I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places...

Hello everyone! I am so excited to see you all in a month. Can you believe it, a month!! This will be my 2nd YPC Erie Choir Camp and I am thrilled to be a part of it again. When I transferred up to Erie for school, I was very anxious about not being a part of something or not fitting in. Then, one day, Dr. Bishop asked me to be a rehearsal assistant for YPC and I found a family to be a part of. I cannot wait to see all your shining faces and to hear you do what you do best, sing! I get the best feeling in the world when I listen to you sing. Seeing all of you new and returning choir camp members come together and do what you love for a week is one of the greatest experiences I have had. I am sure all of you will feel the same. We are all one big family, joined together by music, and it's a wonderful thing. I feel like a momma hen when I'm there, because I am so proud of all of you for what you accomplish at camp. All the camp counselors have been talking about this week for a very long time and we are all looking forward to reuniting with you and meeting some of you for the first time!

I'll be seeing you,

Danielle

Reflections from Past Choir Camps...

YPC Erie Choir Camp is not only a time to grow as a family, as a singer, and as an individual, it is a time to reflect on life. Choir Camp not only helped me to enhance qualities like leadership, communication and patience, it allowed me to create lifelong connections. I have never been to a more meaningful camp in my entire life. I always look forward to the week in August- to me it's more exciting that Christmas. I love being able to spend so much of each day singing, laughing, making new friends and strengthening my old friendships. Those that attend Choir Camp always inspire me to be a better person, to work harder and to love more deeply. Not only do you get to learn amazing music, you get to learn things about yourself and develop skills that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Reflecting back on my past 2 years of Choir Camp I can see how much I have grown, and have watched the YPC Erie family grow- and I can't wait to see what this year brings. I'm counting down the days, and hope that you are too.

Below I'm including some of my favorite singing/choir quotes, and some of my favorite photos from Choir Camp!

With love and song,
Sarah Mobley

"Those who wish to sing always find a song."
"I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing." ~William James
"Life is a song. Love is the music."
"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~George Eliot

Come On, Come All

When I was in middle and high school, summer music camps were the highlight of my year. There is something exciting about one week straight of great music making with old and new friends. The friends that I made at these camps went on to become some of my best friends that I still talk to and see to this day. Spending a week with a group of people with similar interests and drive makes the experience even more worthwhile.

Consider the reasons you love music.

Do you love to sing because you can express yourself?
Because you enjoy the collaboration with other individuals?
Because of your drive for success and mastery?
Because of the people you sing with?

Well... if you answered yes to any of these then it is clear that camp is for you. You will get to experience all of these on an all new level. I hope to see you all there and share in making my first camp experience with YPC Erie a great one!

Mr. Rich Basler, YPC Erie Director of Community Engagement

Come and Knock on Our Door. . .

Hey guys and gals, camp is exactly one month away and I cannot wait! (Hopefully all of your registrations are in by now…) The thing that excites me the most is seeing a bunch of you guys come in, some knowing each other and some not, but all leaving with a feeling of family- and what a family to be a part of! I like to think of myself as that one uncle you can tell anything to and he’ll totally understand where you’re coming from. But that’s just me- you have all of the other rock star counselors to be able to talk to day or night, be it for a laugh on Monday or a shoulder to cry on that last day. We are all very excited to get to spend a week with you all again, and meeting some of you for the first time. We all know the main reason why we are here, but just as important are the friendships and experiences we all make together over the course of several days. For better or best, we’re in this together and we will all inspire one another to try harder than we think possible, have more fun than we can imagine, and all the while gaining a good hard look at just what we are capable of when we put our collective minds together. As they say, two heads are better than one but as I say, 100 heads are even better than that.

See y’all soon!

Mike (aka Ducky)

The Week That Changed My Life

My first experience with YPC Erie was the first annual summer camp in 2009. It is literally the week that changed my life. From the welcoming gestures and professionalism of the staff to the
love of singing that the choristers displayed, I knew that I had found my musical home. Seeing and hearing everyone making great music and having a blast while doing it was inspiring! I knew from that week what an incredible organization YPC Erie was becoming.

Fast forward to the second annual summer camp “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”… The excitement of being at the camp was evident not only in how quickly everyone learned and memorized all the songs, lyrics AND movements, but also through the dedication of the campers and staff to create a COMMUNITY of singers. The camp learned of Dr. Bishop’s vision for a group of people who respected and cared for each other regardless of their differences. As a professional youth choral organization that vision continues to be at the heart of who YPC Erie is.

Why should you come to the third annual YPC Erie choir camp? That’s easy. Because you will learn about music and singing, make new friends, perform, be inspired, be motivated and be challenged. Nonetheless, who doesn’t like singing TV show theme songs?! Let it be the week that
changes your life!

Mr. Patrick Rose, Accompanist for YPC Erie Young Men's Chorus

Tell Your Friends!

Choir Camp is just around the corner and I hope you are as excited about it as I am! I’ve been hard at work finding music and making the schedule for the day campers. Let me tell you – this is one week you won’t want to miss! If you are participating in camp as a day camper, each day will represent a different TV channel. All the activities will represent the theme for the day, and we will be creating our very own television channel and composing original theme music for it! It is going to be an awesome week full of music making, new friends, and lots of fun! So make sure you get your registration form in by July 8 and tell your friends too! See you in August!

Ms. Caitlin Henning, YPC Erie Assistant Conductor & Director of Education

The Highlight of the Summer

It is hard to believe our third annual choir camp is almost here! I love the excitement around choir camp: meeting new people, performing new music, and seeing current YPC Erie choristers after a long month of July without any rehearsals. Choir camp planning is part of the fun and I love seeing how the schedule of daily events, performances, and music programming begin to take shape. Camp is a different experience from one year to the next, but is always memorable and is for many the highlight of the summer. Not only is camp an opportunity for the YPC Erie staff to share our knowledge with campers, but for campers to share knowledge with each other AND with staff. It always amazes me how easily non-members and current YPC Erie members come together for the week, bonding through singing music together as well as participating in different activities and experiences together. We learn so much from our campers every year and I look forward to another great YPC Erie choir camp!

Remember to get those registration forms in by July 8!

Dr. Sarah Kahl, YPC Erie Chief of Staff