Teen from Bahamas sharpens flute skills at UW-Whitewater band camp
Released: July 17, 2008
Erika Cone Listen to Erika Cone play the flute with her fellow Purple Band members, and you’d never believe the thirteen-year-old girl from Nassau, Bahamas had never played in a band before coming to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater summer band camp. In fact, the band camp “rookie” landed the coveted first chair position in the Purple Band after her first audition.
“She came in nervous, then blew us away,” Chelsea Olm, flute section leader, said. “She has good tone and can hit high notes smoothly. She’s a good leader and works hard, which definitely benefits her group. If she keeps playing, she’ll be really good.”
“I didn’t get the audition music until the day before camp started so when I was named first chair I couldn’t believe it,” Cone said. “I didn’t expect to play this well especially since we don’t have band at my school in the Bahamas.”
Cone, who is in eighth grade at St. Andrew’s School in Nassau, has been playing the flute for the last six years. Besides playing in her school’s orchestra, she also takes private lessons at home.
How does a young girl from the Bahamas end up in Whitewater, Wis., for summer camp? Originally from Chicago, Cone’s family moved to Nassau eight years ago. With family still in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Cone’s continue to return to Wisconsin to spend summers on Lauderdale Lake in Elkhorn. “A friend in Elkhorn told me about the UW-Whitewater camp,” she said. “I thought it would be a good experience for me and I’m loving it. This is one of the best camps I’ve ever attended.”
“It’s been so amazing. There isn’t a second you aren’t learning. I’ve learned more here in a week than in two months of private lessons,” Cone added. “I’ve met so many people and learned about so many different instruments. Not many people in the Bahamas play other instruments besides the flute or the violin. I’ve found that I really like the sound of the French horn. It’s pretty.”
Middle school and high school students who attend UW-Whitewater’s summer band camps spend Sunday through Friday on campus. They live in the residence halls and eat in the dining hall. Their days consist of sectional and large group rehearsals, music theory classes and evening recitals, as well as free time for recreation.
“These camps are a unique experience because students eat, sleep and breathe music,” Holly Lotzer, a camp counselor, said. “Students learn from their teachers and from each other which makes them all-around better players.”
“I’ve never enjoying practicing the flute so much,” Cone said. “My flute playing has really improved.”
While Cone and her family will return to the Bahamas at the end of August, she has every intention of returning to Whitewater for band camp next summer.
“This camp has really opened up my eyes.” And her ears.
For more information on UW-Whitewater’s summer band camps, go online to camps.uww.edu and click on “band camps.”
- Melissa DiMotto,dimottom@uww.edu
