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Texas Choir Corner
Choir Camp Packing List
Everything your student actually needs for overnight choir camp — from someone who has packed this bag more than once and still forgot something.
This list is built for overnight choir camps in Texas — which means June heat, college dorm rooms, communal showers, and approximately zero air conditioning that's working the way it should. I've tried to focus on the things parents don't automatically think of, not just "pack a toothbrush."
Click each item to check it off as you pack. Use the print button below for a clean list to take to the store.
Want a clean version without all the shopping links? Print a simple checklist.
🎵 The music essentials
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Music & supplies
None of this is optional
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All-State music packet (SSAA or TTBB)
Order from JW Pepper or Pender's — not Amazon. Check with your camp which packet you need before ordering. Order early. Like, now early.
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1-inch black three-ring binder
Most camps specify black. Don't send them with a hot pink sparkle binder. Trust me on this one.
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Pencils — at least five
They will lose at least two. Pack five. Pack seven if your student is who I think they are.
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Page protectors or sheet music sleeves
Keeps music from getting wrecked in a sweaty rehearsal room. Choir directors notice binders that look like they've been through a car wash.
🌙 Overnight essentials
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Dorm room survival
Pack like you're going to a very musical sleepover
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XL twin sheet set
This is the one parents get wrong most often. College dorm beds are longer than standard twin. Regular twin sheets don't fit — they pop off the mattress all night. You need Twin XL (39" × 80"). Don't learn this the hard way at 11pm move-in night.
The dorm will not provide one. They will sleep on a bare mattress if you don't send a pillow. Don't ask me how I know.
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Bath towels (2) and washcloth
Two. Because one will be wet when they need it again.
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Cash in small bills
Pizza nights, bookstore trips, talent show merch, vending machines. Most camps are cash-only for the fun extras. $20–40 in small bills is about right.
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Comfortable clothes for rehearsals
They will be sitting in a chair for 6–8 hours a day. Comfort over everything. Layers too — rehearsal rooms are always either freezing or sweltering, never normal.
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Activity clothes + swimwear
Many camps (TCU's Frog Cup, TTU's beach party, etc.) have water activities. Check your specific camp's schedule. Most camps will tell you to bring clothes you can get wet.
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Black attire for final concert
Check your specific camp's requirements — most want all-black for the final performance. Confirm before you pack.
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Phone charger
They will forget this if you don't put it in yourself.
🛒 The stuff worth buying
These are the items most families don't already have and genuinely need. If I had to pick five things to send every choir camp parent to buy, these are it.
🌬️
Texas summer essential
Portable personal fan
Dorm rooms in Texas in June are not air-conditioned to a comfortable temperature. A small USB-powered or rechargeable desk fan is not optional — it's survival. Get one that's compact enough to pack easily.
Communal dorm showers are not the place to be juggling a shampoo bottle and a razor. A hanging mesh caddy keeps everything organized, drains fast, and saves your student from setting their stuff on who-knows-what surface.
Communal showers. That's the whole reason. Your student's existing flip flops are fine — but if they don't have a pair, get cheap ones. They will thank you.
Dorm outlets are never where you need them, and your student will spend the week walking to the other side of the room to charge their phone. A 10,000mAh power bank fixes this entirely.
Your student's choir director will tell them this forty times. Staying hydrated is the single most important thing for vocal health. Make sure it actually goes in the bag.
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Throat Coat tea packets
This is the choir world's go-to tea — every voice teacher recommends it. Slip a few bags in their bag for the dorm room. Warm water, Throat Coat, honey. That's the move.
Raw honey in warm water or tea is a singer's best friend. Easy to pack, genuinely soothing, and it won't dry them out the way medicated lozenges can.
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Entertainer's Secret throat spray
This is the one vocal coaches and professionals actually use — not just a generic drugstore lozenge. It's not widely known outside choir circles, which is exactly why it's worth mentioning here.
Texas heat + over-air-conditioned rehearsal spaces + singing all day = dry vocal tract. Saline spray keeps the whole system hydrated. Sounds nerdy. Works.
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Zinc lozenges (Cold-EEZE or similar)
Camp is a petri dish. Dozens of teenagers singing together in close quarters for a week. Pack these and tell your student to take one at the first sign of a scratch. A sick voice before auditions is every choir parent's nightmare.
⚠️ What NOT to do (vocal health edition)
Menthol throat drops — they feel soothing but actually dry out the vocal cords. Hall's and similar feel like they're helping. They're not.
Dairy before a big rehearsal — increases mucus production. Skip the milk at breakfast on heavy singing days.
Whispering during vocal rest — counterintuitive but true: whispering is actually harder on your voice than speaking at a normal, supported volume. If they need to rest, rest. Don't whisper.
Ice cold drinks right before singing — constricts the vocal cords. Room temperature water is better than ice water in the rehearsal room.
Excessive caffeine — dehydrating. Coffee and energy drinks before a long singing day is not the move.
👩 A note from one choir mom to another
The thing nobody tells you before the first camp is how fast move-in is. You pull up to the dorm, you have about fifteen minutes to haul everything in, give your kid a hug, and get back in the car — and they're already off meeting people before you've made it back to the highway. Pack the bag together the night before. Check it off together. It's a good excuse to sit with them for a minute before the summer gets busy.
Texas Choir Corner is an unofficial, parent-created resource and is not affiliated with TMEA, any school district, university, or choir camp. Always verify specific camp requirements with your camp directly — packing lists vary by camp. | Texas Choir Corner is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Affiliate links are clearly marked.