Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Young Musicians Learn from Professionals at Kimmel Center’s Teen Summer Arts Camp
June 30, 2004


Choral Music students in Innovation Studio
The Kimmel Center’s second annual Teen Summer Arts Camp is now underway. The camp, for talented young musicians, began with a session in choral music and continues through July with sessions in jazz and chamber music.

After last year’s successful premiere of the program, there was a demand for additional teaching and performance time. This year, Kimmel Center, Inc. expanded the arts camp experience and offered scholarships to all 116 students. Students had to audition and submit an essay to be accepted.

The three, two-week sessions are divided by music interest and include Choral Music (June 21- July 2), Jazz (July 6- July 16) and Chamber Music, (July 19- July 30). Each session will culminate with solo and ensemble performances titled "Moments of Sharing" in the Kimmel Center’s Innovation Studio. The "Moments of Sharing" performances, scheduled for July 2 at noon, July 16 at 2pm and July 30 at 2pm are free and open to the public.

The Choral Music camp will allow students to study vocal technique, sight-sing and perform choral music of various genres in small and full ensembles. At the Jazz camp, students will study styles of jazz music including Swing, Dixieland, Afro-Cuban, and Contemporary. Students will also perform in small and large ensembles. The Chamber Music camp will teach various genres of chamber music and expose the students to ensemble settings.

The program features small group instruction, coaching sessions, daily ensemble rehearsal, master classes conducted by guest artists, free tickets to performance venues, and interaction with talented student artists from the tri-state area. The camp is designed for students ages 12 to 18. Classes are held in the Kimmel Center’s Merck Arts Education Center and Innovation Studio.

The camp is led by Kimmel Center, Inc. Director of Education Velma Simmons, a career educator with a master’s degree in choral conducting. Simmons conducted the All-Philadelphia High School Choir for 17 years, leading her students in performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has also served as assistant conductor of Singing City Choir, performing with conductors such as Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Michael Tilson Thomas and Charles Dutoit.

The Teen Summer Arts Camp is generously supported by the Comcast Foundation, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and The Grover Washington, Jr. Protect the Dream Foundation.

Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, Philadanco, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Citizens Bank Broadway at the Academy series of performances.

> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, please send us a message online.