The Story of Musicamp
If you have anything to add to the history of musicamp, please feel free to send it to musicampzim@gmail.com with the subject line: “MUSICAMPSTORY”
19 - 26 AUGUST 2001
Following the idea that had been conceived in 1989 to hold a Musicamp in the Bulawayo area, Musicamp 2001 went on a sabbatical from its usual home and was held at Falcon College from the 19th to the 26th of August.
Camp 2001 started on a fiery note…literally! On the first day of camp a bush fire had gone wild and come dangerously close to the school and all the able-bodied men had to exchange their instruments for hoses, fresh leafy branches and buckets of sand as they played firefighter for several hours. Their performance certainly deserved a standing ovation as the only casualty in all of this blazing madness was my dear friend Kombai’s pair of slops...may they find eternal peace in their ashy grave.
Our guest conductor was Graham Lea-Cox from the UK. He conducted 1st Orchestra and Blue Orchestra which was a small group made up of most of the inexperienced “teeny boppers” who had attended camp that year. His musical ability, patience and tolerance were all put to the ultimate test by this group of restless little boys and girls as they practiced within the confines of the small school library with an assortment of instruments…and books. One can only imagine what transpired in that room during those sessions. Graham was indeed heroic in this respect and the results of his ability showed on the Friday night at the Groups Concert, as Blue Orchestra gave a superb performance proving that by some miracle he had managed to keep things under control.
Apart from his being the guest conductor and a brilliant musician, in my view one of Graham’s greatest contributions to camp in 2001 came in the way of his improvisation workshops. He was keen to have "cross-over" sessions between Zimbabwean Traditional music forms, Jazz and Western Classical Instruments. The daily workshops were conducted with the purpose of creating a work based on improvisation. Graham already had considerable experience in running this type of project in the UK. I remember him on one occasion taking a group of us, with our instruments, into the bush on a mission to musically become one with nature. He encouraged us to use the tranquil surroundings as inspiration for improvisation. It was amazing how well his plan worked, as at one point we found ourselves standing quietly in a circle listening to one of the flutists literally conversing with a bird in the wild!
Conductor’s evening was a culmination of all the ideas that had been put forward in the workshops. These ideas were woven together to form a story interpreting the creation of the universe through music, dance and the spoken word.
The final concert was held in Bulawayo in the Robert Sibson Hall. Singing the Musicamp song in that hall was very special because in 1967 Robert Sibson wrote the words and the music to the Musicamp song. Thirty-four years after its making, the tradition of singing the Musicamp song to mark the start of the Final Concert was upheld in a hall dedicated to the man who composed it. What a great performance it was! Another highlight of the concert was Martin Mapaso’s orchestral and choral arrangement of the Shona spiritual Pamusoro Pakudenga - as a special addition to the usual Musicamp final concert program. It was a glorious arrangement which combined the instrumental powers of a small select orchestra with the voices of campers who had volunteered to sing in a choir specially set aside for that performance. Martin led the troops singing the lead male solo part. The group was conducted by Mr. Lea-Cox.