Welcome to the Encore adventure!
Singers arrived yesterday evening for a week at the Hallowed Hills campground – a week to build musicianship, to promote wellness, and to nurture the spirit.
The first rehearsal served to introduce our staff which includes many experienced educators. The total years of camp experience for the entire staff adds to more than three centuries! Parents and friends were invited to stay for this first rehearsal, which allows parents and singers a blank canvas on which to paint the incredible transformation of this Encore adventure!
Later in the evening, Darrell Rubel, a Leadership Development consultant and our resident Chief of Fun, and James Vaughn, a vocal music teacher at Van Buren Local Schools, led the singers on tours of our camp facilities. Classrooms and rehearsal rooms this week are all named after famous choral conductors and mentors to Mr. Snyder, including Paul Christiansen, Fred Waring, Helen Kemp, John Ness Beck and Weston Noble. As singers became oriented with their rehearsal and social spaces, staff prepared for the evening’s Opus Huddles.
An opus is a work of art, as modelled by the friendships and close connections fostered by these small groups. At Encore, an opus consists of two staff members and five or six students and will meet each morning for a Huddle, where we review the previous day, discuss blessings and challenges, and share our experiences.
After an evening of introductions, games, and snacks in our opera (the plural of ‘opus’), we said goodnight and settled into our comfortable Hallowed Hills beds to prepare for our first full day of this Encore adventure!