The National Music Camp

Abstract

There are many music camps throughout the United States. This article by Norma Lee Browning, although National Music Camp and its founder, Joseph E. Maddy, honors the purpose and spirit of all such enterprises. The summer music camp movement has spread across the country. Music study, recreation and outdoor life afford an ideal combination, especially attractive to those who are serious about their music studies. It can almost be said that wherever vou live there is in the area a music camp or similar institution which offers opportunity to high school students for summer music study. Mr. Maddy does not claim to have originated the music camp idea. But he and his co-workers, T. P. Giddings, C. M. Tremaine, and others who contributed hard work or hard money or both, had the imagination and confidence to spell out the idea in action. However, Mr. Maddy likes to give credit for the actual birth of the National Music Camp to the members of the National High School Orchestra, which had its second appearance' early in 1927 at the Dallas convention of the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association-now called the American Association of School Administrators. (The National High School Orchestra was first organized by Mr. Maddy for the biennial national convention of the MENC at Detroit in 1926.) The students had a wonderful experience at Dallas in five days jammed with rehearsing, section coaching, and practicing alone and in groups between times-ending with a performance for a great audience of administrators, than which there is none more appreciative or responsive. Caine the tim1efor packing up to go home. Of course, nobody wanted to go home. It was sort of sad. The end had come so soon! Mr. Maddy dispelled the nostalgic gloom when he asked the group if they would like to get together again at a summer camp to practice, study and rehearse for a week or several weeks instead of a few days. You know the answer. C.V.B.