A few music camp legends.(part one!!)

Over the years, there have been people who really made their mark on music camp. Here are just a few. There are so many more to mention ( please send me more photo's!)
Brian Moles is only on his second camp, but already he is a legend!

Chris Hibberd ( our staffing administrator) and Alison Tumber ( Camp director, catering director, tutor..........)

Rob Slocombe the man with the hosepipes who would have got everyone on camp playing the trombone if he had had his way.

Lovely Derek Brechin ( although you'd never know it). The co writer with me of many a music camp musical.

Stuart Cave who owns over twenty ( actually probably a lot more than that) string instruments, and has been known to bring them all to camp.

Vick ( and yes, he really has been wearing this apron to do catering this week)

Mike Lock, seen here reciting A. A. Milne poems. A great maintenance man, a cool tenor sax player, and the instigator of many nasty tales about the cess pit monster.

Chris Shellard has been on the camp staff since the early eightees. She has directed several camps, co directed, and has tutored chromatic harmonica and strings.

Mike Oliver ( what can I say?)

This is Mike Oliver lowering down a bucket containing clues for "Hunt the Spy" from the green room of the old Stables. The retreating camper on the right of the picture is Pete Kingsley ( now a tutor on T2).

Pictures fom todays camp

The brass ensemble conducted by James Sills.

The brass rehearsal and the campfire ready for tonight.

Woodwind Ensemble in the music marquee under the direction on Dave Semans

Sun (no mud!)

Lunch looks good ( as always!)

More archives

While loading up more camp archives, I read this article, and found that on the staff of the first camp was Dennis Darlow. He was a very highly revered professor of mine at the Royal College of Music who was a very repected music academic and founded the Bach society. I DIDN'T KNOW HE'D BEEN TO MUSIC CAMP!!!!!.

The camps went from strength to strength, and increased to four camps (two junior and two teenage) This photo was taken when the camp was still in the top field. The new theatre was built over where the marquee and the campers tents appear on the picture. ( click to enlarge).

This was an article written about the camps by Carol Thatcher (yes THE Carol Thatcher).

She came to camp and interviewed us. She was pursued by paparazzi even then, her mother was prime minister at the time. (click on the article to enlarge).

Just been sent this!!

Mike Lock has just Emailed this to me. Recognise anyone?... More please!.

Why the bugle?

Pictured. Dai Rose, one of our camp directors. Avril thought it would be nice to keep the music /camp theme when summoning campers for meals, meetings, rehearsals, and to bring the day to an end.
Avril's husband Les wrote words for each bugle call, and when I was a camper, we had to burst into song each time the bugle was played, and RUN!.
We still have the bugle now, but if there isn't a brass player present to blow it, there can be some quite contemporary variations on the original tunes. ( We rarely notice people running!).
Last post at night can be a special moment ( especially for tutors!). It is especially poignant on the last night when everyone gathers on the field to hear it for the last time that year.

Photo's from T1 camp today

Our new banner!

Accordians and handbells

The vocal group, harmonicas and folk session

Campers in the Jazz improvisation session

A camper shows off his "Silver egg" shaker award given to a camper each day for being "good eggs". A special piece will be performed for six silver egg shakers at the end of the week.

T1 arrives

The first campers arrive to meet the "Welcome committee". From left to right is Christine Shellard (co director), Dawn Christmas, T1 administrator and the person who makes the "Set up" happen ( very important), James Sills ( director), and the first aid dept(!).

James Sills, our director for T1, is a fine trombonist. Alongside music degree studies at Liverpool University, he spent a year working at the Mansec Music centre in Ghana, then undertook an M.A in community music at York . James had always been a popular member of staff, and is famous not only for his musicianship, creativity and imagination, but also for his "Vegetable band"!. To see more of what he does, and maybe glimpse a few of our other tutors, visit

www.groovywonderband.co.uk

and

www.roughislandband.com

Also introducing Matt Lamin our other co director. Matt is a freelance vocal tutor and vocalist, and also studied at Liverpool university. Among other things he sings with the group"Sense of sound", and frequently tours with pop vocal groups backing well known names .They have just finished touring with Russel Watson. Matt is brother of Amy, who directed T1 last year. She is having a year off camp to have a baby ( any moment now!).

The second year

I came to camp for the first time in 1971 as a junior camper. The success of the previous year, had already meant that there were to be two camps that year (both junior).The tents were on the upper field where the new theatre now stands. The boys tents were down one side, and the girls down the other, with a big light shining down the middle. We had an old army mess marquee, and washed in the cowshed ( girls upstairs and boys downstairs).
It was a camp with mixed feelings for me, as my Father had died during the previous week. I remember being very homesick. It was however the start of something very exciting that would have a profound influence on the rest of my life.
Here pictured is John and Cleo ( dressed for camping!) strolling down from the rectory to see how it was all going.

Where are you?

Thousands of young people have come through the music camps, and it is tragic to think that we have hardly any records of who they were, and where they all are now. There are a few we know of that have become well known musicians, but I am sure there are many that we don't know of. Often people tell me that they came to camp as children, and that it really influenced their musical lives ( I know it did mine).
If you are reading this and are an ex camper or member of staff please leave a comment and let us know. We have a few old staff lists, but it would be nice to fill in some of the gaps. Perhaps you would like to come to camp again?.
This is a cutting about a boy called Simon Stanley who came to the first camp ( click on it to read). I believe his parents were on the staff. Where are you now Simon? Are you still playing the cello?.

Why the logo?

The camps had been inspired to some degree, by a music camp that Avril had visited in South Africa. The logo we have today is adapted from theirs. It shows a black and a white face to indicate the importance of black people and white people coming together at the original camps in South Africa to make music together. You will also see various musical instruments. The fingers playing the trumpet were added by Avril's husband Les ( a famous trombone player himself).

When Avril handed the camps over to me about six years ago, and we became "The National Youth Music Camps" she said she would very much like us to keep the same logo which we have done.

The first music camp

Click on the articles to read them.

The first camp was a great success with plenty of media coverage John and Cleo came to sing and play around the campfire. Alec and Jacqui Dankworth ( also pictured below) were among some of the first campers.

How it all began

Avril Dankworth had the idea of running a music camp long before her brother John Dankworth and his wife Cleo Laine bought the Old Rectory and its Stables in Wavendon, but it was when she visited the proposed site for their theatre, and saw the lovely field behind it, that she started to think that her idea could become a reality.
Avril had enjoyed camping with the guides as a girl, and loved the outdoors, she was also becoming very well known as a music educationalist, and thought a music camp for young people was the perfect way to marry her two loves.
The dream became a reality in 1970 when Avril borrowed tents from the scouts, rallied friends to tutor, and held the first junior camp for forty children.

As we enter our Fortieth year I have created this blog, to celebrate all that we have done in the past, to enjoy and get excited about what is happening now, and to toast what will hopefully happen in the future. I am hoping this will be a meeting place for all music camp alumni, present campers and staff, and that it will reunite old friends and find people we wish we hadn't lost contact with. The National Youth Music Camp is a great and unique organisation founded by Avril Dankworth, the lady who had the great idea, and made it happen. Here's to the next forty years!
Sarah Watts ( Artistic Director)