Choir Camp 2010 has come to an end...

I think everyone would agree that this has been an exhausting week, but that all of our hard work paid off big time yesterday! After packing everything up in the dorms, the residential and day campers came together in McGarvey Commons to spend a little time getting ready to say goodbye. We ran a stop-start dress rehearsal to practice moving to and from each song, as the format of the program was slightly different from how the Gala was run.

In no time at all, parents began arriving and it was time to start the program. It was so nice for the campers to have the opportunity to perform for their parents and friends in the final camp performance. Showing everyone what we have been working so hard for all week was a wonderful thing. At the conclusion of the program, I saw more than one teary-eyed parent as the audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation. It must have been very powerful watching their children on stage and seeing how much can be accomplished when a very dedicated group of singers and staff come together to provide a performance of such high quality after only one week!

After the performance was over, the campers said goodbye to each other and eagerly met their parents (some perhaps less eagerly...many campers simply did not want the week to be over so soon!). Nearly 100 campers with their parents and baggage cleared out surprisingly fast, and in very little time, staff members were standing in the lobby thinking "Did this really happen? It's all over, just like that?"

Once again, we would like to say how proud we are of all of the hard work the campers did this week. All of the performances were extremely well-received, and that is in large part due to the dedication and excitement demonstrated by them this week. We would also like to express our thanks to the staff members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure that the campers had a top-notch experience throughout the week. A very special thanks to the counselors who were literally on-call 24/7 during the week. The campers bonded with their counselors in a very unique way, and I am sure they will not be forgotten!

Although the camp experience has come to an end, the YPC experience is just getting ready to roll for another year! In just a few short weeks we will resume our regular weekly rehearsal schedule, and we would love to see our campers who are not currently members of YPC become permanent members. Please look for information in the mail on what to do if you are interested in enrolling for the fall term. All new and returning choristers will complete an assessment in the first few weeks of the fall term. We are very excited for all of the upcoming events this year!

If you have been following our blog during the week, but did not attend camp, you can also have the opportunity to audition for enrollment and join us in the fall. Please see our website for more information on Fall Term Auditions: www.ypcerie.org. You can also call our office at 814-898-6789 for more info. We are also on Facebook, so look for us there as well!

If you attended camp this year and would like to share your thoughts and reflections about the experience, please feel free to comment on the blog or send your reflections to: melissa@ypcerie.org.

We would love to get your pictures from the week posted on Facebook and the blog, so feel free to email your best shots to: tiffany@ypcerie.org.

Although the blog posts may not be quite as frequent as they were during camp week, please continue to check the blog, as we will be continuing to post throughout the year to keep everyone updated on all of the exciting things we have going on during the next year!