October 2, 2011 The Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France

The Council of Europe is the most important political forum in all of Europe.  One of their highest priorities is the protection of children.  This year the President of The Committee of Ministers, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko is The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.  Music Camp International collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Permanent Representation of Ukraine to The Council of Europe, and the Kiev Region Administration to bring 45 children from Bucha, a small town on the outskirts of Kiev, to sing a concert dedicated to the needy children of Europe and the world.  The children prepared for 17 days.  Prior to this project, the children had never sung together or played musical instruments.  The audience was speechless to witness what these children had learned in such a short time--6 songs; four languages; and an instrumentarium on Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

September 4-9, 2011 Music Camp Returned to Iasi

Our second Music Camp in Iasi was even larger than 2010.  over 500 children attended.  Classes and rehearsals were again held at the Music High School, since it is the only school in the city with a large enough rehearsal hall to accommodate this many children.  Every class was full and every seat in the rehearsal was occupied, with another 150 chairs on the stage and in the aisles.  This year, following the premier launch in Bucharest, classes in cello were added to the already exciting list of instrument classes.  The Governor of the Iasi Judete (region), and General Inspector, Liliana Romaniuc attended the concert. Both gave tremendous support to this city-wide project and extended an invitation to Music Camp International to return in 2012. The Monseigneur spoke to the crowd about the powerful message of the repertoire sung by the children.

August 28-September 3, 2011 Rotary Clubs sponsor Music Camp in Bucharest, Romania

The Curtea Veche Rotary Club of Bucharest, Romania, is dedicated to helping the needy children of its community.  In a project designed to give these children an opportunity to experience the benefits of learning musical instruments and singing great choral music, the Rotary Club of Bucharest partnered with Rotary Clubs from California's Monterey Peninsula (Monterey Peninsula Sunrise Club and the Pacific Grove Club) to provide a Music Camp for over 500 children.  The Music Camp was endorsed by the Ministry of Education's General Inspector for Bucharest, Mr. Cristian Alexandrescu, and Music Inspector, Iulian Leventiu.  The Ministry provided the historic Mihai Viteazu high school for the rehearsals and classes. Thanks to the Rotary International Matching Grant, Music Camp International was able to purchase cellos and additional instruments for the children.

June 26-July 1, 2011; July 3-8, 2011

Music Camp returned to the beautiful medieval cities of Sibiu and Brasov. In Sibiu, the daily classes and rehearsals were held at the Brukenthal School in the old city center.  The concert at Biserica Catolica in the center of the main plaza was filled to capacity.  Children come from surrounding towns and villages to participate in this once-a-year experience.  

In Brasov, classes are held at Johannes Honterus and the concert at Biserica Neagra.  This year's concert filled the cathedral with families and friends eager to hear many of the great classical choral works.  With our 7th Music Camp in Brasov, and the "home" of our Romania Music Camp International office, We have developed good relationships with the local officials and the representatives of the Ministry of Education for the benefit of hundreds of children.

June 5-10, 2011

Music Camp International conducted Music Camp in two orphanages just outside Zaporizhzhye, Ukraine.  Matvievskiy Internat is home for 180 children between the ages of 11-15. Music Camp held classes and rehearsals here each morning. 70 more children from nearby Village Vilnyanska Internat had their first exposure to Music Camp in the afternoons.  These special children who were labeled "mentally disabled" responded so positively to their involvement in music. The concert was at the culture palace, an almost "forgotten facility" until these children brought it "back to life."  They were accompanied by a small chamber ensemble of players from the Zaporizhzhye Philharmonic.

April 17-22, 2011 Easter with the Masters, Cluj, Romania

Easter with the Masters celebrated its third year.  This year's extraordinary Festival included children and youth from other regions of Romania.  The out-of-town students stayed in the dormitory and ate in the cafeteria at Brassai Samuel, the school where Music Camp is held. The concert, on Friday, April 22, began with a procession of the beautiful English handbells and orchestra playing Hristos a inviat din morti--"Christ is Risen from the Dead!"  Then the choir sang Veniti sa ne inchinam by Romanian composer, Valentin Timaru.  Then followed the beautiful Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, and selections from the Easter portion of Handel's Messiah.  This is the only Music Camp in Romania that includes a track for high school students.  Members from the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied the choir. To hear excerpts, go to our audio/video page.  CD's can also be ordered from Music Camp International.  Go to the "How To Help" page, order your CD and pay online.

April 10-15, 2011 Music Camp for Blind and Visually Impaired Children, Cluj, Romania

Music Camp International brought its first Music Camp to the School for the Blind in Cluj, Romania.  School Director, Cornelia Codreanu, along with the Ministry of Education and the Inspector for Children with Special Needs in Cluj, collaborated with MCI to provide an historic opportunity for these children.  Their concert on April 15, 2011 in Biserica Reformata brought the audience to their feet as these children received a standing ovation.  For a video clip of their performance, click on the audio/video page and hear Emma and Lucia sing their duet on "You Raise Me Up!'

CHRISTMAS IN KIEV CELEBRATES ITS 7TH SEASON

Music Camp International conducted its 7th annual Christmas in Kiev from December 28-January 9, 2011.  This Camp brought special guests,The Lee Trio to work with the children and perform at the concert.  Daily classes and rehearsals were held at School #130 of the Goloseevskiy District.  The concert was again held at the beautiful Philharmonic Concert Hall which was filled to capacity.

August 29-September 4, 2010 Music Camp in Iasi, Romania

With a special invitation from the General Inspector, Liliana Romaniuc, and Music Inspector, Maria Popescu, Music Camp International added a new city and a new region to its camp schedule.  The city of Iasi, located in the northeast corner of Romania, gave a city-wide welcome to Music Camp International.  Collaborators for this Camp were the Ministry of Education and the Iasi-Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra.  Daily classes and rehearsals for the almost 400 music campers were at the Music High School.  The concert was at the beautiful Catholic Cathedral.  Over 1,000 were in the audience to celebrate Music Camp International's first year in this great city.  Music Camp International has made a commitment to return in September 2011.

May 30-June 5, 2010 Music Camp in Kiev, Ukraine

May 30-June 5 Music Camp International returned to Kiev, Ukraine.  Both Music Camp classes and the concert were held at the National Children's Palace, a wonderful facility for many children's activities.  It's location in the center of the city made it ideal for children from all over Kiev to attend. This is the first city day camp where blind children who had attended our Music Camp for the blind last May, attended and performed along side children who had the gift of sight.  It was beautiful to see them work together and care for each other.