Butler Community Arts School - Chamber Camp
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Lilly Hall at Butler University
Tuition: $400 commuter (includes lunch daily); $750 residential (includes dorm stay and 3 meals per day)
Need-based tuition assistance available.
Registration deadline: May 31
This camp is open to students ages 12–18 (campers who are 18 and have not yet matriculated at a college are eligible to attend camp). No audition is required for admittance, but a placement audition will be required of all participants (details TBA). All levels are welcome, although it is required that participants have at least three years of prior study on their instrument (violin, viola, cello, upright bass, and piano). Campers must provide their own instrument (strings only).
The Chamber Camp features: daily chamber rehearsals, sectionals, and technique class with Butler faculty and music majors, daily masterclasses and coaching sessions, other typical college music classes such as music theory and electives, and a finale performance.
Camper information packets containing additional scheduling information, what to bring, and where to report will be emailed to all participants approximately one week prior to camp.
Meet the Artistic Directors!
DJ Smith has served on the piano faculty of Butler University since 2008. DJ maintains his own private studio of students of all ages and performance levels through the Butler Community Arts School. DJ is also the Artistic Director of the BCAS Piano Camps. He holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Indiana Wesleyan University and a master’s in piano pedagogy from Butler University. He is a nationally certified teacher in music (NCTM). DJ Smith is currently president of the Indiana Music Teachers Association. DJ performs regularly as soloist, collaborates with fellow artists, and frequently lectures at conferences and festivals throughout the region. Recent projects have included a performance of Carnival of the Animals in collaboration with fellow faculty artists, featured as part of the Butler ArtsFest. He has also recently presented a lecture recital on the shorter piano works of Alexander Scriabin for both the IMTA Conference and the Butler University Faculty Artist Series. DJ is the director of music at Irvington United Methodist Church where he plays piano, organ and directs the choir.
Abby Witt currently serves as the Business Operations Manager and a Teaching Fellow for the Butler Community Arts School (BCAS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to her work at Butler, she was a member of the Lexington Chamber Orchestra in Lexington, Kentucky and a strings teacher in the Friends in Music program of the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra. As a cellist, she attended the Brevard Summer Music Festival in Brevard, North Carolina in the summers of 2016 and 2017, and attended the Vienna Summer Music Festival in Vienna, Austria in the summer of 2018. She was selected to perform in the collegiate cello master class at the 2016 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has won several competitions in Kentucky, including the Eastern Kentucky University Symphony’s concerto competition. Abby obtained her Bachelors degree in Cello Performance from Eastern Kentucky University, a Masters degree in Cello Performance from Butler University, and an Associates degree in Business Management from Eastern Gateway Community College. In addition to her managerial duties at BCAS, she maintains a private cello studio and assists with the BCAS Adult Strings Ensembles.
Housing is provided in Butler University’s Irvington House, which is air-conditioned. Dorm check-in is Sunday evening; check-out is after the performance on Friday. Commuter campers check into camp on Monday and attend camp from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM each day. Camper information packets containing additional scheduling information, what to bring, and where to report will be emailed to all participants approximately one to two weeks prior to camp.
Registration form, $50 non-refundable deposit, and remaining tuition are due in full by May 1. No refunds will be issued after May 1. Late applications may be accepted on the basis of available space.
Contact BCAS@butler.edu or 317-940-5500 with any questions.