Ching Camara and a group of parents from the Manila Waldorf School originally organized the camp for their kids who are 12-18 years old because they play instruments -guitar and violin- but are not necessarily interested in classical music. They wanted to keep their kids interested in playing their instruments. So, they collaborated with a group of teachers headed by Butch Roxas ( brother of Ching ) from the UST Conservatory of Music. Band Camp was formed where the kids can play some classical pieces in different genres. They opened the camp to other kids as they wanted to get 30 children to make about 2 or 3 bands or ensembles.
There were free concerts every night for parents and relatives to come, and they invited other musicians to play and to give the kids master classes – like Blue Rats, Cowboy, Joey Puyat, Wally Gonzales, etc. -to expose the kids to how the musicians put the music together.
It is the first camp of its kind in the country. Jaime was the youngest in the camp and was truly a beginner but he really enjoyed bonding with the kids and now he has something to look forward to which is improving his guitar skills so he can be as good as the guys in camp and he can one day join a band to perform.
Band Camp
