Tasheina Canty-White is no stranger to teaching. She has taught for 16 years, the last decade of those at a local elementary school. Therefore, it was a natural progression for her to transfer her skills to a camp of her own creation in the summer months.
The camp was called M.U.S.E.C., and it ran from June 10 through June 14 from 8:00am to 12:00pm each day. The age range of the camp, which did not require prior musical experience, was 10-14.
The campers gathered in the social hall of the Second St. John Missionary Baptist Church at 1212 Fair Road in Statesboro. In addition to the musical and social amenities of the camp, breakfast was served to start each day, and the children enjoyed an outdoor recess with kickball and other games after a few hours of content.
"I got the idea doing some prayer time of how I can use my gifts to help others," Canty-White says. "The idea of using my gift of music with children has always been there; however, I wanted it to be more tailored to a specific purpose."
The camp's acronym, M.U.S.E.C., stands for Music Unlocks Social Emotional Creativity. Canty-White wanted to use her expertise in social emotional learning to complement her campers' experiences, all the while instilling a love of music in them as well.
The camp was structured around three of the activities children enjoy the most, according to Canty-White: playing ukuleles, making noise on percussion instruments, and songwriting, which included listening to and analyzing music.
"I knew that I wanted to have activities that encouraged them to interact with each other face to face," Canty-White says of the campers.
The children participated in rhythm circles, learned the parts of a ukulele, and mastered three chords to play different popular songs, all under the tutelage of Canty-White. Collectively, the group wrote a song throughout and performed it on the final day of camp for the children's parents.
Community donations enabled Canty-White to provide seven camp scholarships and award each newly-minted musician with an instrument of their own.
"It was so successful," she says, "I had enough donations to allow each child to go home with their own ukulele and they were thrilled."
Canty-White prepared a take-home kit for her summer students to keep the music momentum going.
"My main goal is to get something in these children's hands besides a phone or a gun," she says.
Canty-White says music provides many skills for adolescents including goal setting, creativity, and enjoyment.
"I've gotten a request to bring the camp to Savannah as well as Metter," Canty-White remarks when asked if M.U.S.E.C. will continue next summer. Additionally, she has longer term goals beyond summer. She has possible plans for week-long camps throughout the year, as well as weekend workshops.
"Eventually, my goal is to turn this into a nonprofit," Canty-White muses.
If you are interested in purchasing instruments to support young musicians, please visit this Amazon link. For more information about M.U.S.E.C., please contact Tasheina Canty-White at [email protected], or call her at (855) 338-9396.
