Home 2023

Photo of Singalongs around the campfire after hours with David Roth!

WELCOME TO SUMMERSONGS!

Camp Registration is Sold Out

July 20–26, 2024
at Isabella Freedman Retreat Center
116 Johnson Rd, Falls Village, CT 06031
[website]

Photos and travel info are available at the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center [website].

SummerSongs 2024 Flyer

LATEST UPDATE

Support our

Youth Scholarship Opportunities

In 2023 our Board of Directors created a Youth Scholarship Fund for new campers between the ages of 18 and 30, and we welcomed five new songwriters to our camp, covering the full cost of each camper’s tuition. It was the unanimous feeling of the Board that this was a rich and rewarding experience for everyone in the community. The new campers themselves raved about the experience, and we hope to see some of them back with us in the future!

We’ve found that the best way to identify potential applicants is through members of our own community. This way, applicants can learn about SummerSongs, its history, mission, and culture ahead of time, and then determine for themselves if this might be a good fit and an exciting possibility!  If you know of someone who would both benefit from a week at camp and be an enriching addition to our community, please have them contact Mitch Katz at mkatz@phc-ct.com. Mitch will send out an application and once it’s returned, the Scholarship Committee will schedule an informal Zoom interview with the candidate.

There will be up to 6 scholarships available this year. Applications should be submitted by May 1st. Please spread the word!

Come to camp

Tuition Assistance

As members of the SummerSongs Board and campers who have been attending SummerSongs for many years, we’re aware of the financial stresses faced by some members of our community. Many of us have jobs that help us pay for camp each summer, and coming to camp often requires taking time off from those very jobs. A week away from other routines has other costs as well.

Thanks to a generous donation from a member of our community, this year we’re able to offer tuition assistance of $400 to up to 7 individuals who have attended SummerSongs at least two times.

If this assistance would enable you to come to camp this year, please send your contact information and a short statement of need to Julie Snow (jsnowsongs@gmail.com) by April 1st. If we exceed our limit of recipients, seven will be chosen by lottery and informed soon after. You’ll then need to register for camp by May 1st to secure your spot and discount.

"the most creative songwriting week of my life"
"a perfect blend of encouragement, kindness, community, play, and creation"
"transforming and positively life-changing"
"food for the soul"
"a dream come true"
"a celebration of community in a week-long village of kindred spirits"
"an experience you’ll carry with you the rest of your life"

Welcome to 2024!

…and may this incoming New Year bring creativity, joy, new awarenesses, and inspiration.

Save the dates:

Saturday, February 10, 2024 ~ starting at 10 AM SyberSongs

…with special mid-day guest Christine Lavin dropping in for some wit, wisdom, and music! Join us for another full day of mid-winter online song circles. This will be an opportunity to reconnect, hang out together, share our creations (old or new), and it’s once more presented on a donation basis. We welcome ALL levels of songwriters, including returnees and “newbies”. A quick, easy registration is requested (there’s no cost to do so) and we gladly accept your donations to keep Penny’s vision for SummerSongs alive and well.

Saturday, July 20 – Friday, July 26, 2024
The 26th Annual SummerSongs
@ the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center

We’ve come a long way since our first camp when founder Penny Nichols brought her dream to life and lit a candle that’s still burning brightly today. Every gathering has been special in one way or another, and this one in our new venue (complete with 400 wooded acres, a lake, farm-to-table organic food, and more) will give us opportunity to remember and celebrate our journey, both as campers and as a community. Again, we welcome newcomers! Registration is open! Click here.

Announcing our amazing teaching faculty this coming summer:

Susan Cattaneo • Steve Seskin
Abbie Gardner • Reggie Harris
Sloan Wainwright • David Roth
Harold Payne • Vito Petroccitto

Mark Dann • Julie Snow
Glen Roethel • Sue Riley

Our songwriting camp began in 1999 as a dream realized by Penny. We’ve assembled every year since then to reconnect, collaborate, celebrate, and learn from and about one another and the world through the lenses of songwriting, creativity, and humanity. We do this by presenting the finest songwriters we know who also happen to be great, generous, and humble communicators of this craft we hold so highly. We offer all-levels classes, coffeehouses, concerts, song circles, and community, and we’ve collectively discovered how meaningful and enriching our time together is.

We can’t wait to welcome you once more.

David Roth ~ Executive Director

Board of Directors
Chris Kunstadter ~ President
Sloan Wainwright ~ Vice President
Sue Riley ~ Treasurer
Mitch Katz
Steven Prasinos
Glen Roethel
Julie Snow

©2024. SummerSongs Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SummerSongs Inc. PO Box 1012, Elfers FL 34680
summersongs.com

Page and Blog Featured Image - SummerSongs - the songwriter camp and retreat

Summersongs is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization*, so your donation is tax-deductible, and it will help bring music education to chroniclers and historians from communities like yours.

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