14
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
SFF programs shape lives in Sisters
By Ceili Cornelius
Correspondent
“Thanks to Sisters Folk
Festival and the Americana
Project I am an artist and a
songwriter — but also a per-
son of passion and purpose,”
said SHS alum and artist,
Laura Curtis.
That is the impact the
Sisters Folk Festival (SFF)
has created for more than 25
years of its presence in the
community, through influ-
ential and innovative pro-
grams, particularly within
the Sisters schools.
One of the most influen-
tial creations in the schools
has been the Americana
Project, an innovative music
and arts education program
with broad community
outreach. The Americana
Project works in collabora-
tion with the Sisters School
District to make the pro-
gram available to all students
of all ages.
The program started in
2000 when Brad Tisdel, now
creative director of SFF, who
was working as an indepen-
dent contractor with Creative
Education Resources, LLC,
collaborated with SFF and
the Sisters School District
to create and develop the
program, bringing creativity
into school environments.
SFF board members Kathy
Deggendorfer and Dick
Sandvik wanted to create
a program for the Sisters
youth that ensconced them
in music and culture in the
school environment, con-
nected to the Sisters Folk
Festival.
That became the
Americana Project.
Sandvik explained, “We
wanted to somehow connect
the community to the festival
and we figured out that the
way to do that was through
education.”
“We decided we wanted
to focus on the youth and
get them interested in
songwriting and teach that
folk music can be contempo-
rary,” said Deggendorfer.
They worked with the
schools superintendent at
the time, Steve Swisher, to
implement the curriculum in
the Sisters schools.
“Swisher was instrumen-
tal in allowing outside groups
to come in and teach about
folk music and songwrit-
ing and now it is taught in
K-12,” Deggendorfer said.
“One of the most influ-
ential things I’ve seen from
it was a video testimonial
from a student that said
he would’ve dropped out
of school if it hadn’t been
for the Americana class,”
said Sandvik.
The festival hired Brad
Tisdel to teach the class
alongside Dennis McGregor
who first taught guitar les-
sons. They both worked
alongside Jody Henderson,
the band instructor at the
time, who came up with the
curriculum and implemented
it directly into the classroom.
Sisters High School
choir director and performer
Rick Johnson — a singer-
songwriter himself — now
teaches the Americana
Project class.
“The Americana Project
and the Folk Festival was a
perfect combo to allow us
to be innovative and creative
in how the school and the
arts and the community can
come together in a powerful
way,” said Tisdel.
The Americana Project
attracted grant and founda-
tion money to support the
programs and the festival
over the years.
“It was a really great syn-
ergy linking the education
with culture in the commu-
nity,” said Sandvik.
The Americana Project
over the years has also created
a song camp and a song acad-
emy for youth. Tisdel had
seen the success of offering
a master class outside of the
PHOTO BY JAY MATHER
The program serves as an umbrella
of being engaged and to provide a
home there for students.”
— Brad Tisdel
school environment through
his experience working with
the Rocky Mountain Folk
Festival’s Song School. In
2002, the team created the
Americana Song Academy.
The song academy became
a series of master classes for
all ages, with classes taught
by musicians from the com-
munity and artists coming
for the Sisters Folk Festival.
In 2004, Tisdel saw the
need for a camp that was
specifically for the youth —
a way to come together and
share music outside of the
school.
“It was really based on
being able to come together
and collaborate and not
compete, but support one
another,” said Tisdel. “It has
also been beneficial to have
the schools have a deep con-
nection with a community
nonprofit over the years. It is
a really efficient way to access
the musical community that
has been curated in Sisters.”
The Americana Project
has been a powerful influence
on a number of young musi-
cians who are still pursuing
music as a career. Madison
Slicker, now known by her
artist name Amava says:
“I was a part of the
Americana Project and
Sisters Folk Festival from
fifth grade up until my senior
year… Being 23 now, living
in Nashville, Tennessee, and
still in the music industry,
I truthfully cannot imag-
ine where I would be now
had it not been for the
importance of music in the
Sisters community. I defi-
nitely would not have pur-
sued music and felt the pas-
sion I have for staying in
PHOTO BY JAY MATHER
the songwriting world.”
There are many ways to
be involved in the Americana
Project that are not just
focused on singer-songwriter
performance.
“Students can be involved
in the tech aspect or cre-
ate art for My Own Two
Hands (the festival’s major
fundraiser) and the pro-
gram serves as an umbrella
of being engaged and to
provide a home there for stu-
dents,” said Tisdel.
The Sisters Folk Festival
strives year-round to bring
connection to the arts and
music in the schools and
beyond. This year, the festival
is especially trying to keep
that message alive as people
cannot gather together due
to the coronavirus pandemic.
As stated by their website:
“SFF enriches lives through
innovative music and arts
education, programming
and events that serve an
inclusive, multi-generational
community.”
Keep The
Music Coming,
Sisters Folk
Festival!
541-904-0778 | 103 E. Hood Ave.
We miss the crowds and
the music too, Sisters!
Join the festival online and show your
support for the Sisters Folk Festival.
Visit the saloon to show your support for
Sisters’ businesses. We appreciate our
community and look forward to having
our stages filled once again!
DINE-IN OR TAKE-OUT: 541-549-7427
Full Menu Available At SistersSaloon.net • 190 E. Cascade Ave.