Micah Ramirez of Luther (from left), Clay Murray of Cleveland, Okla., Stacee Clark of Alva, Zane Amon of Cushing and Austin Collier of Cushing play bass drums during the two-day Sounds of Summer Percussion Camp on Wednesday at Glenpool High School. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
GLENPOOL - The two-day marching percussion camp isn't about becoming the best drummer but becoming a better musician and leader.
This week's Sounds of Summer Percussion Camp, presented by Yamaha and Saied Music Co., is being held at Glenpool High School and has been dubbed Drums on the Beeline.
Area drummers in middle through high school work with national and state percussionists on marching band skills and techniques.
Nearly 50 drummers in seventh through 12th grades are attending the camp, which ends Thursday. In addition to Glenpool, this summer's camps are also being held in Ponca City, Miami, Okla., and Fort Smith, Ark.
Shawn Castleberry, who works in the band and orchestra department of Saied Music, has been organizing the Sounds of Summer clinics since 1996. The camps focus on improving the drumming skills, leadership and technique of those who attend, he said.
"They'll have a lot more skills to have back at their home bands," he said.
This week's camp drew students from as far away as Alva and Canadian and as close as Jenks, Bixby and Glenpool, which is hosting the camp for the first time.
JoAnn Johnson, director of bands at Glenpool, said staff members moved into the school's new band building in January.
"It's really nice to have the facilities to host something like this," she said, adding that it also gives her students a better chance to attend. "Every kid will walk away with something different depending on their skill level."
The students are split into three groups and work with four clinicians during the two-day camp.
"We try to put like skill sets together so no one feels intimidated," said Michael McIntosh, a national drum specialist based out of Minnesota who is leading the Glenpool camp. "We teach them skills they can take back to their high school and permeate their band program."
Peter Hilborn, one of the clinic leaders, works in the Owasso Public Schools band program and attended a Sounds of Summer camp in 2001 at which McIntosh led the clinic.
"It's crazy - now I'm teaching," Hilborn said. "I know what they're going through."
He attended the camp as a freshman in high school.
"I thought I was really good. Turned out I wasn't, but that was a good thing - I learned a lot," Hilborn said. "I went to a small school - Berryhill. I made a lot of friends (at the camp) and kept in touch."
Any instrument group would benefit from an intensive camp such as Sounds of Summer, McIntosh said, but especially percussionists because they usually are the smallest section in a band.
"We are a different breed," he said.
Sara Plummer 918-581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: State percussionists can't beat summer drum camp
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