Guelph School of Music Summer Camp 

July 6-10, 2026: Ages 5 to 8 

July 13-17, 2026: Ages 5 to 8

*Registration is open!

Led by the talented faculty of the Guelph School of Music, campers will delve into the fundamentals of music, including notation, reading music, ear training, and rhythm, through play-based learning. Participants will engage in a variety of activities, including games, crafts, and outdoor play. Daily craft activities will explore making instruments out of recycled materials. Campers will have the opportunity to participate in special workshops, including boomwhackers, drums, and choir. The week will culminate with a pizza party lunch on Friday and a final performance on Friday afternoon in the GYMC Recital Hall, where campers will showcase all the musical discoveries they’ve made throughout the week. No prior music experience is required – just a love for music and a willingness to explore!

Camp programming will run from 9:00am to 4:00pm each day. Students to be dropped off at 9:00am, and picked up at 4:00pm.

Cost: $350/week

To inquire about financial assistance, please email office@gymc.ca

Summer Strings Camps

July 20-24, 2026 (JUNIOR): Ages 7+

July 27-31, 2026 (INTERMEDIATE): Ages 7+

*Registration is open!

Directed by Joy Schuster, Summer Strings Camp is an orchestral training camp designed for string players who are looking for an enriching and fun summer experience making music and new friends. Students will have the opportunity to sharpen their ensemble skills by playing orchestral arrangements of popular songs. Daily activities will feature orchestra rehearsals, sectionals and enrichment activities with guest instructors. Enrichment topics will include music theory, musical theatre/drama, fiddling, improvisation, and recording. The week will conclude with a pizza party lunch on Friday and a final performance on Friday afternoon for family and friends. This camp is suitable for ages 7+, as well as those with a minimum proficiency of RCM Level 3 or Suzuki Book 2. The ability to read music is required. Any questions regarding required skill level can be directed to Joy Schuster.

Camp programming will run from 9:00am to 4:30pm each day. Students may be dropped off early between 8:30am and 9:00am, and picked up between the hours of 4:30pm and 5:00pm.

Cost: $395/week

Junior: Suzuki Book 2 to Book 4. RCM 2-4. First orchestral experience.

Intermediate: Suzuki Book 4 to Book 7. RCM 4-7. Aimed at higher-level readers and older students.

To inquire about financial assistance, please email office@gymc.ca

Meet Our Director, Joy Schuster

Meet Our Enrichment and Workshop Facilitators

Elena Spanu 

Join Elena to explore the intersection of folk music and free expression! This course interweaves the joy of learning fiddle tunes and establishing a deep groove with the freedom of creative improvisation.

Elena Spanu started playing the violin at the age of three. She began her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She continued to develop her skills at Western University where she received a Bachelor of Musical Arts. It is there that she discovered her interest in Baroque violin performance and moved on to pursue an Artists Diploma in the subject while at the University of Toronto under the direction of Jeanne Lamon and other members of Tafelmusik. 

Elena currently holds the chair of principal second violin with the North York Concert Orchestra and plays regularly with orchestras and chamber groups in and out of Toronto. In addition to classical music Elena enjoys the grooves and feels of folks music. She plays Appalachian old time music and is active in the Balfolk French folk music dancing scene. 

Elena is a trained Suzuki violin instructor and Creative Ability Development coach. She directs the Toronto Suzuki Studio and is a faculty member in the MNjcc’s Suzuki program and at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She received her training though the Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute (SOSI) and the Suzuki School of Guelph’s 2 year pedagogy course affiliated with Laurier University.

Within the past year and a half Elena has been exploring the world of storytelling. She became interested in telling folk tales when she attended a story telling event at Danu Social House in Toronto. Since then Elena has been enrolled in the Masters in story telling program at the University of Roma 3 in Italy. 

Kween

Thadinadonnih (Guelph) born and raised, Kween is a proud Black settler, University of Guelph alumna, and Valedictorian from the Randolph Academy for Performing Arts. She is a dancer, choreographer, director, producer, TEDx and international speaker, and CEO of the 10x award-winning The Kween Company (TKC), which supports BIPOC businesses through initiatives like Crowns and Crystals Gala, Black-Owned Markets, and Beauty to the Streets. A 2023 Guelph Local Hero and recipient of a coronation Medal , Kween led the 2020 Solidarity March for Black Lives Matter and served as Executive Director for the Guelph Black Heritage Society. She is also a content creator, local influencer, and host of Diverse and Converse. As an artist she has held several Artist Residence programs, created a dance short Love Not War, a dance presentation and shoe line Blak Booyde and is the current resident Narrator for Guelph Symphony both reading, performing and dancing. Kween is moved by the artists that lead the way! 

The Acting Center

Established in 2011, The Acting Center is a leading, locally owned studio offering performance classes for film, television, and stage. Campers will join Artistic Directors Zoe Heath and Jake Simons for an energetic, one-hour acting workshop! Participants will embark on an artistic journey that includes a vocal warm-up, improvisation, movement, and laughter. The Acting Center is proud to be a long-standing resident of the Guelph Youth Music Centre. 

Breanne Dietrch 

With an incredible passion for teaching and working with youth, Breanne specializes in training musical theatre and pop rock performers. She is on the Music Theatre Faculty at Sheridan College as well as the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Guelph.

She holds an MFA in Musical Theatre from the Boston Conservatory and a BMus in Classical Voice from Western. She has also earned Evidence-Based Vocal Pedagogy certifications with Maddie Tarbox and can often be found adjudicating and guest lecturing at Ontario festivals, universities and theatre companies.

Breanne is an active performer in the Canadian musical theatre scene and has performed numerous roles, solo concerts and cabarets in New York, Boston and Toronto. Select roles include Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Vivienne (Legally Blonde), Fantine (Les Miserables).

She is deeply dedicated to her studio and has coached numerous students to top honours and scholarships with RCM, Kiwanis Music Festival and NATS. Having studied and performed in both Canada and the States, Breanne is aware of what is expected of an actor on stage, in a rehearsal and in an audition. Breanne provides her students with not only technical proficiency and musicianship skills, but also storytelling and acting coaching. She has had students accepted at Sheridan, NYU Tisch, Carnegie Melon and the Boston Conservatory and now they can be found working at Canadian Equity houses including Mirvish Productions, Drayton Entertainment, Neptune Theatre and Rainbow Stage.

It is Breanne’s goal to champion her students and provide a safe working space for exploration and growth.

Joe Sorbara

Creative Music Workshop with Joe Sorbara

Through musical games, structured and conducted improvisations, and whatever else we find together in the moment, we will explore some playful approaches to our instruments and some adventurous ways of making music together.

Canadian drummer and percussionist Joe Sorbara has spent decades developing a reputation as a dedicated and imaginative performer, composer, improviser, collaborator, organiser, listener, writer, and educator. A consummate sonic adventurer, Sorbara’s music draws on a vast array of influences, most notably the African American Creative Music tradition. They have performed and recorded with many of the most celebrated musicians in the music and, in addition to teaching through the School of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Guelph for over a decade, worked extensively as a workshop facilitator and guest lecturer across Canada. As an organiser, they contributed substantially to Toronto's creative music scene, co-founding the long-running Leftover Daylight Series and the Association for Improvising Musicians, Toronto (AIMToronto). Joe now resides with their family in Guelph, serving on the board of directors of local artspace, Silence, and as the Artistic Director of the Guelph Jazz Festival.