Music Summer Camps at UC Davis offer attendees an engaging and
hands-on exploration of music-making from its various components:
composition, history, and cultural traditions. The camps are
taught by UC Davis graduate students in music, already
professionals in their fields of study who enjoy the joy and fun
music brings and want to share their passion with the community.
To participate, previous music education is not required.
Our Mission
To create a space for children (K–12) to establish a relationship
with music and feel creatively empowered and nourished,
regardless of their formal music education.
Our Vision
The Music Summer Camps aim to demystify the idea of what it means
to make music. It is not necessary to know how to play an
instrument in order to enjoy music—or even to create our own!
Through the summer camps, UC Davis graduate students in music
seek to share their knowledge of all different types and
traditions of music while helping to draw forth inherent
creativity of youths.
How it works
The Music Summer Camps are the result of a collaboration between
the UC Davis Department of Music and
Campus Recreation. As part of the camps offered by Youth
Programs, graduate students in the music department have the
opportunity to design week-long experiences that fall under that
umbrella while receiving all the administrative support it
provides. Not only do the camps present an opportunity for
children in the community to engage with music, but they also
serve as a platform for music graduate students to share their
passion, explore a new teaching experience, and earn an income
during the summer months. Read about this year’s camps in detail
below!
Have you ever wondered if you should make music or play sports?
Well, why not both!? Co-led by an opera singer turned soccer
referee and a music teaching martial artist, this camp will get
you moving and making noise! Explore the songs sung by fans in
the stands during past World Cups, discover the movements and
sounds of Brazilian Capoeira, build your own vuvuzela,
learn the Aggie fight song, and write your own sports chants. And
of course, “Let’s Play Ball!”
¡Musica! Practicing Spanish with Latin American Music
Would you like to learn about Latin American music? Would you
like to practice your basic Spanish? Let’s listen to, dance to,
and create Latin American music in a week-long camp. Throughout
our week together we will journey across South America, Central
America, and the Caribbean! Along with experiencing music and
learning about different cultures, we will practice basic Spanish
words and phrases, especially those related to music making. We
will showcase pieces we create or learn in a short concert at the
end of the week for any interested family or friends! It’s going
to be a lot of fun learning together!
Touring the World of Music
Take a journey around the world through music! Campers will
explore different cultures by experiencing the diverse sounds,
sights, and movements of musics from around the world like
Japanese taiko, Brazilian capoeira, Spanish flamenco, and more!
Campers will have the opportunity to create their own musical and
theatrical tools throughout the week to express themselves
creatively while learning about a diverse cultural repertoire. We
will culminate the week with a performance exhibition of what we
learn!
Glee!
Do you love to sing, but feel a
little lost in the shuffle of big choirs and long school days?
Would you like an opportunity to sing pop music, musical theater,
and other types of music that you normally don’t get to sing?
Come to Glee!, a workshop where many styles of group singing will
be explored in a small-group environment. Sing the latest pop
music, music from around the world, and more! Learn more about
vocal technique and effective group singing while still enjoying
a relaxed, fun atmosphere that gives you the opportunity to
create music with others. Over the course of the week, we will
put together a set of songs that we will perform at the end of
the session. A day-in-the-life of the workshop will involve vocal
warm-ups, breathing techniques and group games, as well as
learning and polishing several songs.
If you have questions regarding the Music Summer Camps offered
through UC Davis Campus Recreation Youth Programs, contact
Esther Delozier, a
founding teacher of the Music Summer Camps.
Teaching over the summer with Youth Programs was a phenomenal
opportunity to both work with other graduate students in the
department and to build my resume in meaningful ways by
interacting with our community in Davis. For me, teaching
alongside other composers and musicologists always felt
beautifully diverse, each one of us approaching and meeting the
children’s needs in different ways. It was always fantastic to
see how students would respond to getting encouragement from
all of the teachers, and often the students in the room.
