Rise Up & Sing Summer Music Camp Celebrates 2 Decades of Changing Lives Through Music
By Dianna Troyer
2 decades ago, a dynamic duo of musical moms brainstormed and launched a summer singing camp for their children and friends in Minidoka and Cassia counties.
“Our kids loved to sing, so we wanted to teach them about choral performance and music during summer when they had more time,” says Leslie Crafton, a vocal music teacher who lives in Minidoka.
Her friend and camp co-founder, Jennifer Fife, teaches piano.
They came up with a catchy name, Rise Up and Sing.
“The name just seemed obvious and perfect to us,” Leslie says.
In 2005, about 60 children came for several days to their inaugural camp at Minico High School. On the last day, their choral campers said they looked forward to doing it again the following summer.
“We hoped the camp would continue after the first year and were ecstatic when the kids asked for a repeat,” Leslie says. “It was exciting to see them so eager to learn. We did fundraisers to pay teachers. It took us 3 years to break even, but it was worth it.”
Since then, the vocal music camp has expanded exponentially with Leslie serving as executive director. Based at the King Fine Arts Center, the nonprofit, 5-day camp has a 3-member board, a staff of 23 instructors, and attracts up to 130 campers from several Western states.
“1 teacher describes the camp as a 1-stop shop for learning to use your voice,” Leslie says.
Ranging in age from 4 to adults, campers register on the Rise Up website, selecting from a variety of classes. The curriculum includes jazz, classical, choral, musical theater, acting, advanced choir, intermediate choir, opera, children’s chorus, ukulele, and guitar.
Becoming a nonprofit in 2015 enabled the board to apply for grants and offer scholarships. To raise money for scholarships and other expenses, the nonprofit hosts an annual Princess Tea Party in September at the Wilson Theatre in Rupert.
“We’re grateful for community support at that party because it provides about 1/3 of our annual budget,” Leslie says.
Instructors are looking forward to Rise Up and Sing’s 21st camp from July 14 through July 18, she says.
“A lot of people don’t realize our concerts are free,” Leslie says. “Campers’ accomplishments in such a short time are impressive.”
Most campers are from the Mini-Cassia area, but others hear about the camp through the website or word-of-mouth and come from a variety of places.
1 of Leslie’s goals is to show children that success can come from a small town.
“Every year, we see how campers’ lives are changed,” she says. “Many alumni have gone on to have professional performance and teaching careers and come back as instructors.”
Last year, to celebrate the camp’s 20th anniversary, Leslie invited 3 professional singers who are Minico High School alums to perform at a special guest concert. Cecilia Violetta Lopez, Lynn Maxfield, and Curtis Crafton also served as instructors.
Cecilia is the artistic advisor for Idaho Opera and performs worldwide. Opera News named her among opera’s “25 Rising Stars.” She has been praised for her “alluring voice and incredible range.”
Lynn lectures as an assistant professor at the University of Utah School of Music, where he teaches courses in voice pedagogy and vocology. He is also the associate director of science and research for the Utah Center for Vocology, where he coordinates and teaches at the Summer Vocology Institute.
Curtis serves as a senior lecturer at the College of Idaho, teaching classical and musical theater vocal techniques. He has performed opera in Chicago, Germany, and Idaho.
Another Minico graduate and powerful mezzo-soprano, Kiya Fife, is an annual instructor.
“The bigger the audience, the better,” says Kiya, who also teaches voice and piano in Burley at her studio, Music by Design. “A singer feels energy from the audience, so seeing a lot of people helps pump me up no matter what I sing. I love a variety of genres from classical to gospel, jazz, pop, and country.”
The camp’s website lists the bios of faculty through the years. Teachers trade off every so often so campers can experience something new. Current teachers can be found at the top of the instructor page.
Singing Their Way to Self-Confidence
Every year, Leslie looks forward to seeing how singing on stage can give campers self-confidence that carries over to many aspects of their lives.
“A miraculous thing is that we have kids come in so shy and afraid, and they leave with confidence because of the positive teaching techniques of our incredible instructors,” she says. “They have amazing abilities to connect with and work with all types of children and teens.”
Crane sisters Amelia, 16, and Bonnie, 10, are regular campers and look forward to returning this year.
“I’m becoming more comfortable singing on stage in front of an audience,” Amelia says. “I like singing church songs."
Bonnie says she likes performing in the camp’s talent show.
The sisters from Springdale are among Leslie’s weekly voice students. At a recent lesson, Leslie welcomes them with an enthusiastic, “Let’s get warmed up.”
As she plays piano, Leslie teaches a vocal exercise, encouraging the sisters to “keep the back of the tongue and soft palate together.”
“All you have to do is try,” she says. “It feels weird, doesn’t it? 2 more times. And direct it. And last time. Good, good, good. Now let’s do scales.”
Leslie, 70, says she and the board members have structured the camp’s continuation for decades for campers such as the Crane sisters.
“What our students learn in 5 days and the program instructors put together is amazing and miraculous,” Leslie says. “Most of our campers come back year after year.”