Description:    

The School of Rock is a summer camp held in cooperation with District 47 and 742 Community Education at the Sauk Rapids High School in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.  The camp completed its third successful run in August 2007 with 59 participants from 15 central Minnesota cities.  Open to youth from grades 6 - 12, it offers instruction in various rock band instruments plus the management and formation of a rock band.

Registration 2008:

Registrations are now being accepted for our 2008 summer camp!

             When:  August 5 to 7 & August 12 to 14 - 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.

             Where:  Sauk Rapids Rice High School, Door 1           Cost:  $189.00

             To register: www.saukrapidsriceonline.org              (320) 258-1577

                       Or       www.isd742.org/communityed              (320) 529-6500

 Rock Concert:    August 14, 2008 - 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

 Sauk Rapids Middle School , Door 4

 History: 

Dr. Paul Wirth, CMMS Artistic Director, recognized that many students who play rock instruments wanted to participate in rock bands but had no safe, effective way to find band mates.  He designed the program and enlisted professional musicians to help implement his vision. Since 2005, this summer camp has been connecting kids in grades 6 to 12, providing a safe, educational summer activity that instructs in band formation, music selection, instrument instruction, band management and equipment requirements among other things.

The program began in 2005 in cooperation with District 742 (St. Cloud) Community Education and expanded in 2007 to include District 47 (Sauk Rapids). The highlight of the camp is the Rock Concert, usually a sell-out event, in which each band performs a couple of songs they have worked on during the camp.

 

Instructors:

Dr. Wirth hired Jeff and Tommy Velline (the Vees) as lead instructors.  The Vees are the sons of music legend Bobby Vee and members of his touring band.  Jeff and Tommy, who play drums and bass respectively, have performed with such stellar artists as Paul McCartney and Andrew Lloyd Weber and have toured to such far-away places as Australia and military bases in Kuwait and Iraq .  The other instructors are also professional musicians including Cristina Seaborn (a CMMS strings teacher who also conducts Seaborn Strings Youth and Fiddle Orchestras), Mark Hasbrouck (a CMMS guitar teacher and recording artist), Jeff Engholm (a musician, actor and composer who plays in numerous rock bands and appears in many stage productions in St. Cloud), and Paul Diethelm (an accomplished guitar player who has toured with Jonny Lang). Other instructors are regularly added on an as-needed basis.

 

 

Program:

During the 6-day camp, students are exposed to many facets of rock music.  Participants are given a brief history of rock and roll and are evaluated by instructors regarding their level of playing ability.  They are grouped into rock bands based on their instrument experience and style of rock music (punk, hard rock, 50's style, etc).  Students are guided by instructors in making the decisions professional bands need to make to be successful, such as learning and memorizing music, matching arrangement difficulty with available band personnel, choosing songs for audience appeal, coordinating schedules, evaluating, obtaining and moving equipment, overcoming stage fright, resolving conflicts and working as a team.  The bands choose their music and work to polish their performance for the final concert with guidance from the instructors.  The mornings of each class day are available for students (on an optional, informal basis) to rehearse songs with their band and to "hang out" with other students under volunteer parental supervision.

 

Other Items:

This year's concert was filmed by professional videographer, James Hofmann, and the DVD was available for purchase by students, as were posters of their b and s.  Students also received a t-shirt and a copy of a slideshow made up of numerous snapshots of students taken during the camp and shown prior to the concert.  DVDs and posters provided students with a wonderful memento of their experience.