Across hundreds of miles and several time zones, a shared love of music recently united communities from Ohio Northern University and Germany.
This past June, German students traveled to Ada to attend ONU’s Summer Music Camp. A few weeks later, music professor Dr. Sarah Waters and 18 ONU alumni made a reciprocal journey to Germany for a reunion and performances alongside past and present camp participants.
“It felt like a great big family trip,” says Waters. “It was magical.”
As Ohio’s longest-running summer program for young musicians in grades 7-12, operating for 54 years, ONU’s camp primarily draws students from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. However, the village of Laupheim, Germany, regularly sends 3-5 young musicians, and every three years, Stuttgart-based conductor Alexander Beer serves as the camp’s guest conductor.
First forged under a former music faculty member, these cultural ties have continued under Waters, who has coordinated and led the camp since 2006. Over the years, the ONU music alumni she recruits to assist with the camp have built lasting friendships with the visiting German musicians.
This summer’s Germany trip only strengthened those bonds, Waters says.
The ONU contingent began their journey in Laupheim staying with host families and performing a joint concert with the village band. They then traveled to Stuttgart for two additional concerts with Beer. In between rehearsals, the group shared meals and explored the region with their German hosts, most of whom were past campers.
To showcase America’s distinct musical heritage, Waters selected a repertoire that included Sousa marches and jazz standards. The German audiences responded enthusiastically, even participating in call-and-response to numbers like “Minnie the Moocher.”
“The arts are valued in Germany and musicians are highly respected,” Waters noted, pointing out that nearly every town maintains its own Stadtkapelle, or civic band.
For ONU alumnus Jeff Martin, BM ’13, steel band director at Clark Montessori High School in Cincinnati, experiencing this tradition, where multi-generational community ensembles flourish outside the traditional school system, was a highlight.
“I loved seeing how the community came together at the Friday night potluck to celebrate our friendship,” Martin said. “I want to carry more of that spirit in the ensembles I teach and lead.”
Martin teared up while performing Gershwin’s beautiful “Someone to Watch Over Me” ballad with vocalist Shay Bolton, BM ’23. The melody and lyrics brought to mind the years of cross-cultural hospitality.
“As the music played, I was struck by the sense of care and love poured into the notes and rhythms that comes from 16 years of looking after each other,” he said.
For fellow alumnus C.J. Brincefield, BA ’16, private trumpet instructor, freelance musician, and interim band director at Heidelberg University, the trip reinforced a fundamental truth about music.
“We as educators often claim that music is a universal language,” Brincefield said. “But until you experience making music in a different culture, you don’t truly understand.”