Summer Music Camps
Stay musically active during the summer! Keep playing music and having fun!
Below are some links to help keep you musically active during the summer. If you are not taking private lessons, consider doing so. Students who take private lessons (and who practice!) are the best musicians.
Play music with your friends, family, and with recordings. Turn on your favorite music and just start jamming to it, or get some play-along recordings (such as Jamey Aebersold or other play-alongs) and have fun making music!
There are many summer music camps, as well. Have fun playing music this summer!
8notes has a ton of fun musical stuff to keep you busy all summer!
Here are the private teachers I recommend.
Here are some recommended music camps.
Kuumbwa Jazz Camp in Santa Cruz, held at Cabrillo College, is an affordable day jazz camp with lots of the best jazz musicians in the Santa Cruz area! Have fun making music with new friends in Santa Cruz! You will learn improvisation, building solos, jazz phrasing, jazz theory, jazz history and appreciation, and you will perform!
San Jose Jazz Camp is a wonderful camp run by our friend professional drummer extraordinaire Mr. Wally Schnalle! This camp will feature jazz, Latin, and fusion music, small and large ensembles, Latin Percussion Lab, Music Theory as it relates to jazz, Improvisation (of course!), Composition, Sight-Reading, Ear Training, and a big performance at the end! Work with the best jazz players in the Bay Area! You will love this camp!
Hayward-La Honda Music Camp is another popular music camp located in the redwoods. Many of the best teachers in the area teach and conduct at this camp.
Double Reed Players! Bocal Majority Bassoom Camp and Operation O.B.O.E. Camp is a camp specifically for oboe and bassoon players. You will learn how to make reeds, play chamber music, get audition advice, work with top level instructors, and make new friends!! They have camps all over the US, including Northern California.
Cazadero Performing Arts Camp is considered by many to be the best music camp in California! Every year, great conductors conduct the bands. Many Miller students have attended and loved Cazadero.
Donner Mine Music Camp is another wonderful music camp - highly recommended!
Silver Lake Band Camp is a music sight-reading camp! Sight-read LOTS of music, and have lots of fun in the mountains and lake.
Stanford Jazz Workshop is one of the best and oldest jazz summer programs around the Bay Area! Sign up NOW!
Jam Camp West offers creative programs, all taught by ear, in rock, jazz, blues, singing styles, hip hop and jazz dance, steel drum, percussion, turntable, songwriting, theory, beatbox, and more.
Pacific Music Camp at the University of the Pacific in Stockton offers a high quality, one week program with concert band, orchestra, choir, jazz ensemble, piano, and opera.
Flute Players! Areon Flute Institute is an awesome flute camp lead by Jill Heinke and Kassey LeBow, two of the top flutists in the Bay Area. Together, they run a week long flute institute at Blach Middle School. Both Ms. Heinke and Ms. LeBow teach privately, as well, and many of their students are top players in auditioned ensembles, such as All State and more. All flute players should take advantage of this opportunity to study with the best!
Lafayette Summer Jazz Program, run by Bob Athayde, an awesome middle school band director, is an annual jazz program run at his school, Stanley Middle School. It is a day program, not overnight, but if you can get lodging, I highly recommend it.
San Diego Summer Music Institute is a beautiful place to spend a week learning music with some of the best professional musicians in the area.
More Ideas
Here is an article with more ideas for summer music camps. Have fun!