Music Camps you have attended/known?

Subject: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Susan A-R
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 05:28 PM

I'm looking for a music camp, folk music, possibly a mix of instrumental and singing. I'm feeling a need for that total emersion experience, and wonder what folks have had for music camp experiences. Interested in good quality faculty, lots of participation, reasonable cost, or great tuition assistance if I have to travel (I'm New England based)

What have you liked, not liked, thought of trying out?

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 05:43 PM

Folk Music Week at Pinewoods, Plymouth, Mass., from the Country Dance and Song Society. There are very few things comparable for singing.

I've never been, but Augusta would be the other set of programs I'd think of.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 06:02 PM

I have attended MBA (Maryland Banjo Academy) in 1999 and 2000. A wonderful three-day experience.   No more, alas.

I went to Banjo Camp North in 2001 and 2002, I think it was, and an even better experience. This camp is still operating.

Of course unless you play banjo neither of the above will mean anything to you.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: michaelr
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 07:39 PM

The best in the West is, without a doubt, Lark in the Morning. Great setting (in the California redwoods), great variety, great staff.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 07:51 PM

And you really should attend San Francisco's Camp Harmony the week after Christmas some year, Susan. It's like the October Getaway of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, but 6 days - so it's more relaxed.
I know the distance might be a problem, but cross-country plane fares can sometimes be cheaper that going across New England.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,KT
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 07:56 PM

Susan, you're a fiddler, right? Fiddle Tunes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
in Port townsend, WA, (near Seattle) is a great, week-long experience. Not too much singing, though, as I recall, but lots and lots of tunes!!! Great faculty, lots of fun! It's usually around the 4th of July holiday. I haven't been there in several years, but am thinking about going this year. I'd love to check out Lark in the Morning, too.

You've inspired me to start seaching!

KT

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 08:03 PM

I highly recommend the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, near Seattle. Not just for guitarists (though that's certainly an emphasis), there's singing, dancing, and instruction in other acoustic instruments as well. The student concert is a unique experience--four or five hours of music, and nobody wants to miss a minute. And what the site says about the strength of the camp being its teachers--I heartily agree. The staff makes a concerted effort to hire faculty who are not only excellent musicians but also excellent teachers. You won't be disappointed. I haven't been there since 1990, but would dearly love to return some time. (I did finally make it back to Camp Harmony this year, so maybe PSGW will happen, too.)

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Peter T.
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 08:08 PM

The Woods camp north of Toronto is supposed to be great (never been), and it is in August!!

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Fred Maslan
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 08:57 PM

Just got back from Rainy camp put on by the Seattle Song Circle in carnation washington. A fantastic group hum. Alas it is across the country from you.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: sharyn
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 10:06 PM

I second the vote for Camp Harmony (San Francisco Folk Music Club). Plenty of fiddling to be found there. But watch out if you like to sing, too -- one fiddler I know never made it to a single singing session this time.

What you'll like depends on what you want: Camp Harmony is pretty do-it-yourself: no guest teachers, no luminaries. People sign up to lead workshops, dances have open bands, concert spots are first-come first-served and jamming happens everywhere at all hours.

Puget Sound Workshop is much more structured than that: the most fun I had there was cutting class and swimming in the lake -- but that's because none of my classes suited me. The concert was good -- I still remember particular songs I heard that night (some years ago). I found the song circles leaning heavily toward original songs -- NEVER a plus, in my humble opinion, and I write.

If you like traditional music, check out the camps put on by the Vancouver Folk Song Society -- one in late June, one in early December. The quality of music has been uneven, in my experience, but it's a good group of people, and some years it's wonderful. Of course, it's the other side of the world for you.

Augusta might be closer. A friend of mine swears by it and goes every year. That's the Augusta Heritage event mentioned above.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Bobert
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 10:16 PM

Augusta!!!

Been 3 times in the last 5 years...

Hey, maybe they're getting ready to pay me instead o' paying them...

Bobert

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 10:22 PM

I haven't attended any of these except a little excursion to Rainy Camp last year, but I have lots of cups and posters and t-shirts, courtesy my Dad, John Dwyer, who attended lots of them. Two favorites were the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and Rainy Camp.

SRS

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,a happy camper
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 11:13 PM

Folk Music Week at Pinewoods Camp in Miles Standish Forest, Massachusetts run by the Country Dance & Song Society is an excellent music camp. Great musicians, beautiful setting, good food, interesting people, swimming. Attracts everyone from beginners to VERY expert singers and musicians. I like the way campers have input - there is discussion and sharing, not just teachers on a pedestal. Primarily traditional music.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,bonnietime
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 12:02 AM

have you ever heard of Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, Ky? It is a weeklong camp that offers classes in mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and much more. There is a different schedule each year based upon interest. Top notch instructors and jam sessions, evening socials ,etc.... Do a search for Kentucky Music Week or Ky Music Weekend. It is the last week in June.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 09:48 AM

My review of FOLK COLLEGE
in Pennsylvania.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Justa Picker
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 11:01 AM

More here.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Mooh
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 03:14 PM

Celtic College...First week in August, Goderich Ontario Canada. Not really a "camp", but a school preceding their Celtic Roots Festival. www.celticfestival.ca (I think).

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: mg
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 04:02 PM

Don't hestitate to start your own. It isn't that hard. LIne up enough paying guests before committing though and try to get a rental agreement where you pay per guest per night, rather than a flat fee. Food is easy..there are lots of standard menus around and people can tell you quantities etc. Fireplace is almost mandatory. Have food out at all times, peanut butter, chips and dips, fruit,e tc., saves lots of complaints. Have meat on the side for non-vegetarians. Start each morning with bacon and coffee. It is best to have a nice pretty location, but one that is fairly accessible and easy to find is good. Keep costs down. Tell people where nearby motels are if they don't like cabins. Have a snorer's cabin, one for men, one for women, one for families, and a few coed. For heaven's sake, segregate the bathrooms. The music will just about take care of itself but plenty of people can advise you on that. Think carefully about insurance issues, especially if there are children. mg

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: mg
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 04:03 PM

and don't stint on the milk. You can always get more if it runs low. mg

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 05:11 PM

I'd second, or third, Augusta, which is at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins WV. It runs for five weeks, each weeek being different. Tuition, room and board total about $600.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 05:36 PM

Valley Of The Moon School Of Scottish Fiddling is an incredible, magical experience. Don't be fooled by the name. First, although it was first held in Valley Of The moon, California, for the last 18 years or so been eld at Camp Campbell, in California's Santa Cruz mountains (where Camp Harmony is also held). Secondly, while it retains Scottish fiddling as it's core, camp director (and one of the instructors) Alasdair Fraser has branched it out into different types of fiddling. Aly Bain, Buddy MacMaster, Ellika Frissel (Sweden), Annjborg Lien (Norway), Martin Hayes, James Kelly, Mairead Nhi Mhaonaigh, and Bruce Molsky are just some of the fiddle instructors he's had over the years. There's also workshops in singing, guitar, mandolin, percussion, cello, and stepdancing. All levels welcome, from absolute beginners through advanced players, with classes divided on the level at which one learns by ear: slow, medium, and fast, with separate classes for adult and child beginners.

What makes the experience special is the sense of community, the evening sessions and parties, and all the extemporaneous things that makes the camp experience very memorable. And, it's not a clique-ish scene. Newcomers are welcomed into the fold almost immediately after arriving! The instruction is topnotch, and at the end of the week, everyone takes part in a concert the camp puts on in downtown Santa Cruz. It is an unforgettable experience!

Chanteyranger

Another vote here for Camp Harmony.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Genie
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 11:30 PM

Quote: "Don't hestitate to start your own. It isn't that hard. LIne up enough paying guests before committing though and try to get a rental agreement where you pay per guest per night, rather than a flat fee. Food is easy..there are lots of standard menus around and people can tell you quantities etc. Fireplace is almost mandatory. Have food out at all times, peanut butter, chips and dips, fruit,e tc., saves lots of complaints. Have meat on the side for non-vegetarians. Start each morning with bacon and coffee. It is best to have a nice pretty location, but one that is fairly accessible and easy to find is good. Keep costs down. Tell people where nearby motels are if they don't like cabins. Have a snorer's cabin, one for men, one for women, one for families, and a few coed. For heaven's sake, segregate the bathrooms. The music will just about take care of itself but plenty of people can advise you on that. Think carefully about insurance issues, especially if there are children. mg " - Mary Garvey

--

Excellent synopsis, Mary!

In many ways, the smaller gatherings may be the most enjoyable. You can connect with people you have a good chance of seeing and doing music with again, and you don't get lost in the shuffle of a humongous gathering.

Genie

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: mg
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 12:28 AM

True...and the food and chores are so much simpler. You don't have the great huge choruses that are so nice at the larger camps, but we did pretty well with 20 or so at Sunnycamp...

And be sure to check out the Singtime Frolics camp. Not expensive, beautiful location, lots of fun. I have to work so I can't go. mg

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: black walnut
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 08:03 AM

Peter T. mentioned :   
The Woods Music and Dance Camp.

The Woods is fantastic!!!! It is run by Grit Laskin (of guitar fame), Eve Goldberg (of singer/songwriter fame) and others. The camp takes place for 6 days and nights on a Muskoka lake. I've attended for a dozen years in a row, and wouldn't miss it for the world.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: black walnut
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 08:04 AM

I meant to say....on a Muskoka lake in CANADA. Ontario, to be precise. Beautiful place.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 08:11 AM

Echoing Pete T's recommendation, and eminently doable from New England, check out "The Woods Music & Dance Camp"
http://www.mgl.ca/~jhcole/thewoods/

I've been 3 different times, and have had a blast each time. On the shores of Lake Rosseau in Muskoka ('bout 3 hours north of Toronto); couldn't imagine a nicer setting. Classes, sessions, concerts, dances, jams - the only thing lacking will be sleep - you just don't want to stop.

Also, Mooh mentioned the Celtic College in Goderich Ontario. Again, a great time if you crave Celtic immersion - a week of classes, as well as evening activities, followed by a full-tilt-boogie Celtic festival on the weekend.

C'mon, trek northward - you won't regret it.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 01:00 PM

Another vote for Augusta. Excellent bang for the buck. Beautiful setting.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Burke
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 07:11 PM

I haven't been, but I've heard good things about Ashokan near Woodstock, NY. I think dance gets equal emphasis with the music.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GLoux
Date: 15 Feb 05 - 03:37 PM

I went to Ashokan back in 1984 and really enjoyed it. You have to pick the type of music you want to pursue and go to the week that that music and dance is the focus. There is Northern Week (contras, etc.), Southern Week, etc. The setting is idyllic. Chase the link above for more.

Augusta is another that's been going for years and many people I know have gone and raved about it...its focus is West Virginia culture...

Both of these camps have been going for years and run like well-oiled machines...all the kinks have been worked out...

-Greg

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: jeffp
Date: 15 Feb 05 - 03:57 PM

Augusta has five weeks of programs, each with a different emphasis. The third week is Irish Week, which is the one I have attended five or six times. I love it! Workshops in the morning, concerts after lunch, another workshop session in the afternoon, dances or concerts in the evening, and jamming all night long! If you want to play tunes, there are any number of sessions of various levels. If you want to sing, the singing session moved indoors last year into a rotunda with absolutely stunning acoustics.

I probably won't make it this year, but I'm hoping to next year.

jeffp

BTW, the food is college food. Nuff said about that.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GLoux
Date: 15 Feb 05 - 04:16 PM

Another good camp is the Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, North Carolina. Like the others, multiple weeks with different focus each week.

-Greg

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: bet
Date: 15 Feb 05 - 09:47 PM

Sorry Michaelr, I could never recommend Lark In the Morning. I attended 2 summers ago and found the gathering pretty unfriendly, crowded. Things looked really good on paper, I was extrememly dissapointed! I finally left early. bet

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Genie
Date: 16 Feb 05 - 03:41 AM

If you're anywhere near the Pacific NW, do check out both Rainy Camp (Feb.) and Singtime Frolics (March). Both are excellent weekends, big enough to provide some great jamming but small enough to .. well, .. provide some great jamming!

Genie

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: KathWestra
Date: 16 Feb 05 - 01:06 PM

Pinewoods Camp folk music week (Aug. 27-Sept. 3 this year) is a great week in a lovely setting. This year's lineup looks particularly interesting--a great mix of styles, and both instrumental and vocal focus, depending on what floats your boat. Follow the link above to get details. I believe tuition for the week, which includes everything, is just over $700. People are friendly, there's loads of group singing--both built into the day's schedule, and informal after-hours stuff--and formal classes (two in the morning and two in the afternoon, your choice). As to the facility, downsides are not enough bathrooms and showers close to the cabins, and a really long schlep to unload your stuff at the beginning of the week (fine if the weather is good, but a real royal pain if it's not). Upsides, in addition to the consistently wonderful teaching staff, include the gorgeous natural setting near Cape Cod, two swell "ponds" (think "lake" if you're not from New England) to swim in, and really good food.

Augusta is on a college campus and always feels more formal to me, and there isn't the added attraction of nature surrounding you, but they always have wonderful faculty and good singing. One word of warning: BRING AN ELECTRIC FAN FOR YOUR ROOM!!!!! West Virginia can get stifling hot in the summer, and the dorm rooms can be like ovens.
Cheers,
Kathy

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Ferrara
Date: 16 Feb 05 - 02:30 PM

Good point about those electric fans! It was still sweltering in spite of the fan in my room at Augusta, and the open window brought in smoke from the Civil War re-enactors across the street. :-)

In addition to Irish Augusta has an Old Time week that recently has been at the same time as Vocal Week.

A lot depends on what direction you want to go, Susan. Are you interested in Old Time or Irish? Or all Celtic? Or a variety of techniques and styles? Or what?

The Augusta classes are fairly formal and they do focus on one style for the week, even in the late night jams that's true to some extent. They have great teachers though and it's a gorgeous campus surrounded by mountains.

Sounds as if there are some great choices available.

Rita

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,Surreysinger
Date: 16 Feb 05 - 07:08 PM

Nobody said that these had to be in the States, did they? If you wanted to try the UK, how about Folk South West's "In the Tradition" Bath Easter school, held on the premises of Bath Spa University, with professional tutors on Song, Fiddle, Guitar, band, harmony etc. I've done the Traditional Song course three times, first two with Shirley Collins and Eddie Upton as tutors, third with John Kirkpatrick, Eddie Upton and Nancy Kerr. Tutors on other courses in the last few years have included Martin Carthy, Tim van Eycken, Paul Burgess, Chris Wood, etc. Courses cover four days, and are on the basis of masterclasses, with one-to-one tuition in front of your group.

There are also the Folkworks Summer schools - one for adults and the other for young students - held in Durham in August. I've never been on one of these, but understand that they follow similar principals. These courses last a week, and the tutors include similar luminaries of the folk world.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 17 Feb 05 - 02:18 PM

Augusta,

As jeffp said,
"BTW, the food is college food. Nuff said about that. "
Think of that as a good thing. You won't be tempted to overeat.
Fill up at the salad bar and stay away from th ice cream bar.

Kathy is not entirely correct about the need for a fan.
The International Dorm (up the hill) is air conditioned. You can request that dorm. It is also quieter after hours.

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Susan A-R
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 12:35 AM

Hmmmm, I wonder if I could make a living doing a study of comparative folk camps? My plan is now to do at least one full week a year, checking out different camps each year, possibly combining them with vacations if they are far afield. Thanks, what an amazing list.

(Susan A-R, sitting at home in VT where it's plunging below zero again and she's feeling like it's time for camp NOW!!)

Subject: RE: Music Camps you have attended/known?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 19 Feb 05 - 03:26 AM

Well, Susan, it's probably not too late to sign up for Wild Asparagus' Tropical Dance Vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii, my former island home. No snow there...unless you decide to drive to the top of Mauna Kea.

Aloha,
Mark