July 3, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A
Sundance Event Lodge hosts young musicians
By Gregory Z. Zschomler
Cannon Beach Gazette
While it may not ex-
actly be Camp Rock, the
Classroom Music Proj-
ect Camp at Sea Ranch
Resort in Cannon Beach
does rock. The vision of
the resort’s co-owner Car-
men Swigart, the annual
event, held June 24-25,
welcomes local children
for a two-day intensive on
music production. At their
Sundance Event Lodge,
nestled into the woodland
setting alongside Ecola
Creek, children with little
or no musical experience
or educationlearn how
to write lyrics, compose
songs, and record them
to share with others. The
experience culminates in
a digital recording and a
live performance.
Carmen Swigart says
that this is her way of giv-
ing back to the communi-
ty. Ten years ago when
she was “trying to find
my niche, my contribu-
tion to the community,”
she met musicians/music
educators Aaron Mey-
er and Tim Ellis. Their
innovative approach to
helping children experi-
ence music was just the
ticket. But there was a
problem: the ranch didn’t
have a facility that would
accommodate such a pro-
gram. It took five years to
get the Sundance Event
Lodge built. Then, in
2010, the music camps
began.
“It started with my
employees and their kids
“with friends or others
they knew,” Swigart said.
She financed the event and
gave away scholarship
certificates to local chil-
dren age 8–14. She still
does. Thirteen children
participated in this year’s
event, many of them re-
ceived scholarships.
“To me it’s just rejuve-
nation to see the kids en-
joy themselves and have
life,” Swigart said.
She said she misses
hearing the happy sounds
of children playing across
the road where there used
to be a grade school. The
music camp helps make
up for that missing ele-
ment in her life.
“So much music
has been taken out of
schools,”
artist-in-res-
idence Tim Ellis said.
“And without experiences
like this, kids would never
have such an opportunity.
It’s even life-changing.”
The program intro-
duces lyric writing, mu-
sical composition, studio
technologies, and perfor-
mance to students over a
two day period. Each day
consists of two sessions
divided by a lunch hour.
Each session has a play
break which takes place
in the park-like setting
behind the lodge. Art-
ist-in-residence
Aaron
Meyer said that it is often
where the students have
artistic
breakthroughs.
For example, in the first
session the children are
divided into small groups
where they come up with
their song’s topic and
write lyrics. Often they
need prompting to bring
out ideas. On the play-
ground, the wheels in
their minds spin and they
come back with epipha-
nies.
In the second session,
they’ll choose a style of
music and start creating
the rhythms and melo-
dies, working with Ellis
who records the compo-
nents. There’s a lot of
teamwork and problem
solving, observation and
participation.
By the end of the sec-
ond day, the four groups
have each created a song
and that evening they per-
form for their parents and
friends. Tim Ellis plays
most of the instruments
and does the recording.
Aaron Meyer adds the
violin, presents melo-
dy ideas, and serves in
the logistical-managerial
role of teaching. “We re-
ally tag-team the whole
thing,” Meyer said, add-
RUTH ZSCHOMLER PHOTO FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Allie Anderson, 11; Haley Huntsman, 12; and Margaret Neuwirth, at the Sundance Event Lodge.
ing, “when the kids get
stuck we help them.”
“It isn’t about how
great the kids can sing or
perform,” Ellis said. “It’s
about the creative process
and working toward a
common goal.”
And when it’s all done,
he said, there’s an addi-
tional reward, “We take
them downtown for ice
cream.”
By the volume of ap-
plause and the smiles on
the faces of the 13 stu-
dents, parents, teachers,
and Swigart, it is clear
that everyone feels amply
rewarded for their efforts.
Many of the students
will return, as has Ellie
Whitlock, now nearly 18.
She attended the camp
two years in a row and
when she became too old
to attend she came back to
help. Several of her cous-
ins went to camp this year.
GREGORY E. ZSCHOMLER PHOTO FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
GREGORY E. ZSCHOMLER PHOTO FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Young performers at the Sea Ranch Resort
music camp.
Aaron Meyer and Tim Ellis perform at the
music camp.
“It’s a lot of fun to
see how two days can
make a difference to see
what it’s like to be in a
real recording studio,”
Whitlock said. Whitlock
will begin her studies in
music performance this
Realtors hold open house at second location
On Wednesday, June 17,
ReMAX Coast Advantage
Realtors hosted an open
house at their second
Cannon Beach office at 219
N. Hemlock. Back row:
Maryann Sinkler, broker;
Susan Tone, broker; An-
drea Mace, Broker; Karin
Hermansen, office manager
and Egrane Brown, Broker.
Front row, Martin Giguiere,
owner/broker and Alaina
Giguiere, principal broker.
coming fall at Pacific
University.
The Sea Ranch Resort
at 415 Fir St. has RV,
cabin and tent camping
as well as offering dai-
ly horseback rides on
the beach, a wellness
resource center, a gen-
eral store with a coffee
and tea bar. For infor-
mation visit searanchrv.
com or contact the resort
by email, cannonbeach-
searanchrv@msn.com, or
503-436-2815.
Dining on the
North Coast
OPEN W ed - S un for L unc h & Dinner
W e’re join in g forces w ith Clatsop An im al Assistan ce
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D on ation s are su ggested an d w elcom e for the Clatsop An im al S helter.
Pink Martini to headline Coaster Theatre fundraiser
Saturday, Sept.12, Pink
Martini will return to the
Coaster Theatre as the featured
entertainment for the third an-
nual fundraiser. The evening
will also include wine and hors
d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and
rafÀe. 'oors open at 6 p.m.
Featuring a dozen musi-
cians, Pink Martini performs
their multilingual repertoire on
concert stages and with sym-
phony orchestras throughout
Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey,
the Middle East, Northern Af-
rica, Australia, New Zealand,
South America and North
America. They made their
European debut at the Cannes
Film Festival in 1997 and their
orchestral debut with the Ore-
gon Symphony in 1998 under
the direction of Norman Ley-
den. Since then, the band has
gone on to play with more
than 50 orchestras around
the world, including multiple
engagements with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic at the
Hollywood Bowl, the Boston
Pops, the National Sympho-
ny at the Kennedy Center, the
San Francisco Symphony, the
Cleveland Orchestra, and the
BBC Concert Orchestra at
Royal Albert Hall in London.
Other appearances include
the grand opening of the Los
Angeles Philharmonic’s Frank
Gehry-designed Walt 'isney
pow ered b y
Concert Hall, with four re-
turn sold-out engagements for
New Year’s Eve; four sold-out
concerts at Carnegie Hall; the
opening party of the remod-
eled Museum of Modern Art
in New York City; the Gover-
nor’s Ball at the 80th Annual
Academy Awards in 2008; the
opening of the 2008 Sydney
Festival in Australia; multiple
sold-out appearances, and a
festival opening, at the Mon-
treal Jazz Festival, two sold-
out concerts at the legendary
L’Olympia Theatre; and fash-
ion house Lanvin’s 10-year
anniversary celebration for
designer Alber Elbaz. In its
20th year, Pink Martini was
inducted into both the Hol-
lywood Bowl Hall of Fame
and the Oregon Music Hall of
Fame. Ticket prices are $75,
limit four per person; 503-436-
1242
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Seaside Office: 503-738-5561
A sto ria Office: 503-325-3211