Itawamba Community College hosts Band Camp
Hundreds of high school students are refining their skills, and getting a taste of college life at annual Band Camp
FULTON, MISS. (WCBI) – It’s mid-morning at Band Camp, and students in the color guard are practicing.
The drum line is going through drills.
And inside the Fine Arts Center, Mantachie High School rising Senior Addalyn West is learning about teamwork.
This is the fourth ICC Band Camp for West. She said it helps her in many ways.
“Taught me how not just to play with my group but to play with other groups around, so I can just adjust in a different way, and then Color Guard wise, opened my mind up to new things, new techniques, ways to do dances, flags, and sabers and stuff,” said West.
Students are recommended for the camp by their Band Directors, who also teach at the week-long camp.
“It is a good refresher course; there is a lot of information we can’t teach in a class of 100 students, but there are things we can teach in smaller groups,” said Len Killough, band director at Hernando High School.
‘As a director, getting to work with other students and help them learn stuff and help them be better musicians,” said Aaron Bailey, band director at Oxford High School.
Students at Band Camp live at ICC throughout the week. They stay in the dorms and eat their meals in the cafeteria. For ICC, it is a big recruiting tool.
“As you can imagine, bringing 500 students of any age, before their collegiate career, bringing that many students onto our campus is a huge deal and definitely supports our band program,” said Ryan Todd, director of Bands at Itawamba Community College.
“If you want your kids to experience all the things out there, you need to get them to places like this, they can meet new friends, the dorms, it is so amazing here,” said Carter Murphy, a rising sophomore at Mooreville High School.
Band camp wraps up Friday, June 27, with a concert in the Fine Arts Center.
Any high school student interested in Band Camp is encouraged to talk with their band director as soon as the new school year starts.
