Summer Music Camp is an amazing, two-week music camp with programming for children and youth aged 7 to 18 years. The camp runs from August 12 to 23, excluding weekends, at Islington United Church, 25 Burnhamthorpe Road, Toronto, Ontario.

The camp offers an early childhood music experience for children aged 5 to 7 years, and instrumental (woodwinds, brass or percussion) opportunities for those aged 8 to 18 years. Youth entering Grade 10 and up are invited to participate in the Leader in Training program.

The elective offerings change each year. In past years, electives have included board games, nature club, other instrument instrumental learning (handbells, violin, ukulele, guitar) and musical theater. On the first day of Summer Music Camp, campers will be able to choose several electives of interest to them.

In the past, the age for participating in Band Camp was lowered from the age of 7 to 5. It was a great experiment, but we are aware that two intensive weeks of band camp is simply beyond the capacity of most (if not all) 5 and 6 year olds. In order to maintain a high quality of camp, where staff can be focused on excellent music programming, we have decided to return to the original minimum age requirement of 7 years old.  

There is an exception to this: if your child was previously enrolled in band camp, and is in the 5-6 year old cohort, they will be invited to return to band camp this summer. New campers in the 5-6 age range will need to wait until they are 7 to enroll.  

Great question! We want our programs to be structured to encourage age-appropriate learning but we also want them to be flexible to meet the needs of the campers. Finding the right space for each child is important so that they have a positive experience learning music! 

In general, 7 and 8-year olds will be automatically placed into the Music Appreciation program, which is designed to expose children to music through singing, dancing, percussion, recorders and a host of other fun musical activities which will prepare them for their future as a band instrumentalist! Most children are not mature enough to begin playing a band instrument until they are around 9 years old. However, if your child already has a lot of musical experience or if you think they are ready to play a band instrument a littler earlier, email Jason (jason@islingtonunited.org) – our band director. He is open to having a conversation around what it might look like to offer your 8-year old the opportunity to try a band instrument. In addition to this, if you have a 9 year-old who is not yet ready to learn a band instrument, we could consider placing them in the Music Appreciation stream for one more year. 

Jason Locke and Brianna Coutlee are co-directors of Summer Music Camp and will be responsible for its operation. They will be supported by a team of excellent staff and volunteers.

While Summer Music Camp is run by at Islington United Church, the programming offered is not religious. We welcome people from any faith tradition to be a part of our summer camp. 

Our LIT program is from age 15-18, so our staff are required to be over 18. This is a great job for post-secondary students and young adults. If you know someone who might be a great fit to work at music camp, encourage them to reach out to Jason (jason@islingtonunited.org). There may be a limited number of opportunities for temporary employment. 

Of course! Islington United Church offers programming for children throughout the year, including our Sunday morning Godly Play, Youth Group and our Thursday evening Children’s Chorus program. If you’d like more information about these programs, reach out to Brianna Coutlee at families@islingtonunited.org.