Hope Lutheran’s gift of hope and music

Arthur Soman takes his young charges
through their paces

“The sound of music filled the air!”  This is what can be said every day at a one week summer Music Camp at Hope Lutheran Church (located at 14 Centre Street- near Markham Road and Eglinton, Scarborough).

Each day 140 campers between the ages of 5-14 gather for a full day of learning and fun. A quick tour of the Music Camp shows that it is obviously a well-run camp. Children smoothly move between sessions as they spend time playing guitar, keyboard, steel drums, djembe drums, singing and dancing.

As one walks into the church sanctuary, one is met with the beautiful sounds of the steel pan. Hope chairman Arthur Soman notes, “While we use many different instruments at Hope, we are most well-known for our steel pans. It is a joy for me to help teach a new generation of steel pan players.”

Working alongside the 140 campers are 60+ volunteers. “We are blessed to have so many volunteers who help to make this camp possible. The volunteers are a combination of adult members from our congregation, some of whom take a week of their vacation time to serve in this way. We also have a wonderful team of teens who assist.

This is the 10th year the Hope is conducting its Music Camp. “Hope began this camp as a way to serve and give back to our community,” added Hope’s pastor Mark Henrich, “It is a joy to be able to impact so many through the gift of music.”