EGG HARBOR, WI—Students from Woods Cross and Farmington High Schools had the opportunity to hone their music skills at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin at a two-week academy held at the beginning of August. 

“I’ve been to the camp many times,” said Wood Cross Band Director Todd Campbell. “My brother runs the camp. It’s the coolest place. It’s a farm and they have concerts in a barn.”

Four students attended, Patrick Law, Maddie Adams and Ryan Gessell from Woods Cross and Henry Findley from Farmington High. 

“Kids have to audition to be in it,” Campbell said. “You have to send in a video recording and if you play well enough you are selected.”

It started with a couple who owned the farm and said “we should do a music camp,” he said. “They had the house and barn and it grew into what it is. There’s a rehearsal space and dorms where the facility and students can stay. There’s limited cell service and it’s beautiful up there.”

The kids come back really inspired, said Campbell. “Most of the kids there are from the upper midwest and they get to know all the other students. There were seven kids from Utah.”

It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, said Patrick Law. “It was super fun. We played eight hours a day and got to learn from professionals. We played eight concerts in two weeks.”

Law said he started out playing the clarinet in seventh grade then made the switch to alto saxophone that same year. “Music has been a big part of my family for as long as I can remember. My mom and dad met in an orchestra at Utah State. My grandpa is the one who convinced me to play saxophone.”

When he first got his music, Law said it was pretty intense playing it. “We arrived on Sunday and had our first rehearsal that night and a concert on Thursday. We were in small groups and played in what used to be a granary.”

There was really pretty scenery out there too, he said. “It’s flat and not too hot – different than here.”

Student to faculty ratio is approximately 2:1, allowing for personal attention from top music educators and performers. 

“All the mentors were super nice,” said Law. “They were like playing wizards.”

The camp was amazing, said Woods Cross senior Ryan Gessell. “It revitalized my love for jazz. Specifically it gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to be a professional musician.”

There were a lot of rehearsals, he said. “We’d have three days to prepare a tune. It was rapid fire but gave me an idea of what the environment would be like as a professional, gigging and touring as a pianist.”

Gessell started doing jazz in the ninth grade, he said. “I did regular piano before that.”

The cool part (of the camp) is there isn’t a lot of cell service, Gessell said. “I had to use the office phone to call my mom. It forced me to surround myself with music 24/7. It was all I thought about. It helped motivate me to keep practicing.”

It was fun to be with musicians that were about the same age, he said. “We’d record solos and they’d notice things that I was doing that they weren’t doing. You could be working by yourself and hear someone else echoing what you’re doing and spontaneously start a jam session.”

There’s something different about playing with other musicians, said Gessell. “It’s really special.”

Gessell plans to continue playing after high school. “I’d betray myself if I didn’t do music. That’s definitely what I’m going to do.”