While the hallways of Southwestern Michigan College may be subdued during most weeks of the summer, they’ll be alive with the melody of vocal music this week.

The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is holding its annual Youth Summer Choral Camp this week at the college. Led by SMC Choir Director David Carew, 31 students from middle schools in Edwardsburg, Niles, Brandywine, Cassopolis, Buchanan, Dowagiac, Watervliet, St. Joseph and Berrien Springs are participating in this year’s weeklong program.

This is the eighth year the festival has organized the choral camp. Carew, a longtime member of the Dogwood board of directors, has been the architect for the program since its inception, said festival secretary Bobbie Jo Hartline.

“It was one of the things we always talked about,” she said. “He wanted to do a youth vocal camp, to develop the kids’ ability to read and perform music. The first year we were able to do that was very exciting, to see that dream come true for him.”

Assisting Carew with instruction for the week are members of the Dowagiac Chorale, with three people helping out for the entire week and other members popping in to help whenever they can,
Hartline said.

Over the course of the week the students will learn various aspects of singing, including basic musicianship, improvisation and song characterization. In the process, they also develop new relationships with students from all over southwest Michigan.

“It’s a little difficult to step forward and talk to someone new, much less work together with them as a team,” Hartline said. “However, they are different kids by the time they leave on Friday. Our instructors love that, to see them develop over the span of a week.”

In providing the camp to area children, the festival fulfills one its core goals of educating the public of the importance of the fine arts, Hartline said. Programs such as these helps supplements the education in the arts that kids are exposed to in public education.

“This is one area where we can help pick up the slack,” Hartline said. “It’s here in their backyard, at a reasonable price, with people from the community helping out.”

The students will cap their week off with a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Dale Lyons Theatre at the college. It will be provided free of charge to the public.