Let the Children Come to Me
Last year’s Choir Camp at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was blessed with considerable success, not only welcoming many students but providing them with quality learning and a good time. As Scott Turkington, the Shrine’s Director of Sacred Music, prepares for a second Choir Camp, he reflects on last year’s experience and how it has shaped the program.
Looking for a Summertime Activity?
Every summer the Shrine hosts
Choir Camp | Ages: 7–13
Chant Camp | Ages 14-17
In his earlier positions, Turkington has taught similar programs that met with the same success. “Parents are always looking for good things for children to do in the summertime, and a choir camp at the Shrine is just the ticket,” he comments. “It’s good, clean learning fun.”
The Instructors
As implied, the camp aims to give children both a fun time and a knowledge and love of the good, the true, and the beautiful. “We don’t give children any secondary-quality music,” Turkington emphasizes. “This is a place where we want to give the children the very best that we have.” Naturally, this focus on top quality also extends to the five instructors: “The teachers that we’ve hired are all very experienced with children. They’re all currently teaching in Catholic parish settings, and they’re all well known for doing things like this.”
Choir Camp Details
Choir Camp registration is limited; interested families are urged to register while space remains. Students will be divided into groups by age, with separate practices as well as time to sing together. The day’s schedule begins at 9:15, includes a break with snacks, and ends with singing at the 12:15 Mass in the Shrine Church. “The kids love being up in the choir loft to sing for Mass,” Turkington notes. “It’s a very cool experience for them.”
The Children’s Enthusiasm
This pure, innocent enthusiasm was especially notable last year, and an important part of what made the Choir Camp such a success. The attendees are not required to sing at the daily Mass; they are invited to do so, and most eagerly accept. With a smile, Turkington especially recalls one little boy who always asked in class whether they would sing the Salve Regina; his request was always granted, and many children knew the hymn. In addition, students have been known to go on singing after returning home, indicating that what they have learned, and their love for it, remain with them.
Participation in the Liturgy
“Kids are great,” Turkington concludes, “but you have to feed them the right things. No garbage, no junk, no second best. And then they learn that principle: What we bring to Mass has to be really good … It has to pass some test of quality.” The Choir Camp is thus a way of fulfilling Christ’s command, “Let the children come to Me” (Mt 19:14), giving them an early experience of transcendence, of sacred beauty and its significance, and of participation in the Lord’s service.
