How to Find a Marching Band Summer Camp

Summer band camps and marching clinics have become a standard for many high school band programs. While enjoying a summertime tradition of going away to camp, students can also hone their skills and learn new techniques that will come in handy when they go back to school in the fall.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Summer band camp referrals
• Summer band camp brochures

1. Determine what type of summer band camp to attend. To help you decide, think about whether you want a camp close to home or if it can be anywhere in the United States, how long you want the camp to last and what kind of budget you have.
2. Check Web sites of various universities, like the University of Texas at Arlington and James Madison University. Colleges large and small offer a variety of summer camps that may include programs for marching bands. If the school has a large marching band of its own, odds are it offers music-related summer camps.
3. Search camps by region on BandDirector. This Web site provides the location, contact information and a brief summary of what’s offered at each camp for numerous marching band summer camps throughout the United States and Canada (see Resources below).
4. Contact state and nationwide marching band associations and organizations to learn more about camps they promote or endorse. A good starting place is the U.S. Scholastic Band Association, which is operated by the staff at Youth Education in the Arts (see Resources below).
5. Find a summer camp referral service, such as the National Camp Association’s service. You can get free personalized guidance and referrals to camps worldwide by using the Camp Quest search engine on their Web site or contacting them via phone (see Resources below). They also offer articles and helpful advice about choosing a summer camp on their Web site.
6. Pick which camp best suits your needs after carefully weighing all of your options.

Tips & Warnings

• Compare cost, location, activities, duration, size and accommodations of each camp to determine which choice best fits your needs.
• Camps are held in the summer when the heat can be deadly. Camp directors must be able to recognize signs of heat-related illness, learn to prevent these illnesses and know how to handle emergency situations should they arise. Talk to directors about these concerns before choosing a marching band camp.