FSU Summer Music Camps celebrate 77 years of musical delight

Jazz Ensemble Campers prepare for their final performance at FSU Summer Music Camps.
Jazz Ensemble Campers prepare for their final performance at FSU Summer Music Camps.

Hundreds of middle and high music students from across the world are participating in the 77th season of Florida State University’s renowned FSU Summer Music Camps.

Camps began on June 10, and over the course of five weeks, 1,500 young musicians will take part in 14 different programs.

“Our camps not only provide great musical experience for the campers, but it is also a wonderful teaching experiences for our College of Music students,” said Steve Kelly, a professor of music education at FSU and a camp director for 15 years. “It is truly a magical experience where we hope lifelong memories are created.”

Choral campers rehearse with Kevin Fenton, professor of choral conducting and ensembles, at FSU Summer Music Camps.
Choral campers rehearse with Kevin Fenton, professor of choral conducting and ensembles, at FSU Summer Music Camps.

Many undergraduate music education majors serve as day and night counselors, while graduate music students, faculty and alumni from the FSU College of Music, along with public school teachers, conduct ensembles, teach lessons and elective courses.

“The FSU Summer Music Camps are the reason I came to college,” said Matthew Spindler, a junior majoring in instrumental music education. “As a camper, they made me fall in love with music. As a counselor, they have made me see how music education is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

The FSU Summer Music Camps began in 1942, as the Florida State College for Women Summer Band School, with the purpose of providing bandmasters and high school pupils quality opportunities for musical development. Despite the college’s status as a women-only school during the regular academic year, male students also attended the summer band school.

The camp has grown and evolved into one of the largest and oldest university-based summer music programs in the country. Throughout the years, thousands of students have come from around the world to meet faculty and other students, perform and learn.

Elementary campers prepare for their dinosaur-themed performance at FSU Summer Music Camps.
Elementary campers prepare for their dinosaur-themed performance at FSU Summer Music Camps.

Some participants have gone on to become professional performers, while others have become music educators.

“The FSU Summer Music Camps are home,” said Carol Fontaine, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education in 2016. “They are where I fell in love with FSU, met my best friends and learned how to become a teacher.”

FSU Summer Music Camps offer an Elementary Music Day Camp for younger campers, and jazz, string orchestra, piano, band, chorus or marching band leadership camps for middle and high school participants. The program also offers instrument specific workshops, such as guitar, double bass, and tuba and euphonium.

A free, public concert is held at the end of each one or two-week program.

For more information about FSU Summer Music Camps, visit music.fsu.edu/summermusiccamps.