Acadia Summer Music Academies

Mellisa Ashley - Haley Band Co-Director

Mellisa Ashley is the music teacher at West Hants Middle School, where she has taught Grade 6 Music and Grades 7–8 Band for the past five years. Before returning home to Nova Scotia, she spent a decade teaching Elementary Music and Grades 7–9 Band in Calgary, Alberta.

With 15 years of experience leading beginner bands, directing concerts and school productions, and organizing school-wide and community celebrations, Mellisa is passionate about creating meaningful musical experiences that help students build confidence, creativity, and a lifelong love of music.

Mellisa is a graduate of Acadia University, where she earned degrees in Music Education ('06) and Education ('08). In 2024, she received the Canadian Music Educators’ Association Builders Award in recognition of her work building community through music education.

This is Mellisa’s first year with the Acadia School of Music Summer Music Academy, and she is excited to work with young musicians and see the remarkable musical growth that can happen in just one week.

We are so looking forward to this year's camp, and we hope you are, too!

As we get closer to the start of camp, we want to allow all our campers to get to know the wonderful team they'll be working with. Keep an eye on our page over the next few weeks as we introduce each amazing member of this year's faculty 🎶

This is your last chance to register for this year's camp ⏳

Have you been thinking about joining us at the Acadia Summer Music Academy this July? If so, don't delay - registration closes on Monday!
Need more information? Please visit our website at summermusic.acadiau.ca for more information.

Hope to see you there!

The registration deadline for camp is quickly approaching ⏳

Have you been considering joining us at Acadia's Summer Music Academy this July? If so, there's only a week left, so don't delay! Registration closes on June 15.

Please check out our website for more information at summermusic.acadiau.ca

We hope to see you there! 😄

Community Band Update!

We've heard your feedback and are pleased to share that the Community Band stream at Acadia's Summer Music Academy has recently seen some adjustments.
While our Community Band campers will continue to have sessions throughout the day with our youth campers, there will now be dedicated rehearsal time during the day, rather than the evening, for our Community Band ensemble. This change means that we'll now have room for social and recreational activities in the evening for all Community Band campers, too!

For more information, including a sample schedule of the Community Band stream, please visit us at summermusic.acadiau.ca 🎵

Early bird pricing ends this weekend! 📣

This is your final chance to lock in last year's camp pricing. Rates increase on June 1. For more information about Acadia's Summer Music Academy, including fees, please check out our website at summermusic.acadiau.ca

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⏰❗️Early Bird Deadline: May 31 ❗️⏰

Don't forget that our early bird pricing ends on May 31. Be sure to register soon to lock in our 2025 rates. Information about camp, including fees, can be found at summermusic.acadiau.ca 🎶

The Acadia Summer Music Academy is excited to announce a unique professional development opportunity for public school music teachers across Nova Scotia from July 5-11. To support the great work already being done in music classrooms across the province, we are offering free tuition (programming only; accommodations and meals not included) to any current public school music educator who wishes to join us at camp.

We know that music educators need a wide range of skills, including teaching instruments that were not their primary focus in university. We were inspired by the success of a music teacher who joined us as a community band camper last year, and so we are inviting more teachers to join our camp this year to continue building on the skills they already have! At camp, they'll spend the week on a secondary instrument in large ensembles and small-group lessons. They'll also get the opportunity to observe our faculty in action and pick up new tips for rehearsals and sectionals. We hope that it will also serve as a chance for music educators to connect and collaborate in a more relaxed setting.

For more information or to receive a registration code, teachers can email the camp director at [email protected].

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Did you know? Registration for Acadia's Summer Music Academy is now live 🎶
Register before June 1 to lock in early bird pricing!

Check out our website for more information: https://summermusic.acadiau.ca/home.html