Westhill Summer Band Camp

Save the Dates for Summer 2025! 

Westhill Summer Band and Jazz Camps: August 4- 8, 2025!

Please visit this site in early 2025 to follow links to our Camp brochures and Counselor applications.  In the meanwhile, if you have questions about Band Camp, please contact Ms. Buell, Ms. Althen, or Mr. Riley via email. 

The Westhill Band Camp mission is to provide the highest quality instrumental music instruction to Syracuse-area public, private, and home-school band students who are entering grades 6-9. We believe these impressionable years provide the opportune time to supplement, encourage, engage and inspire developing instrumental musicians on their musical journey. Our program serves as a bridge between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next, creating opportunities for young musicians to strengthen their skills and gain confidence. Band camp provides students with an environment they and their parents perceive as musically rich, fun, challenging and developmentally appropriate. 

Westhill Summer Band Camp augments a student-musician’s school band program during the lull of summer vacation. Students from schools across Central New York perform together in a large ensemble concert band setting and rehearse a variety of literature throughout the week including standard band repertoire, pop music, Broadway, and movie music. The week of rehearsals culminate in a final concert for friends and family on Friday at 7:30pm. Repertoire ranges from easy (level .5) for our younger ensemble to moderately difficult (level 3.5) in our advanced group. More experienced players have opportunities to serve as section leaders and soloists and perform for their peers during breaks. 

The Westhill Summer Band Camp program offers two concert bands and one jazz band grouped by grade level. Students entering grades 7-9 perform in our advanced concert band, while students entering grade six perform in a separate group intended for our younger students. The Jazz Camp is reserved for students entering grades 8-10. Any band instrument and rhythm instruments (piano, guitar, bass guitar and drum set) students are encouraged to participate in the jazz camp. 

The Westhill Summer Band Camp utilizes experienced Westhill music faculty as well as hand-selected collegiate music education majors and exceptional high school musician counselors to our program. Counselors rehearse and perform alongside our campers throughout band camp rehearsals. These young adults exemplify outstanding leadership and musicianship for our younger students and serve to be-friend and support our young musicians. Our counselors receive hours towards field-placement observations, community service, and participate in every facet of the camps without cost. Potential volunteers (grades 10-12, Undergraduate, and Master’s students) should contact Mrs. Tapia (etapia@westhillschools.org) for an application.