EMC STrings CaMP

Strings Camp will not be offered in 2024. Please check back for information about 2025's camp in the fall of 2024!

EMC Strings Camp is open to students completing 7th through 12 grades. Students completing 5th or 6th grade may be considered with Camp Coordinator Approval. Students at EMC Strings Camp will rehearse and perform in various chamber ensembles and large groups over the course of the week.

String campers will enjoy:

• Large ensemble rehearsals
• Technique classes
• Small and large chamber groups
• Individual lessons and help
• Master class with individual and group performances
• Time to practice!

Auditions

The placement auditions for Strings Camp will be held on the first day of EMC. Placement auditions are informal and last only about five minutes.  Please prepare:

• A short selection of your choice that demonstrates your current playing level
• One or two scales and/or a second contrasting selection (orchestra pieces are fine)

Other Information

Please bring a metronome if you have one. Bring any technique, repertoire, or music you would like to work on this summer. Bring a sweater or jacket since the temperature tends to fluctuate in different rooms and performance venues. It is also a good idea to keep pencils and spare strings in your case.  Don't forget your rosin!

If you have any questions, please contact the string chamber camp coordinator, David Commanday.

Strings Camp Faculty 

David Commanday has achieved distinction conducting both professional and young musicians throughout his professional career.   His commitment to teaching is reflected in multiple university appointments and youth orchestra director positions. Commanday is Director of  Orchestral Activities and Applied Cello at Eastern Illinois University, Artistic Director/Conductor of the Heartland Festival Orchestra, and Music Director of Youth Music Illinois. Previous posts include Music Director of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and Boston Ballet, Adjunct Music Instructor at Harvard University (orchestra and chamber music), Associate Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony, and Music Director of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Commanday has conducted on four continents, including the National Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, and the American Symphony; the Louisville, Belgian Radio, and Vienna Pro Arte Orchestras; and the Seattle, Atlanta, Flagstaff, Richmond, and Kansas City Symphonies, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.  He has taught at Harvard University, Boston University, MIT, the Longy School of Music, Tanglewood, Virginia Commonwealth University, Montclair State University, Webster University, and Eureka College.

Professor Commanday has been a regular consultant to the Singapore Ministry of Education on youth music education, with many visits to that nation to teach master classes and conduct over a period of five years. He is active in the United States conducting All-State orchestras and adjudicating orchestra competitions, most recently conducting the All State Honors Orchestra in Oregon.