By Kaitlin Motley
Review Staff Intern
Plucking, strumming, picking and bowing may not sound like someone’s typical summer activities, but that’s exactly what’s on tap this week at a camp for strings musicians.
Orion Chamber Music Society (OCMS) sponsored the fourth annual strings camp, which started Monday at First Baptist Church of Lake Orion.
The camp caters to intermediate and advanced strings musicians with an emphasis on ensemble playing, said Leonard Holliday, who created the camp in 2005. He said there are three main focus areas, the first being large group ensemble performance. Second is chamber music, in which only a small group of instruments perform, often with just one performer to a part, and last is listening skills.
‘We teach kids how to listen to classical music,? Holliday said.
The camp is largely volunteer based, from the kitchen staff to Holliday himself.
‘This camp is possible because of the volunteer help,? he said.
The camp has expanded since its first year, initially drawing musicians from across the state and now from across the country.
‘These people come from all over now,? Holliday said. ‘We have a family from Alabama and one from Georgia this year.?
‘A lot of the campers are home schooled kids who don’t have a school to play for,? he added.
The weeklong camp concludes with a concert Friday at 7 p.m. that will feature the camp ensembles. Holliday will conduct a performance Saturday at 7 p.m. by the OCMS orchestra, featuring ‘Overture to Light Cavalry? by Franz Von Suppe and Mendelssohn’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 1,? among others.
The weekend will also feature Holliday’s grandson, Daniel Holliday, on the piano. Daniel, 13, took first place in a concerto competition in Georgia and one in Hilton Head two years in a row.
The OCMS orchestra, composed of adults and upper-level high school students, has been playing together for five years and performs about three concerts per year.
First Baptist Church of Lake Orion is located at 255 E. Scripps Road. For more information, call (248)-879-3130.