Wartburg College’s inaugural Meistersinger Chamber Strings Camp for students in sixth grade and up will feature workshops with guest artists from June 26 to 29.

Throughout the camp, students will perform in both quartet and large ensemble settings while working with artists from the Cedar Valley Strings, the Wartburg string faculty and Rebecca Nederhiser, Wartburg Community Symphony director. A special chamber group will be formed for all bass players, who also will perform with the large ensemble. The camp will end with a concert featuring a commissioned arrangement of Amy Beach’s piano work “Children’s Carnival” for a string ensemble.

“I am excited to be hosting a chamber music camp. It will be a great opportunity for students to work with talented guest artists and new musicians within their community right here on the Wartburg campus,” Nederhiser said.

The camp is $300 for those who stay on campus and $230 for commuters. Registration must be received before June 1.

Bethany Washington, Wartburg’s upper strings instructor and St. George Quartet coach, believes chamber music is an essential and often neglected piece of a musician’s education.

“While most students have the opportunity to play in a large ensemble at school, and many are able to work on solo pieces through school or private lessons, few students have the opportunity to explore chamber music,” said Washington, who also performs with the Wartburg, Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Des Moines symphonies. “Chamber music requires musicians to perform their part like a soloist while simultaneously knowing everyone else’s part, much like a conductor knows what every section is doing and how it fits together.”

Sally Malcolm, a violist with Cedar Valley Strings, will bring her experiences playing with symphonies and chamber groups from New Zealand to New York to her work mentoring student musicians during the camp.

“I hope students will leave camp with a passion for chamber music, no matter what the genre,” she said. “Not only is performing in small ensembles a lot of fun, but I hope they come away with newly found skills in collaboration, leadership and performance and a new way of thinking about music.”For more information or to register, visit www.wartburg.edu/camps.