Last week, Olivia, Eva and I (as a chaperone) attended the annual Leahy Music Camp in Lakefield, Ontario for the very first time. Long story short: the girls absolutely loved it and learned a ton from the world-class instructors, many of them members – and children – of the original Leahy family band. (Being from the same area and sharing their last name, I spent the first 24 years of my life saying, “No, I’m not from that Leahy family” to everyone new that I met.)
I will now turn it over to 11-year-old Olivia to share with you the 5 best things about Leahy Music Camp.
- The feedback. For my morning vocal sessions, I was asked to bring a song I was familiar with and wanted to work on. I picked To Make You Feel My Love because I heard it on the Glee soundtrack and I think it’s really pretty. (Mom’s note: this is the child who once broke my heart by asking me, “Who’s Garth Brooks?” ) My instructors gave me helpful feedback in a way I could understand, without discouraging me. I practiced it using their suggestions and was able to perform it for my group the next day. You can see that video below this tip. During my afternoon electives, I also found that my teachers took the time to answer questions and correct mistakes in a nice way.
2. The friendliness. Everyone- whether instructor or student – was kind and willing to explain something, or give directions. Nobody was too rushed or busy and everyone took time to listen and help.
3. The talent. On Monday night, the instructors put on a concert, and you could see how skilled everyone was. Even the campers were all talented in their own way and it was neat to be around that all week, even when we all ate in the dining hall together!
4. The selection. There were many ‘elective’ sessions you could sign up for, taking six in total, from song writing to accordion. I did vocal in the mornings and Eva did piano (you can pick what level you are at) and in the afternoons for our electives we did things like stepdance, guitar, chording and lilting the tune. And of course one of the biggest draws to Leahy Music Camp is fiddle, though Eva and I don’t play that…yet!
5. The Grand Jam. On the final night, there was a big performance. My vocal group sang Hallelujah and some other classes performed. Then the instructors all got up on stage, and anyone who knew what they were playing was welcome to join them! People got an opportunity to show off, and it was a lot of fun, just to watch! Eva and I even got up and did some stepdancing in front of the crowd! (Mom says sorry for the blurry picture but it’s hard to capture stepdancers in action!)
Since camp ended we have been very excited to work on all of the things we learned and now we can do that all summer long. We definitely want to go back to Leahy Music Camp next year! Please let us know if you have any questions!