More than 30 high school students from around Southwest Florida and as far as West Virginia marched into South Village June 14 for band camp – more precisely, a drum major and section leader clinic.
It was the first satellite camp offered at FGCU by Smith Walbridge Clinics, the oldest provider of marching-band workshops in the United States, established in 1949 and based at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. It is intended to become another of the many annual summer camps offered at FGCU, which include numerous athletics programs and academic events such as the CEO Academy and STEM Camp.
Participants enjoyed a slice of college life, staying overnight in Osprey Hall, chowing down at SoVi Dining Hall and practicing
drills on the South Village soccer field. Four senior FGCU music majors also took part in 4 ½ days of activities, which included band-conducting workshops and choreographed marches.
“Smith Walbridge has a long tradition of excellence. The reputation of this camp will further our mission of becoming a dynamic music school,” said Rod Chesnutt, Head of Instrumental Studies in the Bower School of Music & the Arts. “We have music education students doing internships this fall with schools that have marching bands. This is a good transition for them.”
Gary Smith of Naples, whose parents founded Smith Walbridge and who published a textbook on marching band methods, said the FGCU camp could eventually attract hundreds of students.
“We hope this will grow to become a major resource for the Southeastern United States,” said Smith, who served for more than 20 years as associate director of bands at the University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, where he conducted the nationally famous Marching Illini.
Smith Walbridge president and head clinician Barry Houser, the current Illini director, said participants learned showmanship and leadership as well as marching skills at the camp.
“We hope with what they’re doing here, students will go back and assist their band directors. We’re providing them the tools and resources,” he told parents and others at an awards ceremony concluding the camp.
For more information about summer camps offered at FGCU, click here. For more about the Bower School of Music & the Arts, click here.
See more photos here.