New England Music Camp

Originally posted to FB on August 19,m 2023

During the summers of 1995 and 1996, I was privileged to receive scholarship to attend New England Music Camp. This life-changing experience opened my eyes to the possibilities and opportunities available to me as a "pretty good" high school bassoonist. It is where I met Michael J. Burns who deeply inspired me as a young performer. I would subsequently attend the UNCG Honor Band for two years. One of which was lead by the great conductor of the "The President's Own" United States Marine Band Colonel John R. Bourgeois (my first exposure to military bands). NEMC was where I met Kara Dago-Clark and first learned of Manhattan School of Music. The ripple effect of these formative experiences cannot be quantified but highlight the long, circuitous, and adventure-filled road to the career I enjoy today. I'm so grateful to Howard Warner, who met me when he was an adjudicator for NYSSMA all-county in Perry, NY, and encouraged me to WRITE A LETTER to seek admission to the camp (yes, write an actual letter). I'll go one more step back and AGAIN thank Raymond Suriani who encouraged his students to participate in the annual NYSSMA festivals. It was an absolute joy to see the NEMC campus 27 years later and to share it with my husband Ken Crawford who has heard MANY ridiculous stories of my camp adventures.





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