Southwestern College will host the Summer Music Festival, sponsored by the V.J. Wilkins Foundation in Cowley County, June 7-13 on the SC campus.

The festival is for students ages 13-18.  Campers will choose from tracks in voice, instrumental (strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion), piano, and #skillz (no prior music experience needed).  The daily schedule will include ensemble rehearsals, technique class, practice time, recreation time, and much more. 

“Whether you are a beginner who loves to make music or you are a serious, all-state caliber musician, the Summer Music Festival has a place for you,” says festival dean Timothy Shook.  “Our camp is a great opportunity to interact with your peers and work with award-winning educators at our camp on the beautiful campus of Southwestern College.”

The tracks are led by:
• Voice—Amanda Li, director of choral activities and voice at Southwestern, and Joshua Robinson, assistant professor of musical theatre at Southwestern.
• Instrumental—Amber Peterson, assistant professor of music at Southwestern College, the Mazie Barnett Kilmer Chair for String Education, and the conductor of the South Kansas Symphony, and Hans Judd, Arkansas City Middle School band director and high school assistant band director. 
• Piano— Timothy Shook, festival dean and chair of the division of performing arts at Southwestern College.  Shook also operates a large independent piano studio in Wichita.  Aidan Wells Filbert, instructor of piano and staff collaborative pianist at Southwestern.
• #Skillz—Nikki Kirk, music educator in the Arkansas City Public School District where she teaches kindergarten through fifth-grade general music and serves as the chair of elementary music for the district.

Through the support of the Wilkins Foundation of Cowley County, George Cole Family, and anonymous donors, the all-inclusive cost for the week-long festival is $450.  Scholarships are available that cover the full tuition, half tuition, or $100.  The performance-based scholarship application is due by March 31; the V.J. Wilkins full-tuition scholarship application is due by May 1.

For more information or to register for the Southwestern College Summer Music Festival, call Brittany Donals, director of camps, conferences, and events, at (620) 229-6141, email brittany.donals@sckans.edu, or visit the website at https://www.sckans.edu/other/summer-music-festival.