Targhee Music Camp and the Mission Behind It
Story by Hillary Carpenter
Why in the world would a girl in St. Pete, Florida, be writing up a piece on a music education camp all the way up in Alta, Wyoming? I am so glad you asked. Put on your parachute, and let’s jump on in!
The Barebones of the Basics
Targhee Music Camp is a four-day event that’s tucked into the Tetons. This upcoming August 5-8 will mark the fourteenth year of its intimate success combining those who love to teach with those who yearn to learn. Some of the finest pickers (and let’s admit it, grinners too) around have been called upon to share their knowledge with adults and children alike. The only thing required to participate is a desire to expand one’s musical intellect. Well, that and the $650 enrollment fee, to be fair.
The Mystery of the History
Way back in the good ol’ days (okay, it was 2005, but whatever), two guys were sitting around eating dinner and thinking about making the world a better place. Tom Garnsey looked over at local mandolin player Ben Winship and said, “You know, we could tie in a music camp with the lead-up to the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Bring topnotch musicians to the family teaching table.” I might be exaggerating a little on the details. It may have been over breakfast or while enjoying a couple of rocking chairs on a front porch or something like that. Regardless, they started talking, and ideas started blooming.
Conception to Birth
Garnsey and Winship each bring their individual involvements with what has become one the prime bluegrass festivals to a very local, very intimate level. Ben Winship has been a passionately involved player with the Targhee Bluegrass Festival since it was a wee little thing sitting in a field with a pint-sized yet fully enamored audience. Today the fest finds itself hosting some of the ‘insert your favorite superlatives here’ names in the bluegrass business, from Sam Bush and Alison Krauss to Greensky Bluegrass and Del McCoury. Tom Garnsey, who has been running the festival for 15 years, had a vision to bring more to what that weekend in August already offered. By piggybacking an educational opportunity to the week of the festival (classes begin at 9 a.m. on Monday), a fan’s love of the music-making musician becomes a chance to actually learn from them firsthand. You know, as opposed to watching a YouTube video. Past instructors include but obviously not limited to Tim O’Brien, Darrell Scott, Molly Tuttle, Tony Trischka, Hayes Carll, Jim Lauderdale, Darol Anger, Della Mae, and Peter Rowan. Multi Grammy award-winning violinist and composer Mark O’Connor, along with his wife, Maggie O’Connor (an accomplished violinist and fiddler who has appeared as a guest soloist with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra), join Joe Craven and several others as instructors this year.
The camp is so much more than just a sit-down workshop. To quote Winship, “Often times the most memorable experiences aren’t the new licks or banjo tuning the students have just learned in class. It’s the song they learned in a jam at 1:30 in the morning or the new friends they’ve made. This is not just any music camp; this is Targhee.”
The Local Connection
Again, why would I be sitting here in Florida typing away about a music camp in Wyoming? Two words: Rob Williams. Tampa Bay’s very own musician extraordinaire, co-host of Wednesday night Witchgrass at The Ale & The Witch in St. Petersburg; fellow band member in Thump Barrel, Gypsy Wind, and Fil Pate Trio; and just all-around badass on the upright bass, is also involved in the Targhee Music Camp. An Ohio native who spent a year living and working in the Rocky Mountains, Rob packed up the family and landed in Tampa Bay way back in 2005.
Rob’s involvement is actually pretty fancy, because as a former camper and volunteer he established and became the Executive Director of the Targhee Music Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps support the camp and fund general expenses. Rob discovered the Targhee Music Camp and attended the third annual camp in 2007. He was blown away by the expertise and accessibility of the instructors, kindness and acceptance of other campers, and musical immersion that occurred during his experience. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (hopefully not really the blood part, because, um, ick!) to get a music education camp rolling. After nearly ten years of volunteers dedicating their time and energy, fellow campers Rick Johnson and David Susong saw creating a 501(c)(3) as a way to keep the heart and soul flowing without burning out the team. In stepped our hero, Rob Williams, and in just six short weeks, with Rick and David establishing a board as President and Vice-President, respectively, the paperwork was filed. The Targhee Music Foundation was born right on the cusp of the tenth annual Targhee Music Camp.
One Neat Package, Wrapped In a Bow
Well, now you know three important facts you might not have known before. There’s a kickass bluegrass festival in Alta, Wyoming, this August 9–11. Right before that is a soul-connecting music education camp, August 5–8. Both are held at the Grand Targhee Ski Resort. And – drum roll, please – there’s a foundation that helps fund it that was established by one of Tampa Bay’s very own.
So get on the internet (quick, your boss isn’t looking) and reserve your spot at the 14th annual Targhee Music Camp. Then you might as well go on ahead and buy your tickets to the 32nd annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. But if you already have summer plans and just want to support an incredibly good cause with a local connection, then you can hop onto the Targhee Music Foundation site and make a tax deductible donation!
I don’t know about y’all, but I feel a good road trip into the mountains is in my future!
Targhee Music Camp
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Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival
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Targhee Music Foundation
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