Just a couple of thoughts about this year’s CVJC 2010 week, now that we have successfully completed the camp! As I said at the concert at the Oxford Theater, it was an amazing “coming-together” of students from schools all over Eau Claire and beyond. To see students from Regis, North and Memorial—all in the same band, well that’s just cool. And we had students from 6th grade on up to seniors. We had beginners to very advanced players. And they all got along just fine, thank you!

If you were to have strolled down the halls during the camp, you would’ve heard students applying all kinds of new techniques and approaches to jazz and their instruments. I heard sax kids trying out “tongue slaps”, I noticed trumpeters trying out mutes they’d not used before, young drummers testing out new rhythmic patterns, pianists doing 2-handed grooves, guitarists practicing voicings, and trombonists getting a better grip on plunger vs. slide coordination. Some of these things are little steps, some are intermediate steps forward toward a larger goal and still others are major advancements which happen in the blink of an eye! All are crucial to the development of our young musicians—and not just for their musical development. When someone, young or old, makes a break-through of any kind, it fosters confidence and the belief that, “If I can do this, maybe there’s even more I can achieve”. It’s an exciting process, both inside and outside of the musical world. I know I speak for all the excellent staffers when I say, “way to go, jazzers—keep swingin’!”

Bruce Hering – CVJC Executive Director