These are summer days of magic, says violinist Erin Hennessey: making music, meeting new people, stretching a bit — all surrounded by Lake Crescent and Olympic National Park.
This is the Olympic Strings Workshop, a camp whose mission is to inspire a lifelong passion for music. Applications for the weeklong chamber music camp are open now for high school-age strings players at olympicstringsworkshop.org.
The deadline is March 31.
Students are asked to provide audition videos with their applications.
The not-for-profit music camp is in its seventh year, and has Hennessey, a Port Angeles native and a well-known musician and educator, as its executive and artistic director.
While she lives in London and performs across the United Kingdom and Ireland, Hennessey is devoted to this summer camp in the community where she began her musical career.
She and the staff are now actively seeking community support for scholarships, for the workshop’s two free public concerts and its residency at NatureBridge, the educational center at Lake Crescent.
“There, our students have the space to both focus on their art form and enjoy the outdoors,” Hennessey said.
Donation information is on the website along with camp videos and the workshop’s philosophy.
“The Olympic Strings Workshop cultivates an environment in which students are encouraged to achieve their fullest potential as musicians, collaborators, and responsible members of a diverse, inclusive community,” the About page notes.
Luke Gavin, who first went to the workshop as a 15-year-old high school freshman, said his experiences taught him about music — and how to have a healthy life.
One of the best things is the exposure to “incredible professional musicians,” said Gavin, now 21.
Faculty have included internationally known violinist and teacher Monique Mead, Western Washington University professor James Ray and Music on the Strait co-artistic director James Garlick.
The definition of chamber music is not limited to the old Western Classical tradition, Gavin said.
“There are so many other options. From arrangements of popular songs in a ‘Bridgerton’ style to tangos and movie scores, there is an awesome balance of the traditional and unexpected,” he said.
“The whole camp experience isn’t just limited to playing music. The camp really focuses on not just the musician but the whole person,” and includes morning yoga and strategic breaks during the day.
“Something as small as a nature walk between rehearsals is not only fun but shows young musicians the value of taking breaks as a tool to take care of oneself,” Gavin said.
Now a music education major at Western Washington University in Bellingham, “I get to ‘do’ music all day, every day. It’s incredibly rewarding,” he said, “but I wouldn’t be able to do all that I’m doing now without the experiences I’ve had at OSW.”
Hennessey, who was a guest faculty member in 2023 and became artistic director last year, added that the most rewarding part — by far — is watching campers enter the week with varying degrees of nervousness, and then depart feeling confident and proud of their musicianship, “shown by outstanding performances,” she said.
Toward the end of camp week, the participants give free concerts at the lake and in Port Angeles.
“Chamber music can be an extraordinary way to improve musicianship and quickly get to the core of music-making. It is gratifying to play a part in lighting the fire of musical collaboration in young string students,” Hennessey added, “and watching them bring that confidence and collaborative spirit to their next steps in life.”
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Diane Urbani de la Paz is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Port Townsend.
