Y oung musicians from all over the world are getting a chance to perform side-by-side in a district-sponsored music camp in San Diego, California, USA.

Prospective Youth Exchange students interested in the District 5340 MusiCamp program submit an audition tape as part of their exchange application. Those accepted then spend two weeks in intense practice with the symphony, culminating in a performance for the community, and a third week participating in cultural activities in the San Diego area. The young musicians stay with families from different Rotary clubs in the district.

This year, 20 students from 14 countries, including Italy, Poland, and Turkey, participated in the August camp. The San Diego district sent 20 young people to camps in these countries as part of the exchange.

"The kids bond so rapidly, it's amazing," says Bill Sturgeon, of the Rotary Club of Coronado, who created MusiCamp. "They'll communicate with each other for the rest of their lives."

Sturgeon has been involved with Youth Exchange since the early 1990s. He started a district Youth Exchange summer camp in San Diego after hearing about similar camps in Europe at a Youth Exchange officers meeting in 1995. The camp in San Diego became so successful that he wanted to create a second camp to allow more students to participate.

After noticing that many of the camp participants were talented musicians, he talked to the director of the San Diego Youth Symphony, and in 2005, MusiCamp was born.

"Things happen with the music," Sturgeon says. "Musicians all speak that common language with no borders. … They all work together and admire each others' abilities."