Prestigious camp fuels sophomore’s strings passion

CHILLICOTHE – Alex Adkins shows no hesitation when asked by someone he’s just met to pull out his violin and bow and send the classical strains of Johann Sebastian Bach wafting into the air.

His movements are smooth, with eyes sliding easily across each note in front of him and his bow moving confidently across the strings as the volume of the centuries-old piece rises and falls.

Adkins has every reason to be confident in his performance. During the summer, the Chillicothe High School sophomore had the chance to learn from and play alongside some of the best, and he hopes to one day be considered among them.

His opportunity to attend the Electrify Your Strings Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp in Olathe, Kansas, came about during the former Trans-Siberian Orchestra performer’s visit to Chillicothe High School in the spring. Wood, as part of his Electrify Your Strings program, worked for two days with Chillicothe middle and high school musicians and then led them in a concert.

As part of that visit, Wood extended an invitation to Adkins to attend his camp, which annually welcomes about 80 to 90 young players from all around the world. And when Adkins’ grandparents stepped up to help with the funds, helping turn the trip into a family vacation, he accepted.

“It’s the best experience I’ve ever had,” said Adkins, 15. “I already want to go back next year. It’s just so welcoming, and everyone is just so helpful, so nice from the first day you walk in.”

During the camp, the musicians were immersed in classes that show students how to hone their performance, learn to improvise and work with the latest technology, all while being taught to bring special life and creativity to their music.

Each night, campers got the opportunity to enjoy a concert from noted musicians in the field, including cellists Emil & Dariel from “America’s Got Talent,” the Mark Wood Experience band and David Wallace, who has performed with celebrated orchestras and at famous venues across the country.

Several of the faculty involved with the camp are graduates of the prestigious Julliard School in New York City. What impressed both Adkins and his parents was the chance offered to interact with the instructors.

“It was just amazing that you had access to all these super-talented musicians and they were so passionate about music and teaching the kids,” said Adkins’ mother, Teresa.

“Sometimes, you would go to something like that and those people that you’re talking about, they’re there to push a product or whatever,” said Adkins’ father, Barry. “These guys were actually there to work with these kids one-on-one, and that was amazing.”

Adkins has taken guitar lessons since he was eight, and took up the violin when he was in the fourth grade at Allen Elementary School when papers were passed out about joining the orchestra program in the Chillicothe City Schools.

“(The school district) had that opportunity and I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” Adkins said. “I figured I can play guitar, and it’s got strings, and so does a violin. I just kept getting more and more involved in it, and I started to evolve as a musician and I started to like it more and get onto a higher level in projects and it got me to where I am today.

“Actually, a really big part of it was being in the school orchestra. Honestly, if (the school) had never offered that to me, I never would have discovered I could do this.”

Having originally wanted to become the next Eddie Van Halen with his guitar playing, his last year of work with his violin and electric violin, coupled with a chance to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform when he was in the sixth grade, has expanded his potential horizons for a musical career.

His first experience with Wood’s camp, he said, has pointed him in the right direction.

“I have a renewed sense of leadership in the world of strings,” he said. “It’s opened up my mind to a whole new world of something I can have for a career. “