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The origins of CAMco

 
The only thing disorganized about him is the hair, honest!

Clarinettist Cameron Hewes was frustrated with the current ways of searching for clarinet repertoire.  It's easy to find endless, painstaking details about the latest rice cooker on the internet, but there is no consistency or depth in the information about musical works for the clarinet.

•  What music is available for a certain combination of instruments?
•  What does it sound like?
•  What does the score look like?
•  Is it any good?
•  What's the difference between editions of the same work?
•  What does urtext actually mean?

As it turns out, he wasn't the only one asking these questions!


(these are all real Facebook posts, with identities obscured!)


Cameron wanted a single website that would cover all of them...so, after an internship at TrevCo-Varner Music, he made CAMco.

CAMco's mission is to organize, preserve, and curate the clarinet family's repertoire.


Organize

Today's musicians have an abundance of options when choosing performance works and educational materials.  However, it can be difficult to make sense of the scattered information, especially with sheet music's international scope.

CAMco's organization offers powerful flexibility, "re-shelving" any piece into limitless categories to suit a variety of needs and curiosities.  With over a dozen search filters, as well as specific collections, you can make repertoire searches that simply aren't possible anywhere else:

•  Discover new works from living composers and connect with the art that is grounded in what's happening around us.
•  Delve into a specific historical period and find hidden gems that have flown under the radar.
•  Tap into a rich and diverse pedagogy through educational materials from around the world.

Preserve

If a musical work is not available to buy, it can become extinct.  This readily happens to music that isn't popular or cheap, and to niche music like much of the clarinet repertoire.  CAMco's exhaustive research ensures that all works are discoverable whether you're interested in a distant Baroque-era transcription, or something so modern that it requires as much foot-stomping as blowing!  Looking beyond the entrenched "dead white male" canon, CAMco is committed to cultivating a diverse catalog of composers and including equal visibility for historically underrepresented groups.

Curate

When you decide to read a novel, you can visit your choice of bookstore/website/library and simply get a copy of that book. However, a piece of music could be printed by a variety publishers from all around the world - and unlike books, you don't need a translator to read sheet music from another country!  CAMco collects all editions in one place, so that you can easily compare their unique qualities.  Whether you are on a tight budget, are looking to "upgrade" your current worn copy, or want the latest in musicological research, use CAMco's edition comparisons to find the best for your needs.

Enhanced learning
While some editions are designed for use in performance, others adopt a different editorial treatment, sometimes labeled as "scholarly," "critical," or "urtext."  Through preface texts and music annotations, these editions provide background context about the composer, the work's origins, or the editorial process, which can deepen your understanding and jump-start your preparation of the work.
Think of your pianist!
Works involving large ensembles are often published with a reduced orchestration for piano.  Since the standard repertoire has a multitude of piano reductions that vary widely in their usefulness or compatibility for pianists, having options to choose from is crucial.
New possibilities
CAMco goes the extra mile to unearth programming and curricular opportunities that would otherwise be lost in the noise, like simplified versions of popular works for less advanced clarinettists, or audio accompaniment editions for immersion during the study process.

 
CAMco is gradually growing and improving in a number of ways, starting with "fleshing out" the product descriptions and listening links.  New works will trickle into the catalog nearly every day, and edition comparisons will be published on a regular basis. Besides these basic improvements, there are exciting large-scale projects that will take more time to achieve; you can get the latest news on CAMco's progress by following our Facebook page.

Give CAMco's search tools a spin, or browse the specially-selected collections.

Questions? Please ask.

 

 

...and a little more about that clarinettist:

As a soloist, clarinettist Cameron Hewes has performed concerti with the Lynn Philharmonia and the Crane Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as an orchestral and chamber musician in New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Cameron studied clarinet with Jon Manasse, Julianne Kirk Doyle, Richard Shaughnessy, and Elizabeth Leehey. He holds degrees in music performance and visual art, and is uniquely talented as both a performer and an artist.