’s least favorite part of the day, rest period, always follows spirit judging. Morale for most kids was particularly low after Eric ordered “mandatory rest” (compulsory nap time), but at least a few got some much-needed rest! Everyone who didn’t have a watch waited anxiously for permission to leave their “cell” at 2:00.
During free time, the kids split into groups for the pool with Counselor/Lifeguard Grace, jewelry-making with Counselor Rachel, or badminton and ping pong with Counselor Owen. Aiden, Adrian, Henry, June, and Ken took turns on the “court” for a badminton face-off.
Recital was a highlight today! Camp Joyful Voices led rounds and then everyone was treated to incredible performances by Counselor Mia, Ms. Anne, and voice teachers Dana and Audrey.
After a dinner of mac and cheese and stir fried vegetables, the kids proceeded to evening rehearsal and the exciting nighttime activity: opera in a bag. Everyone split into six groups and each group was given a bag with a glowstick, a scarf, a piece of cloth sheet music, a necklace, and a bandana. The challenge was to use all the items (and the bag) and 3 out of 5 words (hemiola, watermelon, slay, scatter, and cairn) in a short improvisatory scene of an opera (all singing).
The performances were amazing! So much creativity! Some highlights were a wedding getting robbed, kids transforming into cows, and a ship being stricken by the hemiola sickness. The judges were very enthusiastic about the performances! Videos of the operas are linked below.
At 9:15, it was time for lights out , but as the kids returned to their beds, everyone freaked out when they saw a giant spider on the staircase. Thankfully, Rafa trapped the spider in a cup and took it outside. To conclude the day, the counselors sang “This Pretty Planet” and “The Old Astronomer.”