Clarke Central High School sophomore Quinn Phillips (left), freshman Roan O’Reilly (middle), and Clarke Middle School eighth-grader Holland Zwart (right) perform at the Camp Amped fall session concert at Nuçi’s Space on Oct. 22. Phillips is grateful for the opportunities that the camp provides to young musicians. “(Camp Amped) means being able to do what I love without any restrictions or fears,” Phillips said. Photo by Elena Gilbertson Hall.
On Oct. 22, the final performance for the fall session of Camp Amped took place at Nuçi’s Space, featuring several Clarke Central High School students.
The final performance for the Camp Amped after-school fall session took place at Nuçi’s Space on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. The event was a culmination of a session of camp that took place from Oct. 15 to Oct. 22 and featured performances from several Clarke Central High School students.
Camp Amped is a summer day camp program and after-school program for young musicians in the Athens area, which affords them the opportunity to perform in a band.
“The camps have just come about to help the youth to have that outlet to bring them together and just teach them life lessons, teach them about how to work as a group, with one another,” Camp Amped instructor Peter Alvanos said.
The fall after-school session consisted of practices from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. every day for a week, during which campers were responsible for learning songs with their bands, practicing them and preparing for the final performance.
“A week before, they know who is in their band, but a lot of times they don’t know one another or haven’t worked with one another,” Alvanos said. “My responsibilities are to work with them individually as well as a group and understand how to work with one another.”
The camps have just come about to help the youth to have that outlet to bring them together and just teach them life lessons.
— PETER ALVANOS,
Camp Amped instructor
According to Alvanos, 20 campers attended the fall after-school session this year, more than in previous years.
“We try to get as many as we can. We try to get up to four ensembles, which would be roughly around 19 to 20 students,” Alvanos said. “This is the first time that has happened, so we’re really excited about it. It’s growing, it’s building.”
Though Alvanos feels enthused that the program is getting larger, students like freshman Bianca Oliveri, who has been attending Camp Amped for four years, noted a difference from other performances regarding the number of participants.
“This performance, my band did not have a drummer because only three drummers signed up and we needed four bands, so we used a drum machine,” Oliveri said.
For sophomore Quinn Phillips, who participated in this session of Camp Amped, the performance came with some challenges.
“I played well for the most part, but I choked at some key points, and even if no one else could hear it, I could hear it and that’s what matters,” Phillips said. “(But everyone was) extremely supportive — no negative words spoken.”
Alvanos believes that the program is extremely beneficial towards young performers.
“Nuci’s Space is a magical place, and the kids that are here are really good kids, and they learn to adapt and accept one another and work with one another,” Alvanos said.
