Melinda Wharton wants her students to carry a tune throughout summer and into the coming school year.

With the generosity of others, Wharton and fellow teachers have assembled 65 young musicians to help them try some new numbers and hone their young skills. It is all part of a weeklong Auburn Summer Music Camp for elementary and middle school students.

The camp is keeping boys and girls nimble with their fingers and gentle with their strings.

“I tease the kids that it’s good to get the musical instruments out from under their beds,” said Wharton, camp coordinator and orchestra instructor at Mt. Baker Middle School. “I’m encouraging them to pick up their instruments, to play and to grow.”

The camp culminates with a casual concert at 7 p.m. today at Messiah Lutheran Church, 410 H St. NE. It is free to the public.

Junior campers in grades 2-5 will play guitars, violins and drums, while the youth class (middle school grades) will perform in band, orchestra and guitar orchestra groups.

Students have practiced three hours daily in preparation for the finale.

“I have a lot of different friends from different schools, so it’s nice to see them,” said Lindsey Sanborn, seventh-grader-to-be at Mt. Baker who plays the cello. “And Mrs. Wharton is easy going, hilarious and makes it fun. She takes the time to get to know us.”

The camp was made possible with the support of teachers from Mt. Baker and Kent’s Cedar Heights Middle School. Messiah Lutheran opened its doors to the cause. West Campus Music loaned the instruments.

“I saw that Auburn needed a summer program like this,” Wharton said.