Stokes Music Camp

Stokes Music Camp

Welcome to Stokes Summer Music Camp

Summer 2024 Session: July 7 – 20th

Register Here

About Us

Stokes is a traditional sleep-away camp for boys and girls ages 10-17 with a musical background.

We were established by the Preparatory Center For the Arts within the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University in 1992. Our mission is to provide a creative outlet for interested students ages 10-17 with a musical background. We pride ourselves on offering a challenging yet nurturing environment for students of all backgrounds and abilities which encourages creative growth and self-expression.

Stokes is returning to our original location, the picturesque campus of The New Jersey School of Conservation, located in Stokes State Forest. Students and faculty alike routinely fall in love with the atmosphere and look forward to seeing the natural wonders that surround us. From the swallows swooping down to touch Lake Wapalanne in the morning to the families of deer who wander on the outskirts of campus, these sightings give our students a greater understanding and appreciation of nature. You can find more information about the School of Conservation here.

In addition to our schedule of recreational activities such as boating, hiking, wildlife ecology and herpetology classes, ropes courses, rock wall climbing, team building exercises, and archery, our students have the opportunity to participate in a myriad of exciting musical ensembles. Students can choose from our always impressive musical, band, orchestra, select choir, rock band, and various jazz and chamber ensembles. We also offer music theory classes and private lessons in order to build upon our students’ knowledge and leave them with lasting skills.

Whether you play classical cello, jazz saxophone, electric guitar, or if you’ve always wanted to be a star on stage, you’ll find a home here at Stokes. Come join us this summer and discover the magic of making music in the forest!

Session Description

Throughout the last four years, students have faced unprecedented postponements, cancellations, and unpredictable atmosphere at school. We’ve come to rely on the digital world for most of our school and personal lives, pulling us away from the present. Our two-week sessions at Stokes Music Camp offers students a much needed break to get inspired, look up into nature, and rediscover their potential. It is the place to come and grow, make new connections, and tear away from the screens that are necessary for our everyday lives. Students will have the chance to engage in unique musical opportunities while enjoying the magic of Stokes State Forest. Come eager to learn, make new friends, and enjoy the beauty of the woods!

Admission

Stokes Summer Music Camp grants admission to students between the ages of 10 and 17 who have a musical background. Early application is encouraged! Please email stokes@montclair.edu for further questions and details.

Tuition and Fees

  • July 7 – 20 Two week fee: $2800
  • July 7 – 13 One week fee: $1500
  • July 14 – 20 One week fee: $1500
  • Sibling Discount: $100 per camper
  • Non-refundable deposit due upon registration: $300
  • Registration deadline: April 1st

Tuition and Fees include all room and board, T-shirts, insurance, on-campus medical expenses, all classes, chamber ensembles, large ensembles, concerts, master classes, recreational and environmental program activities.


Musical Activities

Students enter with an instrumental, vocal, keyboard, or composition focus. Individual student schedules typically include a large ensemble, one or more chamber ensembles, a music theory class and electives. An appropriate theory class and chamber ensemble will be assigned based on the student’s background and experience

Orchestra + Band

The orchestra and/or band are the primary ensembles for all strings, woodwind, brass and percussion students. A wide variety of representative works in the orchestral and band repertoire from baroque through contemporary will be rehearsed and performed. Seating in either ensemble is established by placement audition on arrival day.

Jazz Ensembles

The Jazz Ensembles are offered to provide instrumentalists and vocalists the opportunity to learn and perform representative pieces of jazz literature. Students learn techniques of improvisation through theoretical understanding and a progressive refinement of improvisational performance skills.

Rock Band

The Rock Band provides students the opportunity to learn and perform representative rock songs. Students are exposed to various techniques of rock ensemble rehearsal through the use of listening and chart reading. Additionally, emphasis is placed on an understanding of historical context in which the various rock sub-styles emerged.

Select Choir

The Select Choir is the primary ensemble for voice students. Repertoire from madrigals to musical theater favorites will be explored and performed.

Chamber Ensembles

Chamber ensembles offer a unique opportunity for students to develop skills and awareness in intonation and control of their instrument, refine the listening skills necessary in a small ensemble, as well as gain exposure to various chamber works. Chamber ensembles are grouped according to student level. Ensembles rehearse daily under the supervision of an experienced chamber music coach.

Musical Theater Production

Each year the camp presents a musical theater production. The musical is an abbreviated version of a representative musical theater work. The production offers students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of rehearsing and presenting a show.

Musicianship/Theory Classes

In Musicianship/Theory Classes, students are exposed to the essential principles and practice of music construction. Through reading, analysis, composing and a progressive refinement of aural skills, students are given a comprehensive approach to the understanding of music.

Private Instruction

To supplement the camp’s daily schedule of music activities, private instrumental, vocal and/or composition lessons can be arranged. In the lesson, students are encouraged to expand technique, repertoire and the skills necessary to their development as a musician.

 

Environmental Activities

An integral part of the Stokes experience is the unique opportunity for students to explore, understand and appreciate the natural environment. Campers are provided with various nature activities, studies, and presentations intended to cultivate an awareness and appreciation of the natural world in a fun and engaging way!

Recreational Activities

A variety of recreational activities are available each day in the afternoon as well as certain evenings. Students have the opportunity to participate in archery, canoeing, boating, team building exercises, fish ecology, herpetology, interactive hike, questing, wildlife ecology, woodworking, metalsmithing, conservation photography, climbing wall, confidence course, survival, nature, art, poetry and orienteering.

Cabins

Upon arrival, campers will be welcomed not only to the Stokes community, but their cabin community. Cabins have two wings with bunk beds that sleep ten campers, with a room between the wings for their two counselors and a common area. Restroom facilities and showers are within a few steps of the cabins, and cabins on the lower part of campus have restroom facilities and showers in the unit. Rooms are inspected for cleanliness each day by the Director of Students with the cleanest room of the unit receiving a special honor on their last day at camp. *The number of campers per room or unit may adjust depending on current guidelines for camps at the time of summer operation.

Counselors

The Stokes Music Camp has an outstanding counseling staff. All counselors are matriculated music majors or graduates from major music schools and conservatories including the Cali School of Music, Carnegie-Mellon, the Crane School of Music, Hartt School of Music, Ithaca College, New School in NYC, Rutgers University, Oberlin Conservatory, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and others. All are trained and understand the rules and regulations of the Stokes Music Camp. In addition to monitoring and assisting campers in their daily routines and activities, counselors are actively involved in ensemble coaching and lessons.

Typical Daily Schedule

7-7:30am Reveille & Showers
7:45-8:20am Breakfast
8:30-9:15am Stokes Sings All Camp Choir
9:25-10:10am Chamber & Small Ensemble Rehearsals, Musicianship Classes
10:20-11:05am Rock Band, Musical Rehearsal, Chamber Ensembles, Musicianship Classes
11:15am-12pm Jazz Band, Musical Rehearsal, Musicianship Classes

12:15-1pm Lunch

1-1:30pm Siesta Time
1:40-2:45pm Band Rehearsal, String Band, Private Lessons, Practice Time
3-5pm Outdoor Recreation
5:15-6pm Dinner
6:10-7:15pm Orchestra, Private Lessons, Private Lessons, Improvisation Class
7:30-9pm Planned Activities: Student, Faculty, or Guest Concerts, Movies, Camp Fires, Special Events
9-9:30pm Evening Snacks
9:30-10pm Showers
10:30pm Lights Out
11pm All Quiet


Faculty


Tatyana Kebuladze
Stokes Program Coordinator-Artistic Director
kebuladzet@montclair.edu
Bio

A native of Kyiv, Ukraine, the pianist Tatyana Kebuladze graduated from the Glière State Music College in her hometown, the alma mater of Vladimir Horowitz. Arriving in America in 1998, she continued her studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey, graduating with honors and winning the School of the Arts Talent Award. She then continued earning a Master of Music degree at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she served on the piano faculty. For four years, she was the accompanist for the New Jersey Children’s Choir, performing throughout the United States and Canada.

She has also performed as a guest artist with the New Jersey Chamber Music Society.

Her appearances as a soloist and accompanist have included concerts at the Kosciuszko Foundation, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y and St Bartholomew’s Church in New York, a lecture-recital at Columbia University Teachers’ College, also in New York, the New Jersey Performing Art Center and the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. She was a guest pianist at the Niagara Falls International Summer Festival, Ontario, in 2000. More recently, she presented a piano master-class and evening recital at Agder University in Kristiansand, Norway.

In 2014 Tatyana Kebuladze received a grant from The Tcherepnin Society to conduct

research at the Paul Sacher Stiftung Archiv und Forschungszentrum für die Musik des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts, Basel, and in 2018, she joined the Tcherepnin Society Board of Directors, where she serves as Artist Laureate. In March of that year she was awarded the prestigious Genia Robinor Pedagogy Teaching Excellence Award presented by the Piano Teachers Society of America in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York. Later that spring she accepted an invitation from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan to give a lecture and demonstration on different approaches to teaching secondary piano. 

Tatyana Kebuladze has recorded a cycle of 35 songs by Alexander Tcherepnin set to poems by Sergei Gorodetsky that was released by TOCCATA CLASSICS in the Spring of 2020.

 

Kevin Bonilla is a professional musician and educator from Amityville on Long Island, New york. Kevin graduated and received an Associates in music from Nassau Community College. He went on to receive his Bachelors in Music Education from Hofstra University. Kevin has formally studied and performed music for over 13 years, nurturing a deep passion for music performance.  Primarily a percussionist, Kevin has performed with multiple professional and collegiate ensembles across Long Island and NYC, and is well versed in orchestral, symphonic band, and marching band styles. In his collegiate studies under Sean Ritenauer and Pablo Rieppi, Kevin has learned and performed various styles and genres, from traditional Afro-Cuban percussion and West African Ghanaian drumming, to his favorite, orchestral timpani. Kevin has performed in solo, chamber, and large ensemble settings and has performed both classical and contemporary percussion repertoire. Outside of the world of classical percussion, Kevin is a professional drumset player, fluent in multiple styles such Jazz, Bossa Nova, Rock and others. Kevin frequently plays drums and percussion for local professional theaters and school theater programs. Some of these musicals include A Chorus Line, Into the Woods, Addams Family and more. Kevin also is an active part of his local music scene, playing drums with bands made up of friends and local musicians. He often plays originals and cover music at various venues with these groups.


Kevin Bonilla
Jazz/Rock Band
Bio

Kevin Bonilla currently works at a private lesson studio in Port Washington, Long Island where he teaches a range of instruments and works with adolescent rock bands. He spent two seasons working with a highschool competitive marching band, specializing in drumline and front ensemble percussion. Kevin doubles as an Upright Bass/Electric Bass player, playing mostly in rock/jazz bands and pit orchestras. Kevin studied with notable bassist Martin Wind for a brief time at Hofstra. Kevin is also an aspiring conductor, and is currently seeking to pursue a graduate degree in orchestral conducting. He has studied conducting under David Soto, Adam Glaser, David Fryling, and Paul Little. This is Kevin’s third summer as a counselor with the Stokes team and is eager to kick off camp.

Obligatory Fun Fact: Kevin’s current favorite Symphony is Mahler’s 1st


Nicholas Elliott
Administrative Director/Director of Bands
Bio

Nicholas Elliott is a Pittsburgh-based trumpet teacher and performer. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, he took every opportunity available to nurture his passion for music through the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra, Madison Scouts, and even the local jazz bands where he and his father would perform together. Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Music from Jacksonville University and a Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University. His primary teachers include Neal Berntsen and Brian Osborne and has participated in masterclasses and workshops led by George Vosburgh, Micah Wilkinson, Richard Harris, and John Almeida. When not preparing for orchestral auditions all over the country, Nicholas spends his time playing with Pittsburgh based funk band, Big Fat Mallard, and exploring the forest preserves of Pittsburgh, PA, and trying his hand at amateur photography.

Dr. Wan-Yi Pan
Cello

Bio

Dr. Wan-Yi Pan: cellist, is a native of Taiwan, excels in both orchestral and chamber performances. She has appeared with the Erie Youth Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony, Cleveland Institute Orchestra, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra. She has also participated in the Kneisel Hall Summer Chamber Music Program and the Quartet Summer Program. In June of 2002, she toured the US, Armenia and Russia with the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra. During the final concert of this Fifteenth Anniversary Tour at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Dr. Pan was principal cello, performing Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony under the baton of Maestro Paavo Järvi.  She has subsequently been invited to join theAmirus chamber players, ARYO’s most talented alumni. She has performed with Amirus at the Joslyn Art Museum, The Hillwood Museum in Washington DC and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University.  In September, 2004 she was part of ARYO’s Musika 2004 chamber tour through the Volga and Ural regions of Russia. During 2004 and 2005 at New York, Dr. Pan was performing frequently with the New England Music Ensemble in famous concert halls like the Carnegie Hall.

Her teachers have included Peter Wiley of the distinguished Guarneri String Quartet, Richard Weiss, Jonathan Spitz,Merry Peckham and Alan Harris.

Dr. Pan attended the Cleveland Institute of Music for Bachelor. After her graduate school study at SUNY Purchase College, she was accepted as a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey with a fellowship grant.

In 2006, Dr. Pan returned back to Taiwan to recover from a severe illness. Since her recovery, starting from September 2008, Dr. Pan continued her performing career and performed the Haydn C major cello concerto with the Kaohsiung County Orchestra in December 2008. She also performed in the National Theater Concert Hall with a new formed 2+1 trio in 2009. Dr. Pan was also teaching at specialized music school programs in Kaohsiung city. In 2010, she joined theShu-Te University Chamber Ensemble as principle cello. In 2014, she was invited to participate as a faculty member at the Beverly Hills International Music festival in Los Angeles and worked alongside with the renowned violinist Oleh Krysa.

Dr. Pan returned to the United State in 2016 and received her doctoral degree from Rutgers University in 2020. She performed with her mantor Peter Wiley and CelloPointe ensemble at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center in June 2018. In 2019, Dr. Pan joined as a part of the faculty members at the Stokes Forest Music Camp in New Jersey. She is currently teaching at the Montclair State University Extension Division and the Princeton String Academy.

George Spitzer
Voice, Musical Theater

Bio

George Spitzer is a versatile singer in the fields of opera, oratorio, and art song literature. He has performed the roles of Athamas in Semele, Mr. Bluff in The Impresario, Fiorello and Un ufficiale in Il Barbiere di Sivilgia, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte, Thesus in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Sipos in She Loves Me, Prodoscimo in Il Turco in Italia, Custom’s Official in La Boheme, Private Augenti in Passion, and Melchoir in Amhal and the Night Visitors. Spitzer’s recital repertoire includes the music of Lazar Weiner, Arthur Farwell, Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, Charles Ives, Ernest Bacon, Kurt Weil, Hugo Wolf, Stephen Foster, Charles Griffes, John Alden Carpenter, George Chadwick, Robert Schumann, Gabriel Faure, J.S. Bach, and W. A. Mozart. Spitzer holds a BM from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a MM from Eastman School of Music, and Post Graduate studies through Oberlin College and Centro Studi Italiani. Mr. Spitzer is an Adjunct Voice Professor for Classical and Musical Theater at the John J. Cali School of Music as well as the Preparatory Center for the Arts. Additionally, he is a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA), and is on the board of directors of the New York City National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS – NYC).

Adrienne Ostrander
Percussion

Bio

Timpanist/Percussionist Adrienne Ostrander graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University School of Music. She has studied with George Gaber, Roland Kohloff and Buster Bailey. Adrienne is the timpanist/percussionist with SOLID BRASS and has traveled the United States, Canada and Mexico performing with this group and has made numerous recordings with them. Her local credits include the Broadway shows Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park With George. Additionally, she has performed several productions at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. Adrienne performs with the Princeton Symphony, Princeton Pro Musica, Westminster Choir College, Plainfield Symphony and the Garden State Philharmonic. She has performed in festivals in Greece, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, France and Cuba. Adrienne coaches the New Jersey Youth Symphony and performs over 100 educational concerts yearly in NJ schools with Young Audiences of New Jersey, Solid Brass, The New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Arts Horizons, Arts Alive and BRAVO!

Etleva Vatoci
Violin/Viola

Bio

Albanian violinist Etleva Vatoci is a freelance performer and a teacher from Summit, NJ. Previously, she toured Europe as a member of the State Symphony Orchestra in Athens, Greece, and Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Tirana, Albania. Moving to the U.S. later on, she also performed with different ensembles around the Tri-state area. Mrs. Vatoci received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Arts, Tirana, Albania. Currently, she is continuing her Master of Music studies under Michael Roth at the John Cali School of Music, Montclair University. She teaches violin and viola in her studio in Summit, where her students have been thriving in Regional and All-state orchestras and also completing the ASTACAP. She coaches sectionals and chamber groups at NJYS. Mrs. Vatoci has been an Orchestra Director in the Livingston Public Schools District since 2010 and continues to teach there today.


Chryselle Yang
Violin, Orchestra Director
Bio

Chryselle Yang received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Montclair State University in 2013. In 2015 she received the New Jersey ASTA New Classroom Teacher of the Year Award and received her Master of Education degree from The College of New Jersey in partnership with Regional Training Center in 2020. Chryselle has been teaching elementary orchestra for 11 years at Helen Morgan School in Sparta Township, New Jersey. She enjoys playing the violin in the New Sussex Symphony, as well as at a variety of gigs. In addition to music, Chryselle also loves traveling, being active, spending time outdoors, and eating.


Soyeon Park Yoo
Piano
Bio

Pianist Soyeon Park Yoo is a performer, educator and adjudicator. She has performed in the United States, Canada, and South Korea as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed concertos with the Hope College Symphonette, Orchestra of St. Vincent and the Good Samaritan Symphony Orchestra. She has also presented performances at Northwestern University, Bradley University, Hope College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Aspen Music Festival, and Las Vegas Music Festival. She has presented at ISMTA conference on “Comprehensive Approaches to Teaching Harmonization.”

Dr. Yoo received degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University. With passion for teaching, Soyeon Yoo taught private lessons in the Northwestern University Music Academy and keyboard skills classes in Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts and Hope College. She joined the Montclair University Extension program in 2016 and in the following year was appointed as an adjunct professor for the Montclair University.

Contact Us

Program Director: Tatyana Kebuladze

Administrative Address:
John J. Cali School Of Music
Montclair State University
1 Normal Ave
Montclair, NJ 07043

Phone Number: (973) 655-7333

Camp Address:
1 Wapalanne Rd.
Sandyston, NJ 07826
The New Jersey School of Conservation

Email: stokes@montclair.edu
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