Music School with a Star Wars/Jedi Master twist.

This camp is all about music and space.  The cosmos has inspired a ton of great music.  Historically, music has also been understood to be a reflection of cosmic order, and vice versa.  Group activities and projects (drumming, singing, chanting, concentration and music theory exercises and games) focus on space-themed music and films.  Along the way, we'll cover same basic lessons about the universe, our solar system, planets, moons, stars, comets, gravity and more.  And for kicks, we'll do some goofy things like using pool noodles for light sabers.  

Musical source selections will range from famous orchestral film scores by Williams and others to their inspiration in Gustav Holst's The Planets and tone poems like Also spruce Zarathustra by Richard Strauss.  We'll tie in other famous tv and film scores, including Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, and scenes like the playful tone pattern dialogue from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Popular and rock music with literal or metaphorical references to the cosmos, outer space or space travel will also be incorporated, including Bowie's Space Oddity, the jazz standard Fly Me to the Moon, and more modern works by Ligeti (Atmospheres), John Coltrane (Mars), and Miles Davis.      

Private lessons on the instrumet of choice included.

Students divided by age and skill level.  Beginners and more experienced students welcome.

All things piano. Classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, the piano has occupied a central role in many styles of music since its invention by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy around the year 1700. It’s also been a focal point of musical education for American children since the mid 1800s.

CMC Atlanta Piano Camp provides beginners and more experienced players alike the opportunity to develop both playing skills and musical understanding and awareness. Through a mix of private lessons and group activities (singing, drumming, arts and crafts, theory games and projects), students will learn good technique, build their knowledge of the fundamentals of music, and tackle a couple of age and skill appropriate compositions. Piano Camp also includes introduction of historical repertoire (from virtuosic to famous pieces, like Fur Elise, that most piano students learn along the way), lessons in how the piano works, projects that introduce important composers for the instrument (from Muzio Clementi to Mozart, Chopin, to Thelonious Monk and Elton John), and live performances by CMC Atlanta Artist Resident Teachers.

For beginners, we gear the curriculum to laying a firm foundation to support playing and continued study after camp. For more experienced players, we introduce new solo and collaborative pieces, more advanced concepts, and teach improvisation, a skill overlooked in many piano studios. When it comes to improvisation, even experienced students mostly start from scratch when they come to our camp, and most students enjoy having this world of artistic expression opened for them in an encouraging setting. 

Students divided by age and skill level. Beginners and more experienced students welcome.

Since Little Richard, Chuck Berry and others burst on the scene in the 1950s, rock has been the language of American youth. Its energy and raw emotion provide a perfect vehicle for personal expression and providing a sense of belonging.

With a goal of fostering this sense of community and a place for students to connect and be themselves, CMC Atlanta Rock Campers jam every day with faculty and peers. And as far as rocking goes, doing it is the best way to learn. We play a variety of rock styles, from classic to progressive to pop and even hard rock. Our rock curriculum for each camper also includes private lessons (in voice or on the instrument of choice), basic music theory, songwriting, a survey of rock history, and performance projects. Rock Camp culminates with an informal in-house showcase at each camp location. If interested, campers are also eligible to join either or both of our two CMC Atlanta Summer Showcases: one will be held at Seven Stages on Saturday, June 30 and the other on Friday, July 20 at Atlanta Music High School (in the North Druid Hills/Brookhaven area). Logistics of the optional Summer Showcase participation are worked out with each camper’s family upon registration.

Since we group by age and skill level, beginners and more experienced musicians alike are welcome in our camp.

Musicals utilize popular song styles to tell our stories. Whether on stage or on film, they give us some of our most beloved narratives, characters, melodies and stage moments. They charm us, move us, teach us many lessons about life and are a magical communal experience for all ages.

The CMC Atlanta Music Theater Camp focuses students on process, especially the musical element of the triple threat art form. Based on their interests and suggestions from faculty, students choose scenes and songs from age appropriate musicals. Each camper is assigned solo and/or small ensemble roles, as desired. Campers spend the week rehearsing for an informal music theater showcase on the last day of camp.

In this camp, students sing, sing, and sing some more. Vocal coaching covers expression, technique, tone, intonation, blend, harmony and more. Camp also includes light acting instruction, simple choreography, set design and costuming. In years past, students have chosen scenes from from classics like Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka, The Wizard of Oz, Mulan, The Sound of Music, The Lion King, Newsies, Hamilton, and more.

Since we group by age and skill level, beginners and more experienced students alike are welcome. At the CMC Atlanta Music Theater Camp, every child is star!

Grab your axe or borrow one of ours and come jam with us. And since we group students by both age and skill level, the CMC Atlanta Guitar Camp is open to beginners and more advanced players.

CMC Atlanta Guitar provides beginners and more experienced players alike the opportunity to develop both playing skills and their understanding of musical concepts. Through a mix of private lessons and group activities, students will learn good technique, build their knowledge of the fundamentals of music, learn about amps, pedals, and effects, and tackle a couple of age and skill appropriate songs. Camp includes a variety of group activities like singing, drumming, theory drills and projects, and indoor and outdoor games. The curriculum incorporates a survey of historical repertoire (from simple compositions most children learn to virtuosic masterpieces), projects that introduce important composers and famous performers, and live performances by CMC Atlanta Artist Resident Teachers. Our young musicians are also engaged by both traditional and more contemporary uses of the guitar in classical, jazz, rock, and folk music.

Rhythm is an essential component of most kinds of music and drummers are invaluable to many kinds of musical groups. Not only do drummers set the timing and pacing of a song (and help other musicians keep with the beat), they also contribute to its feeling, movement and formal composition.

The CMC Atlanta Drum Camp immerses students in a week long program focused on drum technique and musical expression. Students start by getting to know the drum set itself, and they learn how to identify its components, properly assemble, disassemble and set up a kit. The camp curriculum also focuses on stick technique, because whether just beginning or playing for years, stick technique can always be improved upon. Kick pedal technique and basic coordination are included in our studies, too.

While we emphasize by rote learning and feeling rhythmic flow on the drum kit, notation is also a key area of concentration because basic to more advanced rhythmic reading and application is crucial for any drummer, whether they are playing a single surface, pad or snare drum, or splitting rhythms and reading them over an entire drum set with all four limbs.

Finally, Drum Camp also introduces students to a variety of drum styles. To be a versatile musician on the drum set is to learn, listen and investigate many styles of music and the grooves and patterns specific to those styles. Rock, funk, shuffle, swing, reggae, Afro-cuban, blues, second line, drum corps, among many others, all incorporate different musical approaches. Through listening to, learning about, and playing great music, we ourselves can learn from our heroes and keep pushing to create, innovate, and strive to hone our craft as music makers.

Since we group by age and skill level, beginners and more experienced students alike are welcome.

Please note: no camp July 4

Violinists, violists, and cellists, all are welcome. And since we group students by both age and skill level, the CMC Atlanta String Camp is open to beginners and more advanced players.

CMC Atlanta String Camp provides beginners and more experienced players alike the opportunity to develop both playing skills and their understanding of musical concepts. Through a mix of private lessons and group activities, students will learn good technique, build their knowledge of the fundamentals of music, and tackle a couple of age and skill appropriate compositions. Camp includes a variety of group activities like singing, drumming, theory drills and projects, and indoor and outdoor games. The curriculum incorporates a survey of historical repertoire (from simple compositions most children learn to virtuosic masterpieces), projects that introduce important composers and famous performers, and live performances by CMC Atlanta Artist Resident Teachers.  Our young musicians are also engaged by both traditional and more contemporary uses of string instruments in classical, jazz, rock, and folk music.

Campers take private lessons with CMC Atlanta faculty.  For beginners, we gear the curriculum to laying a firm foundation to support the potential for ongoing study after camp. For more experienced players, we introduce new solo and collaborative pieces, more advanced musical concepts, and teach improvisation, a skill overlooked in many studios. When it comes to improvisation, even experienced students mostly start from scratch when they come to our camp, and most students enjoy having this world of artistic expression opened for them in an encouraging setting.

All CMC Atlanta Day Camps for Kids are sensitive to developmental needs of children. While the students are immersed in the world of strings at the camp, there are breaks throughout the day, play time at nearby parks, and fun activities to provide an appropriate balance, especially for summer.

Conjunction Junction, Interplanet Janet, I’m Just a Bill, No More King.

Schoolhouse Rock music videos are some of the most memorable ever produced for tv. This camp immerses students in the world of these seemingly timeless educational gems. The camp is geared to recreating them in live performance. It’s a fun way to get kids singing, playing, drumming, writing and recording music, storyboarding and staging a scene or video shoot, and more. On and off throughout the day, campers learn parts, create music and scenes and rehearse. During the morning and afternoon breaks, students will take up summertime favorites, activities like playing kickball, frisbee, or four square or heading to the ice cream shop.

Schoolhouse Rock Camp includes private lessons on the instrument of choice. Beginners will be provided necessary support to get started. More advanced players will be coached on more advanced concepts and skills and for those who are ready, play along when students gather to sing the Schoolhouse Rock scores. By using standard method books and lead sheets from the Schoolhouse Rock catalogue, all students will start learning to read music and charts, or in the case of more experienced players, improve their reading and their improv/chart rendering skills.

All CMC Atlanta camp activities are designed to meet the needs of the specific students who attend. Both beginners and more experienced students are welcome.

“Since its birth, the debate has raged on about just what is and isn’t country music. Country music is decidedly American– pieced together from English folk traditions in the hills of the Appalachian mountains and meddled together with popular and religious music with the final touch of the singer’s personal experience– country music has always, even from the very beginning, been about the story and the experience.” (onecountry.com)

The CMC Country Music Camp empowers young musicians to find their voices and to tell stories (their own and others’) through music. Campers join us for a week of immersion in country and folk traditions, from old time roots to alt-country, outlaw, honky tonk, Nashville and countrypolitan sounds. The camp curriculum includes private lessons (voice or instrumental). Students will also learn basic music theory, songwriting, and participate in performance projects. Camp culminates with an informal in-house showcase at each camp location.

Since we divide by age and skill level, our Country and Folk Camp is open to beginners and advanced students alike.