WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Summer Camp-Kinhaven

Summer Camp-Kinhaven

Weston, Vermont - August 5, 2011

In the hills of Weston, Vt., the sounds of classical music can be heard through the trees every morning. Summer camp at Kinhaven is underway. This is the senior group; they range in age from entering high school, to the summer before college. It's a 6-week camp for those who love music.

Anthony Mazzocchi is the co-director of this camp, along with his wife.

"It's really form fitting to any kind of student," he explained. "We have students who come here and want a really rigorous musical experience with top-level faculty from around the nation and they get that. And the evidence of that is that we have students from top conservatories all around the world. There are other students who just absolutely love music, but they just want to be in an environment where they are playing at top level and they have the rest of the day to decompress from what is otherwise a really intense year."

And they do decompress. This is summer camp after all, and these are teenagers. During free time, you'll find them listening to rock music on the lawn, reading or playing volleyball. But even when they are hanging out, or working on art projects, music never seems to be too far from their minds.

"I used violin strings, and wove them into hemp necklaces."

"That's so cool, I want to do that!"

It is competitive to get into this camp. There are live tryouts in New York City, and these days, kids can also try out through YouTube videos. Kids come from as far away as Italy and Brazil, but Jenna Jordan grew up just a few minutes away from Kinhaven.

"I think I was three or four when we first started coming to concerts here because my dad is really into classical music," she said. "So he was always coming to the concerts and he would bring me when I was really little, and I've been coming every summer since."

Co-director Deborah Buck tells us it is always sad when camp is over.

"They are making wonderful music together, and over the course of the time, 6 weeks, you can imagine relationships form, really strong, and there's not a dry eye here on Sunday morning," Buck said.

Campers Noelle Ike, Carol Lee, Juliette Weis agree!

"It's the saddest thing! You can't even imagine!"

"It really comes as a shock!"

"I don't cry, except I cry after the concert, yeah."

This weekend there will be three free concerts, open to the public. They are on Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 10 a.m. And then, that's when the kids have to say goodbye.

Sharon Meyer - WCAX Weather