RHS Students Attend Americana Song for Youth Camp

Redmond High Club’s guitar club was approached with a special opportunity in early March to attend the Americana Song for Youth camp held in Sisters.  The camp, hosted by the Sistesr Folk Festival, brings high school students together in a non-competitive format to cultivate musicianship, songwriting and creativity.

RHS students Melissa Hankins, Sierra Tiller, Tanner McMaster and Cammy Brown were selected to attend the three day comprehensive camp hosted at The Belfry.  They joined students from California, Colorado and local districts including Bend and Sisters for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from each other and from talented local artists and musicians.

The students drove to Sisters each day for the camp.  The agenda allowed students to chose workshops in areas such as songwriting, music theory and listening.  Students also participated in interactive workshops and free time to perform and learn from each other.  On Saturday night, all students participated in an Open Mic event.  Melissa Hankins was selected to perform during the final, community performance on Sunday evening.

“My favorite experience was probably just the environment.  You weren’t afraid to perform, it was so open and inspiring to see such talent,” shared Sierra Tiller, RHS senior.

Students were able to meet and perform with local musicians like Mosley Wotta, Keith Greeninger and Mandy Fer.  The group from RHS stated that they were able to meet several musical mentors and will continue to keep in touch with them.

Tanner McMaster shared, “It was just phenomenal, I never could have imagined it could have inspired me in such a way that it did.  And when I got back, Sierra and I even started working on a song together.”

The camp costs $150 per student to attend.  The Sisters FAN donated $200 for Redmond High School to attend.  Each student paid $50 individually and the club is fundraising to fund the remaining portion of the fees.

For more information about the Americana Song Academy, visit the Sister’s Folk Festival website or contact RHS Guitar Club Sponsor and Teacher, Vince Giannini.