YORKTON - First year band members at Yorkton schools gained some new insights into their instruments at a beginner band camp Saturday.
The camp, held at Yorkdale Central School involved students – mostly Grade 5s – from Good Spirit School Division and Christ the Teacher School Division schools.
Colette Karapita, one of the organizers of the event, explained the camp was really a very basic, introductory one for students – more than 100 -- just entering school band programs.
For example, clinicians were focusing on the core basics such as how to properly open an instrument case, how to properly put an instrument together, how to clean it, how to make the first sounds from it.
In all classes covering eight different instruments were held.
The new school year is something of a restart for band programs, which were held through COVID, but with numbers of participants down and what they could do limited, said Karapita.
“There were a lot of things we were not allowed to do, but at least we got kids playing together,” she said.
This year it appears things are back to pre-COVID normals.
“They tell us to go normal,” said Karapita.
That said, Karapita added, students are still allowed to mask instruments and take other precautions, if they feel they should, and sanitizer is available.
