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What happened at the event?

• A chance to focus on the type of music involved with two of our major projects active during 2016: StreetSounds and 4M.
• Balkan brass with Morgan Heenan and Aiden Purdy.
• Marimba sessions with Dave Paxton, Ian Chambers and Andy Rigby.
• Samba percussion with Steve Schultz.
• Folk strings with Terry Cole, Jen Hawley and Brian Strating.
• A host of great singing sessions with Betty McLaughlin, Libby Price, Margaret Crichton, Sarah Mandie, Annabelle Tunley and Kerry Clarke.
• New Zealand songs with Jack Savenye and Luke Hiki.
• Accordions with Amanda Testro and Oli Hinton.
• Uke sessions with Tanya Nolan.
• Jam session with Steve Jackson.
• Kwela tunes with Andy Rigby and Polly Christie.
• Younger persons sessions with Alena Schneider, Emily Hayes, Tony Hicks, Dani Rocca and Adam Burke.
• Opportunities for workshop leaders and others to develop their community music leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment,
• And last but not least, two 'all in ensembles' and a procession with Lyndal Chambers and Steve Schultz.

Open to everyone whether a CMVic Member or not, this unique and fun event brought together in one place choirs and street bands, young and old, beginners and old hands.  As well as lots of opportunities for singing and playing music, there were leadership skills sessions for both singers and instrumentalists too.  Great workshop leaders from all over Victoria ran a wonderful variety of sessions, and the camp provided lots of space for enjoying all the free time people wanted.

A total of 161 people came to the event, including 26 under 25's.

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What did people think about it? Some responses from our evaluation questionnaire

We asked what the best thing about the weekend had been, and here are a few of the responses people gave: 

• "The wonderful sense of community, inclusiveness and infectious fun. It was great seeing the children there (of all ages), included and involved. There were some incredibly inspiring leaders - what energy and enthusiasm!"
• "The welcoming atmosphere and structure of the weekend which included all ages, abilities and experience."
• "All of the different workshops, there was lots of variety and something for everyone. It was great to meet lots of people too."
• "The setting - loved the environment, trees, very quite campsite options, views. Hard to look past the program and friendly people, but it really was stunning." 
• "Inclusiveness- from kids to people with mobility issues, from seasoned performers to people who've never made a sound on an instrument, everybody got to have a go."
• "Seeing my wife, who has always regarded herself as not musical, ecstatic, singing, playing drum, playing uke, playing with the marimbas and generally immersing herself in the fun of the camp."
• "The ensemble sessions, the parade, the Balkan workshop, the singing round the camp fire with a view over Westernport Bay, the Peace be With You final sing - beautiful!"
• "The friendliness of the people and how well organised everything was."
• "How well everyone treated each other, and the elements of fun! Also the beautiful campground, surroundings!"

We asked people what we could have done to improve the weekend:

• "Nothing comes to mind..."
• "Shower facilities for campers." (These will be improved for the music camp at Grantville in 2017).
• "The rooms for some of the workshops seemed a bit small for the amount of people in them (eg folk strings). Everyone was a bit squished in." (We are working on this for 2017)
• "Although the food was adequate I was a little disappointed with the menu." (We will be changing this for 2017)

We also asked people if they'd learned something new or done something different over the weekend:

• "Played accordion in a buddy context."
• "Hearing Marimba played so well on the Friday night inspired me to give it a go and really enjoyed the experience."
• "I got to play instruments other than my main instrument."
• "I learnt the uke for the first time, and I'm going to continue to play."
• "Buddies for beginners - learnt guitar."
• "The whole event was new to us as a family- I have done alternative festivals where I've been involved in workshops but this was longer and more hands on for me."
• "Discovering that my accordion is playable, worth restoring and worth learning to play."
• "Exposed to some wonderful Jewish music. Learnt some Klezma style music which I enjoyed a lot even though it is not my favourite style."
• "I loved the drumming, learnt so much."
• "Learned to trust."
• "How to sing in a men's group and how to harmonise."
• "Fresh ideas about how to arrange songs."
• "Tips about writing songs and improvisation."
• "I learnt a number of new approaches to workshop leadership and had many other techniques confirmed."
• "Heaps of new tunes, more about improvising and a supportive environment in which to try."
• "Being a guitar buddy (never tried to teach/help a beginner before)."
• "Balkan Brass Music - it was fantastic playing with a Tuba Bass!"

 Finally, we asked people to describe their experience at the music camp in 3 words. We had a heap of different ones, but these were the most used. Numbers indicate repeats:

• Fun  (28)
• Inclusive (13)
• Inspiring (12)
• Friendly  (7)
• Relaxing (6)
• Welcoming (5)

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