Lakefield Adult Music Camp 2026

A week ago Sunday, Jen1 and I loaded up the car and headed to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo ON to attend Lakefield Music Camp. It's kind of a misnomer now because the camp is no longer held at Lakefield College School outside of Lakefield ON on the shores of Lake Katchewanooka. Now that it's operating at Laurier U, it's really no longer a 'camp' setting either but it has been running for 49 years so it continues to be called Lakefield Music Camp for tradition's sake.

Check in was easy - same process as last year. Just as I finished getting my dorm keys, I heard a voice call, 'Geri!; behind me. It was, Duncan, a band buddy from long ago, whom I played with in the Pickering Community Concert Band from 1990 to 2002. 

Duncan had seen my Facebook post about camp last year and made a mental note to look into attending. And he did! He didn't even know if I'd be there this year so it was a very pleasant surprise for both of us! Although he's not very active on social media, I have somewhat kept up with what he's been up to all these years.

Up in our dorm rooms, Jen1 and I got settled; installing the foam mattress pads we had brought, making up the beds, and unpacking for the week. Ernest and Thomas settled right in.

That night was the welcome meeting in the recital hall. Andrew Wolf, the head of the camp went over some details of what to expect and introduced the faculty.

Classes started at 9:20am on Monday. They are an hour long with a 20 minute break in the morning and 10 minutes between classes the rest of the day. Breakfast in the dining hall starts at 8 and finishes at 9. Lunch is from 1 to 2. However there are drop-in classes for 45 minutes, starting at 1:45. Classes resume at 2:40pm and end at 6, which is when supper starts.

Then there's a break until recitals begin at 8pm. There were over 15 hours of recitals over the week. Culminating recitals started on Friday evening. Saturday morning were large ensemble rehearsals, then recital time again at 3pm and again at 8pm.

Wednesday night was Cabaret night so we met at the Turret, a campus bar. Many of our fellow campers entertained us. It was also the only opportunity we could purchase alcoholic drinks on campus. 

Thomas posed beside Duncan's beer can.

Ernest inspected my gin and tonic. No 'roofies' for me!

I really enjoyed every one of my classes this year. First period was Choir for All. Of the 113 campers about 80 of us participated in the choir.

I am a pretty good sight-reader and have a strong voice. Lots of altos (my new best friends) wanted to stand beside or in front of me so my loud singing would help them out. I have never felt so popular!!

After snack time, second period was Spirituals Choir. We received the music as .pdfs ahead of time and were able to find the same settings (SSA) to watch and play along on YouTube. Although I didn't really internalize the pieces at that point, I was pretty confident I'd do OK in the smaller ensemble. 

There were 17 of us plus Lyndsay, our director, and Kathleen, our accompanist. Kathleen was also our handbells teacher.

Third period we had ukulele with Sara. 

She was an excellent instructor, taking us right back to the basics of ukulele playing; lots of helpful technical tips, such as, holding it by the 'small bump', pinching the neck with the thumb, plucking technique, picking out scale notes, etc.

She also lead a play-along at the lunchtime 45 where we played along with videos - all accessible on YouTube. I only attended this once because I had a 'spare' in period 4 and usually headed back to the dorm to rest before my period 5 Concert Band class. Duncan, being a clarinet player, sat beside me in band.

It's really important to pace oneself as the day is not over when classes are over. There is a lot of sitting around, waiting for things to start. Lots of knitting opportunities. With recitals starting at 8pm, the last 3 nights they ran until almost 11 each night.

Friday night, I was involved with three performances so I actually put on lipstick!

At some point last week Jennifer and I took a selfie with the boys.

The campus at Laurier U is very well maintained with lots of beautiful flowers in beds and planters.

Our last period was Handbells. The 3 octaves of bells only need 11 players so it is very much in demand. By a stroke of luck (and emailing Andrew as soon as registration opened) Duncan and I got into the class as well as our new best friend, Katherine. Several of us are going to suggest there be 2 handbell classes; one for beginners, and another for those of us who have played before.

Each of us was assigned two notes on the staff and any sharps for that note. Middle C is always notated in Bass Clef. My notes were middle C and the B just below it.

The music is clustered notes of the chords. The bell ringer must pick theirs out and synchronize ringing with the others playing at the same time. 

We also learned a couple of other techniques: swinging the bell (Sw) to create somewhat of a doppler effect, tapping the ringing bell on the padded table (upward curved arrows), and striking the bells with padded mallets.

We also learned to damp the one bell at the same time as ringing the other one. This was achieved by resting the ringing bell on our upper chests, like this:

It was a really great way to end our day's instruction. 

One night, we had a 'fireless campfire' singalong in the atrium at the recital hall.

Happy campers. Photo taken by Jen1. That's me in the pink shirt, Duncan to my left, and another 'new best friend', alto singer, and clarinet player, MaryJo, in the white shirt on the far left.

Jen1 and I packed up, loaded the car, and left Waterloo before breakfast on Sunday. We stopped at the Cambridge ON Route for a bite of breakfast and got home by 10:30. 

It was a very intense week of activity, music, and friendship. We hope to talk more of our friends into joining us next year.

Geri then (1972) and now.