About
The Great British Music Camp aims to provide an inspirational and creative environment for one week each summer, during which talented young musicians can come together to create and perform music across all boundaries in a distraction-free environment.
GBMC was set up by Adam Watts and Jason Tebble. Christine Shellard has also acted as a consultant in setting up this charity, bringing over 40 years of music education experience to the table.
Adam Watts
Adam has many years’ experience of tutoring and directing music camps in the Milton Keynes area. He is a skilled pianist and accordion player with over 30 years’ experience, having regularly and successfully competed in the All-Britain Accordion Championships both as a soloist and as a member of the world champion Colchester Accordion Orchestra. Adam also has an impressive track record in setting up and running very successful corporate enterprises, which has been vital in making GBMC a well-run and successful charity. Probably one of the most enthusiastic characters anyone could meet, his determination to make GBMC a world-leading music experience shows through in every aspect of the camp.
Jason Tebble
Jason is a professional bass player, guitarist and teacher. He has years of experience tutoring and directing residential music camps, as well as running rock schools throughout most school holidays. He cares passionately about making sure young musicians are inspired and energised by music and are given every opportunity to be allowed to pursue what is such a valuable talent. He believes residential music courses can be a huge part of this.
His playing work in the last year has seen him on stage at high-profile festivals such as Isle of Wight and Cork Jazz, touring the US and gaining endorsement from Source Audio. Alongside this, he is regularly gigging in and around London with his own band.
His work as an educator saw him set up a successful program of band workshops on the Wirral that ran for 4 years, before moving to London to work in partnership with Arts First offering a similar program in Highbury and Islington.
Christine Shellard
Having graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, her teaching career covered four very different London secondary schools over a period of 44 years.
Kingsdale was a new 2000 ILEA mixed comprehensive school where every student learned an instrument in the classroom, something unique at that time. Leading a strong team of instrumental staff, the music department quickly produced musicals and operettas, also holding school concerts at the newly built Fairfield Halls. This school’s strong musical tradition lasts to this day.
In her next role as Head of Music at Holy Trinity, Christine kept the important emphasis of practical music-making in the classroom, also combining dance and the fine arts in school productions such as ‘Dido and Aeneas’ and ‘Carmen’.
Taking her next challenge as Head of Music combined with Head of Upper School at another new mixed school with 1,000 pupils, Christine developed both ‘in-house’ productions and the fine choir, orchestra and band. These were taken on many trips around the UK and Europe.
Finally, a leading girls’ comprehensive school provided ample scope for all the previous ongoing ingredients for classroom music, strong choirs and orchestras, annual trips abroad and residential experiences in this country.
The value of residential music making cannot be underestimated. The chance to get away from the school environment - the opportunity to make friends and to work together with an enthusiastic group of volunteer tutors, combined with the fun of creating a memorable concert for family and friends will all provide rich and happy lifelong memories.