Summer is almost here!!

Posted on March 14, 2016 by havilahrand

Hello from sunny warm Austin, TX where famed music conference SXSW is underway.The Obamas have been in town as well as tons of musicians, filmmakers and tech industry innovators. It’s an exciting place to be and I’m a lucky girl to be able to spend a good portion of my time in such a creative city. I’m also very proud to announce that I was recently nominated for the prestigious Austin Music Industry Esme Barrera Award for Music Activism and Education. A huge thank you to all the young people I’ve written songs with over the last ten years for making my work so meaningful.

In addition to gigs and organizing songwriting programs, I’ve been spending the last few months teaching part time at a small schoolhouse located on a ranch where I also lead an after school songwriting workshop. In order to feed my own creativity, I’ve been preparing for a fall release of a five song EP of the work I’ve been doing with elderly translating life stories into songs. Now that it’s spring, I’m looking forward to upcoming summer travels to Oregon, Washington and Alaska where I’ll be leading a bunch of songwriting programs for young people in addition to my own performing and writing. I’m beyond excited and a little overwhelmed at how much there is to do in only a few short months. This work gives me energy though and now that the summer camps are in their third season, I feel like things are going to flow better than ever this year. Thanks to our fundraising campaign in December, I am able to purchase more instruments and recording gear for our camps as well as offer at least five full scholarships to campers in need of financial assistance. By the way, there are still opportunities to give at the Indiegogo site. Click the link on the sidebar and thanks for helping!!

If you are interested in registering for a camp please use the link in the sidebar and feel free to email Havilah at havilahrand@gmail.com with all questions. Here is a schedule of what we’ve got planned so far..

Young Songwriters Camp in Austin, TX in collaboration with Terra Luz Community School- May 31st – June 2nd $185

Methow Valley Young Songwriter’s Camp in Twisp, WA – June 20-23 11am – 4pm $185

Young Songwriter Summer Camp at Bertschi School in Seattle – June 27 – July 1 9am – 4pm SOLD OUT

Young Songwriter Summer Camp on Vashon Island in collaboration with Vashon Allied Arts – July 5 – 8 (contact them directly for registration)

Young Songwriter Summer Camp in Bellingham, WA – July 11 – 14 10am – 3pm Private venue…details given at registration. $225

Young Songwriter Workshop in Talkeetna, AK – July 30th presented by The Grove

Young Songwriter Workshop in McCarthy AK – August 8th presented by the Wrangell Mountain Center

Feel free to use this contact form for inquiries and suggestions!

Songwriting Camps and Workshops Take Flight – To Austin!

Posted on August 26, 2015 by havilahrand

When I was nine years old I spent most of my days exploring the wooded area behind our apartment complex, making up songs on our old piano, dressing up like Laura Ingalls Wilder and teaching an imaginary classroom of kids. Now I’m 42 and besides the oversized dress and bonnet, things haven’t changed much. I love nature, I love working with young people and I love writing songs. After two decades of recording and touring, eight years of public and private school teaching, I’ve honed in on where my true talents and passion lie which is in helping others discover and express their own unique voice. This has led me to create my dream job leading songwriting workshops and camps for young people. The mission of these programs is to demonstrate to kids that when we explore the world from an artistic standpoint, we can express our perspective in a way that makes life more interesting and meaningful to ourselves and to others. By infusing a sense of fun and curiosity into all that we do, learning becomes an exciting adventure rather than a mundane routine. Finally, collaborating with others to create a body of work that reflects authentic feelings and experiences has a huge impact on the way we value our own voice as well as the voice of others.

Since it’s inception out of my one bedroom apartment three years ago, the Young Songwriter Workshops and Camps have evolved considerably in scope and depth. This summer alone we worked with approximately thirty kids who wrote over sixty songs using inspiration found in nature, urban adventures, artistic explorations and connection with one another. We witnessed kids paralyzed with anxiety upon arrival, singing and creating with wild abandon within hours. Campers who were experiencing a fair amount of turbulence in their personal lives were able to process their feelings through their lyrics as well as connection with new friends and mentors. For example, Leo wasn’t sure the Orcas Island Songwriting Camp was for him. He’s more of a hip hop techno kind of a guy and a songwriting camp with a bunch of little girls didn’t seem very appealing at first. He quickly opened his mind and attitude towards the possibilities and took on the role of recording engineer and producer. We watched him exercise qualities of empathy, patience and leadership as he supported the songwriters during the challenging and sometimes scary recording process. He even ended up emceeing our CD release celebration and was quite the entertainer.

It’s been truly amazing to watch these workshops and camps take on a life of their own with a minimal amount of guidance from adult mentors. I believe the most important things we provide is a framework from which to set goals and a sense of safety and freedom when it comes to self expression. The goal is to write songs but as is the case with all artistic endeavors, it is the journey and not so much the destination that really matters. Parents and campers alike have used words such as “transformational” to describe their experience at songwriting camp. Each day we spend time journaling, manipulating words and pictures we find in magazines and various pieces of literature, listening to music, exploring the outdoors and observing humans in their natural habitats such as coffeehouses, grocery stores and even laundromats. Before too long, the ideas we’ve captured through these activities take the shape of songs which we begin recording immediately so that they don’t “escape”. Participants are given as much freedom or support as their musical skills and personal interests dictate. Some find that they’d rather spend time working on musical ideas while others focus more on lyrics. There are opportunities to practice performance and vocal skills, engineering techniques, CD cover design and improvisation with various instruments. Through both introspection and collaboration, a collection of great songs is the final product of our creative effort.

Like every dedicated teacher and performer, I get extremely anxious just before the start of each workshop. And without fail, as soon as we begin I am delighted by the qualities that each young person brings and reminded that children are innately non judgmental, creative and have a natural ability to open their hearts and minds to new experiences. Young Songwriter programs provide an opportunity to experience life as a brave and open-hearted adventurer with an appreciation of uniqueness in ourselves and in others. This enables authentic self-expression which ultimately leads to greater happiness and the sharing of our gifts with the world.

Young Songwriter Workshops and Camps are mobile and adaptable to a variety of settings and time frames. Please contact havilahrand@gmail.com to learn more and register.

Young Songwriter Break Camp September 28th – October 1st Integrity Academy at Casa De Luz 9am – 3pm $225

Young Songwriter After School Workshop Tuesdays October 6th – November 10th 3:15 – 4:30 Integrity Academy $150

Young Songwriter After School Workshop Wednesdays October 7th – November 11th 3:45 – 5:00pm Austin Village Academy $150

Freedom To Be Ourselves

Posted on August 6, 2015 by havilahrand

The 2015 Young Songwriting Summer Camps were an unprecedented success. Thirty kids and over sixty songs were written using inspiration found in nature, urban adventures, artistic explorations and connection with one another. We witnessed kids paralyzed with anxiety upon arrival singing and creating with wild abandon within days. We had several campers who were experiencing a fair amount of turbulence in their personal lives and were able to process their feelings through their lyrics as well as connection with other campers and mentors.

Its been truly amazing to watch these workshops and camps take on a life of their own with a minimal amount of guidance and support from adult mentors. I believe the most important thing we provide is a sense of safety and freedom when it comes to self expression. The goal is to write songs but as is the case with all artistic endeavors, it is the journey and not so much the destination that really matters. Parents and campers alike have used words such as “transformational” to describe their experience at songwriting camp. We believe that children are innately non judgmental, creative and have a natural ability to open their hearts and minds to new experiences. Infusing a sense of fun, curiosity and freedom into an activity that requires a great amount of vulnerability and courage ensures that this experience will carry over into many other aspects of their lives. It is our mission to show kids that life is an adventure that requires open-mindedness, an acceptance of uniqueness in ourselves and in others and the ability to express ourselves from the most authentic place possible. In this way, we are able to find true happiness and share our gift with the world.

Songwriting Camps and Workshops are mobile and adaptable to many settings and situations such as homeschool communities, after school programs, academic enrichment, private one on one coaching and more. Contact Havilah at havilahrand@gmail.com to explore the possibilities.

Has your child been a participant in a Young Songwriters Camp or Workshop or do you have any thoughts you’d like to share? In order to continue building and improving our programs we need testimonials!! Please give us some feedback on how your child benefitted from this unique experience. Thank you in advance!!

Young Songwriters of the Methow ROCKED!!

Posted on June 23, 2015 by havilahrand

The 2nd Annual Methow Valley Young Songwriters Summer Camp was a smashing spectacular success. Twelve gorgeous kids and myself enjoyed five days of songs and poems and singing and recording and giggling and worrying and wondering and finally giving the best dang performance ever at The Confluence Art Gallery in front of a crowd of awe-struck, beaming parents. Not to mention producing a 17 song CD!!

These Songwriting Camps are the bomb and I have very little to do with it. There is magic when you follow your heart and put all your energy into the thing that makes you feel the most creative, the most productive and the most happy. Kids tend to have an easier time that adults with that sort of thing which is why I love being around them, When we give up on fear and open our hearts abundance flows, happiness abides, work doesn’t feel like work and the world becomes a better place.

The Methow Vally Young Songwriters Camp is back by popular demand for Round 2 July 27-31st!! Contact Havilah at havilahrand@gmail.com to register.

MORE CAMPS THIS SUMMER

Bellingham Young Songwriters Camp June 29-July 3rd has one more space!

Orcas Island Young Songwriters Camp July 17-19 still has space!

Summer Camps Are Filling Up!!

Posted on May 27, 2015 by havilahrand

Summer is beginning and my heart is overflowing…because that’s exactly what my camps are doing! SO many kiddos signed up to write songs and dig into their authentic creative selves and I can’t wait. I spent the morning wrestling with my new microphones and recording software but I believe I’ve beat them into submission and all will go smoothly during our camp sessions. I imagine these songs like butterflies that are all resting in cocoons till the young songwriters converge and softly (or loudly) coax them out of their shells and into our lives. If you know me, then you might be smiling to yourself as that’s a bit more flowery than is usually my style but seriously. It’s going to be an incredible summer.

So here’s the scoop.. The camp in Austin, TX June 1-4 is FULL.

Twisp, WA is FULL but I hate saying no so if you register soon I’ll probably say yes. It’s being held June 15-19 1-4pm at The Methow Community School. The fee is $155

June 29 – July 3rd – Gabriel’s Art Kids in Bellingham, WA still has 2 spots left!! 9am- 12pm for five days with a CD release concert at The Honeymoon. $135

July 17 – 19th ORCAS ISLAND!!!! A very gracious person offered their beautiful cottage for us to work out of. Lots of space as this one was just scheduled. Let’s do this!!

For all of you who have signed up… here is some pre-camp homework:)

Get a journal that you LOVE and decorate the cover with whatever art supplies inspire you most.
Write or draw in it for at least ten minutes every morning about any topic that comes to mind.
Have an impromptu dance party alone or with a close friend at least once this week.
Look in the mirror every day and notice how amazing you are.

P.S. A few weeks ago I had a booth and showcase at The Mini Makers Faire in Austin, TX and met so many creative kids. We wrote a boatload of songs and had a blast. Here’s some pictures!!