MAT Camp 2011

Let's start with some background, shall we?

Since about 1998 or 1999, I've played in the Murray Symphony Orchestra, a community organization near Salt Lake City, Utah.  Through a friend in this group, I've come to know about the awesomeness that is Young Musicians and MAT Camp (music, arts and technology), held each year in Evanston, Wyoming.

When Carolee first suggested I attend, my first thought was that I was MUCH too old to be going to band camp.  But it turns out there are students of all ages there, and over the years, I've enjoyed taking all sorts (well, some sorts) of classes. 

Though I know my way around a keyboard, I'm certainly not a pianist.  Taking some technique classes was very worthwhile for me.

I've played clarinet for about 25 years now, and if I do say so myself, I'm pretty decent at it.  And yet there's always something to be learned.

Tenor saxophone.  Ah, yes.  Not my best instrument.  Picked it up a few years back because the MAT Camp Jazz band needed bodies.  I had previously played alto in a dance band for a wedding, and the music was fairly easy.  I'd played soprano in a pit orchestra and that wasn't much of a stretch.  But the tenor is huge.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to put air all the way through the instrument in order to get the lower notes.

Well, 5 years later, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable on the instrument, and I have some great teachers at MAT Camp to thank.

Anyway, that's more background than I needed to provide, I guess.  My point is that it's been a lot of fun for me and my family.  The kids have taken some music classes, some arts and crafts, and even some dance and gymnastics classes.  Sarah and I have stuck with music so far, but are seriously considering comedy improv for next year.

And now I have one

I've been wanting to do this for years, but I get hung up on trying to think of a name for it.  Enough, I say!  Here I finally have a space to start writing, and if I ever think of a name that's more descriptive, I'll transfer to that. 

So, this is kind of scary for me.  I'm not a writer by any means, but I often feel I should put my thoughts and experiences down "on paper" and I thought this would be the best way to do it.  Does this mean I have any thoughts at the moment?  Hardly! It does mean, however, that I finally found a little time to get this sucker set up.

Well, we'll see how this goes, I guess.