PORT TOWNSEND — After hundreds of young musicians — from across and beyond the North Olympic Peninsula — turned out for low-cost music camps last summer, the YEA Music! teachers are poised to offer more workshops in 2022.
The nonprofit YEA — Youth Education in Arts — program has received a $10,000 donation from three donors: Don and Sylvia White and Andrew Fallat, all of Port Townsend. This has set in motion a money-match fundraiser, said outreach volunteer Jan Boutilier.
“One of our major goals is to make the camp affordable for families, especially those with limited financial means,” she noted.
To that end, YEA Music! is seeking donations to match the $10,000. Information can found at www.yeamusic.org.
In June, July and August, YEA Music! held three camp sessions for student musicians at Fort Worden State Park. Music teachers came from around the Puget Sound region to work with students, forming bands and orchestras and giving free outdoor concerts at the fort.
Unlike other music camps in the Pacific Northwest, which can cost $500 to $1,200 or more, YEA Music! camp leaders suggested a $10-per-day donation. No one was turned away for lack of funds, instructor Daniel Ferland of Port Townsend emphasized.
Next summer, a special weeklong workshop for 20 teenage musicians is part of the plan. Trillium Woods Farm in Quilcene, the setting for the annual Concerts in the Barn (CITB) series, is to be the setting for a day camp June 27 through July 1, with a free, public concert by the students July 2.
“The students will spend five full days at the farm and be coached in groups; we’ve blocked out five ‘rehearsal’ halls for their use, so we’re anticipating four or five chamber groups,” said Leigh Hearon, CITB’s volunteer executive director.
Professional musicians from around the region will be the coaches; resident chefs will feed the teenagers lunch and snacks, “and we’re hoping to carve out some time for the students to simply enjoy the farm,” she added.
A few decades ago, when the 53-acre farm was the home of the Olympic Music Festival, a month-long chamber music institute for teenagers happened there, providing the foundation for players such as Richard O’Neill of Sequim, who grew up to be an internationally known violist and the winner of a 2021 Grammy award.
Fallat, a retired hospital administrator, said he made his gift to YEA Music! because he’s seen how young people benefit from being part of an ensemble.
Making music means self-expression, confidence and social interaction, he said. Playing in an orchestra or band is like being on a sports team.
“You’ve got to have the right equipment. You’ve got to have coaches,” and YEA Music! provides those, Fallat added.
“I think it builds community,” he said — not only among the youngsters but also among the parents who get together to support their children.
________
Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Tusker Behrenfeld of Port Townsend, left, performs with students at last summer’s YEA Music! camps at Fort Worden State Park. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)
Kristin Smith of Port Townsend, playing violin below left, was among the mentors at last summer’s YEA Music! camps at Fort Worden State Park. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)
