A few days ago I stumbled across an old manuscript book hidden in my piano music. Inside I found my very first pieces. I sketched these notes during an orchestration class at Walden, it was my first summer (1976). My young teacher thoughtfully introduced each instrument through live demonstrations by expert faculty or by recordings while sharing the notation for the various sounds each instrument could make. At the end of our first week, to my surprise, she gave us an assignment to write a melody for violin. 40 years later, a PhD in composition with more than 75 international performances (including Carnegie Hall), I spend each day creating my own NASA award winning overnight camp - a place and community which strives to mimic many of the best parts of Walden - the perfect combination of Innovation as inspiration, excellent food, plenty of hikes, swimming and the opportunity to build life-long friends. Walden's amazing legacy reveals itself in the experience of my students as well as its own students.
Review from Guidestar
I have worked at The Walden School for three years, and every summer has filled me with inspiration. While many other music camps involve competing for orchestra seats or winning awards, Walden is about opening your eyes to what music is and can be about. Students applaud each other's first compositions, sing rounds on the top of mountains, dress up in costumes to demonstrate musicianship drills in an entertaining way, share original songs, and learn how to listen to the sounds in their environment. They collaborate in chorus, play and sing each other's music, and turn everything into musical instruments. There is no other place like it!