Summer Strings Camp

The Salisbury Symphony is offering two music camps this summer for musicians and would-be musicians of all ages.

The annual Summer Strings Camp is set for the week of June 15-19 at St. John’s Lutheran Church. The camp offers beginning, intermediate and advanced classes in violin, viola, cello and bass for children 8 years and older.

Classes will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and a concert will be held on the last day of camp.

Camp costs $100, and scholarships are available.

The Summer Strings Camp is made possible because of a grant from Akzo Nobel and donations from symphony supporters. The registration deadline of June 1 has been extended to June 5. To register, contact Education Director Susan Trivette at 704-637-4730 or email at strivett@catawba.edu by June 5.

 

Rowan Youth Orchestra Summer Workshop

A Summer Workshop for current and prospective members of the Rowan Youth Orchestra will be held on July 31 and Aug. 1. Music Director Marguerite Keller will lead the workshop, preparing a pops program for the Rowan Youth Orchestra’s performance at Autumn Jubilee, which will be Oct. 3, and working on music for auditions for seating positions and the coming season. Section coaches include Salisbury Symphony musicians Faith Foster, Carter Bradley, Sandra Rathbone and Margaret Petty. Salisbury Symphony Orchestra Music Director David Hagy will guest conduct.

The workshop will be held at First United Church of Christ from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the cost is $40.

For information and to register, contact Susan Trivette by July 17 at 704-637-4730 or email at strivett@catawba.edu.

 

Shady Brook students receive bikes

Shady Brook Elementary School’s autism class got a special surprise this month.

Each spring, Shady Brook hosts student-led conferences, where parents come to school during the school day to see what the students are learning, Participating students are entered into a drawing for a bicycle.

This year, however, the kindergarten through second grade autism class’ teacher, Sarah Chapman, was on maternity leave during the conference, so it was postponed to later this spring.

One parent commented that she hated to miss out on the opportunity for her son to win a bike, because it was the only way he would ever get one.

Cynthia Fink, one of Chapman’s full-time assistants, couldn’t get the mother’s comment out of her mind, so she and her husband reached out to McMullin Real Estate and were given $500 to purchase new bicycles.

They took the money to Academy Sports in Kannapolis. When they explained what they were doing, Academy Sports stepped up to the plate and covered the rest of cost of bikes and helmets for nine boys.

Two weeks ago, Chapman’s class took an all-day field trip to the Asheboro Zoo.

When they returned, the bikes were waiting on the students at the school.

It was arranged for the bikes to be delivered and waiting on students when parents. Neither the students nor parents had any idea what was waiting for them at the school.

Fink told the students that it was a hard choice, but they could only choose one person to receive a bike. When the stage curtains were pulled back, however, there was a bike waiting for each student.