Music Camp Strikes a Chord
“Ontario Mennonite Music Camp is a summer camp, but to those who attend, it is so much more than that,” explained Mattea Jongejan Harder, a grade 10 student. “OMMC is home. I love OMMC for its welcoming atmosphere, its fun activities, its musical mayhem, and most of all the people, and the relationships it builds.”
“I hated OMMC,” declared Tobias Jongejan Harder, a grade 12 camper. “For the first three minutes, that is. It’s scary going to a camp you don’t know, with people you don’t know. But all my fears vanished when I was immediately welcomed into a community I cherish to this day, over four years later. You just feel like you fit in for who you are.”
Uniting campers in song and harmony, OMMC provides an inclusive two-week camp experience for teens, while developing musical and leadership skills, and exploring questions of faith. Campers are encouraged to carry these skills back to their churches and communities.
Camp days follow a rhythm of master classes, chapel services, rehearsals, workshops, and camp activities. “I enjoy OMMC for the ensembles and choirs, but the real magic is in all the parts in between,” shared Tobias. “Talking and joking with new people every meal while eating Grebel’s fabled spreads. Jamming with random instruments during practice time or free time. Randomly singing Rain Down in the stairwell with most of the camp at top volume in five-part harmony. Holding a concert in the bathroom for people taking a shower. And Preparing for an incredibly silly, yet really enjoyable musical.”
“Mealtimes are a favourite time of day, with Grebel’s phenomenal food and the fill-the-table tradition that gets everyone to converse with some people they might not have talked to before,” shared Mattea. “And, of course, music fills every day, with choirs and ensembles to have fun building our skills together. In the evening, we have small groups, where we gather in little contingents with our counselors and have discussions around faith with our peers. Each small group also leads one of our daily morning chapels, building leadership and worship planning skills.”
Held at Conrad Grebel University College, campers have access to the University of Waterloo’s music facilities, including practice rooms, the chapel, and concert venues for instruction and spontaneous music-making.
“OMMC builds faith, musical skills, leadership skills, and most of all, good, strong people to lead our world into the next generations,” added Mattea.
Register your teen today: grebel.ca/ommc
