The camp began Monday with 38 students and runs through today. Each day the students rehearse from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the weeklong camp culminating in a public concert at 6 p.m. today in the New Ulm High School (NUHS) auditorium.

The concert will feature performances of modern popular music and classical pieces performed by the string and percussion students participating in the class.

Suzuki camp co-director Paula Anderson said the Suzuki School of New Ulm has hosted this program since the late 1980s. For the last six years the camp has been held at NUHS.

Anderson said the summer camp was a great opportunity for music students of all ages to practice their talents together. Anderson said the youngest student in the camp was age 7 and the oldest were in their 60s.

Violinists Nathaniel Carlovsky and Jamis Martens rehearse “Irish Legend” during a Suzuki School’s Pops Camp. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Anderson said it was a rare chance for local students to play with a full orchestra. The musicians were from a wide age range. Everyone was able to learn from one another.

Anderson said some of the adult students have played with Mankato Symphony, but for the younger students this is a new opportunity.

This year’s guest conductor is Carl Rieke, formerly of Fairfax. Rieke is a graduate of St. Olaf College receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. He received his Masters Degree in Instrumental Conducting from Georgia State University in 2003. From 1999 until 2006, Rieke was Director of Orchestras at Shiloh High School in Gwinnett County. While teaching in Gwinnett, he was a co-conductor of the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony.

Rieke has served as the guest conductor for previous Suzuki Pops Camp, but said this year was one of the best. The students were really working hard to learn the different pieces before the concert.

Asked which piece the students like best, Rieke said its different for each student.

Percussionists Charlotte Borslien, Asher Mauk and Arinna Uher participate in the Suzuki School’s Pops Camp. Photo by Clay Schuldt

First violinist Nathaniel Carlovsky, 17, has been playing violin for 10 years. He said the best part of pops camp was working with Rieke, who he said was one of the best teachers with whom he worked.

Carlovsky said he likes attending the pops camp because it is an opportunity to learn how to play with an orchestra.

“You get to play with the different groups and practice difficult pieces together,” he said.

Carlovsky said of all the pieces they have practice this week, “Irish Legend” by Robert Kerr was the most challenging.

“It is a fast and long song,” he said but that also made it his favorite piece in the concert.

Carl Rieke conducts the Suzuki Pops Camp Orchestra during Thursday’s rehearsal. The Pops Camp students will close Friday, June 12 with a concert at the New Ulm High School auditorium. Photo by Clay Schudlt

Percussionist Henley Harrison confirmed that “Irish Legend” was the most challenging of the pieces they were rehearsing. As a percussionist her favorite piece to play was the theme from “Black Panther.”

Anderson agreed that “Irish Legend” was a challenging piece for the soloist, but for the entire assemble, she said the most challenging piece was “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” by Maurice Ravel.

“It is a slow piece with a lot of interesting harmonies,” she said. “It takes a lot of concentration to play.”

Though the Ravel piece is a classical work from 1899, most of the music performed during the concert will be from the last decade or so.

The idea is to learn new popular songs, most taken from modern movies. In addition to the “Black Panther” theme, the students were also heard rehearsing instrumental versions of “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” and “See You Again,” by Wiz Khalifa.

Anderson said choosing which pieces they would play was one of the hardest part of planning pops camp.

“I try to pick a variety of pieces and things with different tempos,” she said. “Because students are all different ages, we need music that is not too hard for the beginners, but still challenging for the older students.”

Anderson said she did not have a favorite piece from this year’s concert.

“I love them all,” she said.

Admission for today concert is $2 per person. Admission for children 12 and under is free.

The Suzuki Pops Camp is made possible through community support and the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council grant.