Thirty-six students created lots of music together recently at the first Youth Music Project summer camps, held recently at West Linn’s Rosemont Ridge Middle School.
The nonprofit Youth Music Project was established with help from West Linn-based Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation as a way to offer pop, country and rock music instruction for all children, regardless of their financial circumstances.
“That first week of camp was awesome, we got rave reviews from the parents,” said Executive Director Charles Lewis.
Lewis was formerly executive director of Portland-based Ethos Music Center, the nonprofit he founded in 1998 to promote music and music-based education for youth, especially those in underserved communities.
“I am a serial entrepreneur and am always looking for new challenges and opportunities,” said Lewis, who started Ethos with a credit card and slept on a friend’s couch the first year and a half. “This is neat to do what I love to do and be on the ground floor to start an entirely new organization.”
Youth Music Project summer camps are for K-12 students and fees are on a sliding scale. Instruments are provided, and camps explore rock, pop and country styles.
The Youth Music Project plans to continue offering classes in the fall.
Instructors emphasize learning to read music, playing by ear and composing, as well as experimenting with instruments. Other activities are related to forming a band, such as singing and printing band T-shirts. At the end of each camp week, students perform at a camp recital for their parents.
Lewis said the Youth Music Project complements traditional music programs such as band, orchestra and choir that are already in West Linn and Wilsonville schools.
“Not all kids are into those forms, and it will give those kids interested in participating in rock, pop or country music bands a chance to continue with music,” he said.
He is particularly excited about Cowbell Camp, which kicks off July 23.
“The idea for this is to offer a themed camp that won’t be a stuffy or rock band experience, for someone who has not had a lot of experience with music. We wanted something very accessible,” Lewis said. “Cowbells are in a lot of songs, once you start listening you’ll hear them.”
For more information visit www.youthmusicproject.org or call 503-616-5967.