Upcoming 2020 South Island Suzuki Summer Camp

Registrations are now open for the Suzuki summercamp in Timaru in January 2020 (only 3 months away!). There are also two other summer camps running in the North Island (see here  http://suzuki.org.nz/calendar/). I have taken my children to the annual Timaru summer camp for the past few years and they consider it to be a highlight of the summer calendar. We'll be going again this year and I hope to see some of you there. Earlybird discount closes in a few days (28 Oct) but registrations are open until 17 Nov.

The camp provides lessons for children learning violin, piano, cello, guitar and sometimes also flute.

The camp caters for children from pre-school age to teenagers. The picture above was taken at the Timaru camp a few years ago. The older children in the middle of the picture are reading from music but the little kids are there too. If you look carefully you'll see the little "twinklers" in the bottom left, following their teacher.

At the South Island camps and workshops most children have three 1-hour classes each day.
The only difference between a "workshop" (like I wrote about in a previous blog post) and a "camp" is whether accomodation is provided. The Timaru summer camp is held at a boarding school so, unless you live nearby, you can either camp on the school grounds or stay in the boarding house accommodation. We have always stayed in the rooms. There are 1-4 beds in each room so when the kids were little, we shared a 3-4 bed room. Last year the kids had their own 2-person room and I had a room to myself.

I really like that the summer-camp is longer than the winter workshop. With the 5 days there is really enough time to settle in. The kids get to know their way around. A highlight for most parents is that all meals are provided, you just turn up to the dining hall at the appropriate times, no cooking required all week. Most years the swimming pool is open and there is a trampoline.

Any of my students can join NZSI (New Zealand Suzuki Institute) and attend the summercamp. 

One of the reasons that Suzuki events run so well is because all the students know what is expected of them in the various types of classes.
Any child can attend Suzuki events, there is no entry audition but I do need to have seen your child play recently and to have had some communication with you so that I can make sure that you and your child both know what to expect and what is expected of you. Therefore, if you are learning over the website please arrange to send me some videos or have a few webcam lessons with me before attending the event so you can get the most out of the experience.

I highly recommend the summer camp to everyone!