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Anyone who has decided to tackle planning a four day event of any type will understand all of the work, pain and uncertainty that can be involved. Before everything falls together it seems more likely to fall apart. But we were determined to succeed!
The easy part was deciding that we wanted to do it! After that came questions like: Who? What? When? Where? and How many? Then come the questions about food and lodging, not to mention performance space! We discussed the idea, set a date, and plunged in.
Through a good friend we had access to a family oriented resort at the Lake of the Ozarks. For three years, Kammermusik had spent a long weekend at the resort making music. At the end of the weekend we would perform for the public at Kent Lutheran Memorial Church in the nearby community of Sunrise Beach. As a result of these activities, our group was known and welcome. The idea of a music camp received enthusiastic support from the community. We are very grateful for that support as there were times when we were all just a little stressed out!
It's the little things that get to you. For example, determining which cottages to book, and then being
sure the resort made changes when we changed our minds. To be
fair we also tasked the caterer by our trying to be sure that our needs were understood, when to bring food, how
many to serve, and then changing our minds about that too. The
joys of finding a piano tuner that would travel was another fun thing. But somehow things did gradually come together.
We could see the light at the end of the tunnel even if it was a bit dim from time to time.How to let people know about the camp was a major concern. Fortunately, the Internet and E-mail provided an answer. E-mail mailing lists became our first and primary method for getting the message out. We were also able to provide a lot of answers through directing people to an appropriate Web Page. This was especially useful when trying to describe the resort where we were staying.
We sent information to: the Double Reed, Klarinet, Flute, Horn, and Community Band mailing lists. Regular mail and some mailing lists were utilized as well. In the end over 100 inquiries were received.
Our biggest question and concern was - would anyone actually show up?
From: chris-jamie@juno.com (James L Mattingly)
Subject: 97 Mo. Ozarks WW Camp Resent-Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 05:18:03 +8
Hours upon hours of opportunities to play music just about 24 hours a day. I made several close contacts with other musicians who I still write to. The scenery was lovely with trees everywhere, swimming pool, quaint living quarters and more food than one could possibly eat. I plan on attending the next gathering!
The week culminated in one big concert for the community by all of the participants. It was a relaxed and extremely enjoyable time, performing the fruits of our labor for a receptive audience. No one was pressured into anything which probably accounted for the 100% participation by all the campers. Jamie.
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