Cross-curricular pedagogy is common at Denison and other liberal arts institutions, especially within the arts, where we are always looking for opportunities to expose young performing artists to multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts. When given the opportunity to thoroughly and thoughtfully explore all aspects of a creative project, their world expands, and they gain a deep and enriching understanding of how artists across the disciplines think and work.
Denison’s inaugural Summer TUTTI performing arts camp aims to give young artists a chance to realize this opportunity early in their development, providing both specialized training in their field and exposure to other creative outlets. The innovative 8-day performing arts camp is tailored to high school students who are passionate about dance, music, and theatre. The immersive residential program will give high schoolers a taste of life at a college focused on providing performing arts training on par with top conservatories alongside a life-shaping liberal arts education.
At most performing arts camps, students perform only in their disciplines. Summer TUTTI — which takes its name from the musical term for “all together” — also focuses on collaboration. Students will learn alongside Denison professors, members of the Grammy-award winning quartets ETHEL and Third Coast Percussion, as well as the Available Light Theatre Company, who will be on campus for the full program week.
Summer TUTTI is open to students who will be rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors (ages 15 to 18) by the time the program starts in June 2023. We welcome dancers (all styles), instrumentalists (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and piano), composers, and students interested in all aspects of theatre-making (acting, directing, designing).
Summer TUTTI Performing Arts Camp is made possible in part by a grant of nearly $13,000 from the Ohio Arts Council’s ArtsNEXT grant for experimental projects, and financial support is available for families with need. Applications are now open for the 2023 session. The priority application deadline is March 1, 2023.
Ching-chu Hu is the director of Summer TUTTI, director of the Vail Series, the Richard Lucier Endowed Professor of Music at Denison University, and an award-winning composer whose music has been performed nationally and internationally, with reviews describing his music as “breathtaking,”(allmusic) “richly textured” (Charleston Post and Currier), and “incredible” (The Columbus Dispatch).