Summer vacation doesn't mean practice is over for the strings students of Ohio County Schools.
Ohio County Schools Strings Camp began Monday at Wheeling Park High School, and it will conclude with a performance at 6 p.m. Friday in the Phyllis A. Beneke Theater. The camp is free to students in grades 4-12, and it is sponsored by the Stifel Trust.
More than 100 students are participating in the camp, which is in its seventh year.
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Photo by Tyler Reynard
Anna Hartung, left, and Hannah Dilliplane, Triadelphia Middle School seventh-graders, play violins during Ohio County Schools Strings Camp at Wheeling Park High School on Wednesday.
Ohio County Schools Superintendent Dianna Vargo said fine and performing arts are an important part of the Ohio County Schools curriculum. She said the Ohio County Strings Camp and strings concert show the effectiveness of the school system's fine and performing arts curriculum, and they also display the talent of its students.
"We're very proud in Ohio County Schools of the dedication of the strings students," Vargo said. "They volunteer to take part in the strings camp because of their love and commitment to music and the arts, and we are also very grateful to the Stifel Trust for making this wonderful camp available to them. The Friday evening performance of the Ohio County Schools Strings Camp is always exciting, and I'm sure it will be excellent again this year."
Ohio County Schools music instructors Ben Podolski, Melissa Potter and Kate O'Connell direct the camp. The teachers said the students take the camp seriously because they are driven to learn and improve. They also said the camp is fun for the students who get to learn and play music while being with their friends.
Another benefit is that the students who take part in the camp are ahead when they return to school following the summer break. The teachers said it is apparent who took part in the camp when school resumes.
