Youth choir camp offered

Published 9:34 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Brundidge Lions Club and Williams Chapel United Methodist Church have partnered to give the children of Pike County a chance to sing.

The Pike County Youth Choir Camp has been organized as a tool of opportunity for children who enjoy music and singing, and it’s being offered free to students in kindergarten through eighth grades.

The camp will meet from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, July 27 through 31 at Williams Chapel UMC on the Tennille Road near Brundidge. The church will provide lunch for the campers.

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The camp director will be Justin Conley, who is the choral director at Williams Chapel. Conley is a senior in choral music education major at Troy University.

“Justin’s camp team will include six Troy University music education majors so the leadership will be outstanding,” said John Shipman, past president of the Brundidge Lions Club. “The children will learn basic musicianship skills and singing techniques and have a lot of fun doing it.”

Shipman said children around the county are able to participate in athletic activities and band programs but the opportunity for children to sing in a choir has been rather limited.

“This camp will be a springboard for the Pike County Youth Choir which will begin rehearsals in August,” he said.

Starting in the fall, the Pike County Youth Choir will have weekly rehearsals to prepare for a winter holiday concert and a spring concert. The choir will be divided into two groups, kindergarten through third grade will comprise the junior choir and grades four through eight the older youth choir.

The junior choir will be directed by Travis Adams and Sarah Swedenburg, university music majors. Conley will direct the older youth choir.

“We hope that the Pike County Youth Choir Camp will turn into an after school activity that will be of interest to all who attend,” Conley said.

“Music is a universal language with the power to unite. The goal of the Pike County Youth Choir is to give students an enjoyable way to express themselves through choral music.”

Registration forms are available at First National Bank in Brundidge and at Room 169 Smith Hall on the campus of Troy University. The deadline to register is Friday, July 24.

For more information, contact Conley at jconley35613@troy.edu or 334-268-2283.