Meet Emma, a first-time student at Merit’s Clarinet Camp. Fourteen-year-old Emma has been playing clarinet for a year and a half, and this summer she wants to improve her technique and expand her repertoire. Throughout the year, she practices frequently at home, where her baby brother tries to mimic her clarinet playing with his fidget toy.
Throughout the week, Emma learned classical clarinet repertoire, studied with renowned guest clarinetists, caught live performances at Merit and the Grant Park Music Festival, and more. She joined five other students and Merit’s renowned faculty for a week of group rehearsals, practice tips, and chamber music.
Though this is Emma’s first Clarinet Camp experience, she is no stranger to the Nancy W. Knowles Summer Camp Program here at Merit School of Music. When she enrolled in Camp Merit last summer, she had only been playing the clarinet for six months. She was challenged by the music she played in band, especially daunted by notes so high she’d never played them before. Resilient, she became more and more comfortable with playing high notes so that, by the time she tried out for her high school’s Symphonic Band in the fall, her range earned her a coveted spot. This summer, she is sure to face more challenges that will grow her abilities as a musician. Follow Emma through her week at Clarinet Camp!
Day One: Liftoff!
On July 7, Merit opened its doors to the camp students. Students arrived at 10am to check in and start warm-ups led by their instructor, Anna Najoom. In addition to warming up on their instrument, the class warmed up to each other through ice-breakers and camp activities.
Once the ice was broken, the young clarinetists shifted their focus to ensemble music. While most of the students were used to playing in a concert band where the clarinets are vastly out-numbered, this clarinet-only ensemble gave them a useful opportunity to better hear their instrument and their section. As Ms. Najoom puts it, the students are “in an ensemble where everyone can be heard and each part is important—you can’t hide, you have to count. Watching [the students] build their confidence is really exciting.”
After the morning’s ensemble rehearsal, students took a lunch break at noon and hung out in the community room. Emma and her new friends filled the time with card games and getting to know students from the Piano Camp and Flute Camp. The rest of her day was spent with more ensemble work, rehearsing, and getting to know her fellow campers. A challenging, fun first day was finally complete, but with faculty recitals, field trips, and performances ahead, Emma had a lot to look forward to.
Growing Enrollment and Excitement
The next morning, students from Merit’s Clarinet, Flute, and Piano Camps congregated first thing to witness a faculty recital and lecture led by Anna Najoom.
Ms. Najoom, a member of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, is back for another year of instructing Clarinet Camp. For the faculty recital, she engaged her students through a conversational atmosphere, accompanying the performance with technical explanations and historical background of each piece. She played a contrasting set list, taking her audience everywhere from the late baroque period to the contemporary works of jazz clarinetists. She was joined by fellow Merit faculty Susan Crandall on flute and Ligia Takei on piano.
Though Ms. Najoom works closely with the clarinetists throughout the week, she also called on some of her renowned colleagues and peers to teach masterclasses. This year, the students got to learn from Wagner Campos, a member of DePaul University’s music faculty and a frequent performer with Broadway in Chicago, and Dr. Bonnie Campbell, on faculty at VanderCook University and Merit. Emma recounts her biggest take-away from the masterclass with Campos: “Always have more than one reed!” Campos also showed the students that the clarinet, like any instrument, takes a lot of attention to detail. Every articulation can be more exaggerated, dynamics can be more powerful. “The caliber of guests that we’re able to get to come to Merit,” says Ms. Najoom, “it’s remarkable the people that will come and work with [our students].”
Grant Park Music Festival: Exploring the City
The third and final guest teacher introduced to students was Dario Brignoli, the principal clarinet for both the Grant Park Orchestra and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Students not only got to learn from Brignoli but got a glimpse into his life as a performer at the Grant Park Music Festival.
On Wednesday afternoon, students piled into a bus and took a trip down to Grant Park, where they met musicians from the Grant Park Orchestra. After a backstage tour and some introductions, students found their seats to hear the symphony play Má Vlast by Bedřich Smetana. In preparation for this concert, the clarinet students had learned an arrangement of Má Vlast at camp earlier that week. “They’re learning the main themes and playing it at camp, and then they can hear the professional orchestra at the concert later that night,” explained Ms. Najoom. This field trip gave the students a rare chance to witness behind-the-scenes a professional musician’s career—an opportunity that may just inspire them to start a career of their own.
Final Performance: Time to Shine!
As the week at Clarinet Camp concluded, the students prepared for a cumulative performance on Friday afternoon. The repertoire students had learned throughout the week—both in the clarinet-only ensemble and in the large ensemble with flutes—was now performed for a crowd of supportive parents and siblings in Merit’s Anne and Howard Gottlieb Hall. “We have kids coming from all different areas that don’t know each other, so it’s great seeing them bond; they’re excited,” says Ms. Najoom. “The kids are very supportive.”
Flute instructor Susan Crandall added: “It’s nice for the flutes and clarinets to play together. They have that feeling of balancing and getting used to playing and blending with each other, because the timbre of the instruments are a little different.”
To say the least, Emma has had a jam-packed week. Between hours of rehearsing new repertoire, meticulously improving technique, studying with world-class clarinetists, and hanging with her new friends, she certainly has a lot to take in.
But Emma’s musical journey doesn’t end after Merit’s Clarinet Camp. Next year, she will be joining Merit’s Alice S. Pfaelzer Conservatory where she will continue to flourish as a clarinetist and musician. Her experiences at Merit’s camps have set her up to grow and face challenges as a musician, and her experiences in the conservatory will set her up to face the world.
