Jackson State University News July 12, 2020 Sonic Boom’s online band camp has unprecedented attendance with 900 students Last month, the Sonic Boom of the South’s virtual high school band camp had a record turnout with 900 student participants. This is the first year the free three-day camp was hosted online as a precautionary measure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Started in 2013, the camp aims to educate the secondary school student-musician and improve recruitment for the music program and university. “Since its inception, it has helped with recruitment substantially while providing a quality (holistic) educational experience for the students and directors that attend,” said Dr. Roderick Little, director of bands. “During the camp, we offer not only the marching band component but also a dance component, concert band, jazz band and other chamber ensembles.” Little explained that moving to the virtual platform was a way to keep potential students engaged during unprecedented times. “We also saw this as a great opportunity to reach students who may not have been able to travel to JSU if we had our traditional summer camp, which increased our outreach efforts and allowed us to reach a broader audience,” Little said. “One of the important things to note is that our students hosted the classes and provided instruction for our (virtual) campers, which also highlights the wonderful student-musicians that we have in our program.” Little credits Ramon Jackson, administrative assistant in the Department of Music, for originating the idea for the virtual camp. He further acknowledges Kevan Johnson, assistant band director and chief arranger, for organizing the event. “The purpose of the virtual camp was to continuously engage ALL musicians (alumni, fans, supporters, prospective/current students) in musical approaches, marching and dance fundamentals,” explained Jackson. “These are skills that will help all develop and maintain leadership, musical growth, and physical fitness that can be utilized in any band program.” Jackson further shared that camp participants could sign up and select their desired sessions on the Boom’s website. Drum majors, J-Settes, and section leaders provided instruction, and each day, students were allowed to sharpen their abilities. There were also specialized courses for band directors, which was led by Little and Johnson. “This was a rather unconventional way of outreach, but it was still an amazing opportunity to interact with middle and high school band students,” Johnson said. “It was also a chance to see our outstanding band students in their leadership and instruction elements.” Johnson expressed his appreciation for being able to witness students having those “Aha, I get it,” moments, despite being online. “We hope to keep these innovative ideas going so all of our students, fans, alumni and other constituents remain engaged with our program,” Little said. Former HS Camp videos: https://youtu.be/7w9mCD4hHbo https://youtu.be/MSI5VhN1was SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs – Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/