Swapping Mainland for Masterton

This year I went to the Masterton Suzuki Summer Camp instead of the South Island one, because my teacher—who said it was fun—was going. Here are a few things I thought were different or nice about Masterton Camp!

The lessons were quite far away from the dorms, so we would bike between them. There were lots of places to explore: a stream with lots of obstacles over it (I almost fell in!!), bike jumps, a river track, two cricket pitches, and a giant chessboard I loved playing on with friends.

I liked how there were lots of cellists playing at my level and beyond. Our group class, which had about 15 people, all played Ranse Rustique. We played that together at the concerto concert. The big kids played the Vivaldi Double at the concert, including the second and third movements. It was stuck in my head for the rest of the summer.

My favourite teachers were Rebecca, who taught cello group and cello choir, and Elizabeth, who was the piano accompanist for my solo. I loved Rebecca’s teaching because she is very energetic, smiley, and encouraging. It was the first time I had been taught by Rebecca. Elizabeth was very kind and calm; she always makes me feel very comfortable when she accompanies me. I’ve met Elizabeth lots of times at South Island Suzuki events, and I was so pleased to see her in Masterton.
The food wasn’t great—except for the dessert, my dog would have had to fight me for that!! I had my first-ever KFC in Masterton too. We went with a new Suzuki cello friend—it’s their tradition to go once a year during Summer Camp.

Each morning, my sister’s friend’s mum ran a choir, which became one of my camp highlights! We sang Kusimama, my first time in a choir, and performed it at the playout. The audience loved it. I’d definitely do that again, even though my mum had to wake me up early for it each day and there was definitely no time for breakfast! Instead, I tried to eat a sandwich each morning while playing my cello in the cello choir.

We weren’t the only South Island kids at camp! It was nice to see some people we knew in the cellos and the violins. I missed playing with my South Island Suzuki friends and the fun concert. There’s no fun concert at the Masterton Camp. It was nice leaving after a big week of cello, but I’ll definitely go back!

Joseph Hanmer