BY JOELLEN COLLINS
I have spent the past several days delighting in my California family’s visit and seeing my town from the perspective of my grandchildren, Artie, age 10, and Goldie, age 7. I imagine you are expecting the usual grandmotherly rush of praise and adoration for these two special human beings.
However, that is not the case today. Instead, I feel the urge to comment on how many positive surprises await those of us who visit or live in such rich surroundings. This time I became intrigued with the experiences of my grandchildren in the St. Thomas Playhouse summer camp, where almost a hundred children, ranging in age from 3 to 14, learned theater and communication skills and, after only eight days together, put on a production of Disney’s “Mulan Jr.”
There are so many other terrific camps and activities for kids here, especially in the summer, where the creative talents that locals enjoy year-round are shared with students visiting from all over the country and world.
While this camp was going on, so was the Sun Valley Music Festival, with its wonderful symphonic offerings, but also with the summer Music Institute, one part of its year-round activities.
Professional musicians visiting from here and from dozens of other orchestras and cities volunteer to work with students during the Festival weeks. Young musicians can hone their skills with these highly sophisticated and successful adults. I can brag about how our small community is now so gifted with talented young performers.
Last week, our family was picnicking on the back lawn of the Pavilion where kids can run freely and toss Frisbees before the orchestra’s performance. My grandson noticed another boy from his camp and, seeing him in a new context, said, “Hi! Everyone is here,” to which the 8-year-old replied, “Of course. It’s Beethoven’s 7th!”
My fellow picnickers looked at each other with awe at this precocious statement. I can’t stop thinking about it for many reasons. One is that I am happy that Artie is performing with a group of kids who possess this kind of knowledge, but the other is a deep sense of gratitude that I am immersed in a place that encourages the wonderful gifts of artistic involvement and feeds a curiosity about many things which other locales aren’t able to access.
Another happy thought was that my grandchildren have had the experience of being in a production where they don’t have to be stars to enjoy the unique fellowship of being with a group of actors, singers or other entertainers and putting that hard work out to share with others. It is one of the reasons I always enjoy singing in choirs or being in musical productions where I may “only” be in the ensemble, but find a richness of community in those intense, collective efforts.
So I am grateful for the talented adult directors, teachers, volunteers, and the excited and creative kids and their parents, who are introducing them to some of the pleasures of a wide and welcoming creative world.