My Nonprofit Reviews

Attending Summersongs has been, for me, an incredibly transformative, uplifting and galvanizing experience. I attended my first week-long camp in August of 2007 at the recommendation of my good friend and fellow musician Fred Arcoleo. Though I've been singing since I was very young, at the time, I held the notion that I wasn't a "real" songwriter or musician, as I had only been playing guitar a short while and had only written a handful of songs. Upon arriving and seeing 50 - 60 people milling around with guitars, singing, laughing and sharing stories, I knew I had stumbled upon something very special...and very rare. Since that first Summersongs camp, as well as successive camps I've attended, I've honed and strengthened my performing, songwriting and musicianship, which has given me a great deal of confidence in my own abilities and allowed me to feel that my own expression, through songs, is valuable and worthy... But these gifts are really just the icing on the cake, because what Summersongs' Founder Penny Nichols, along with her band of creative and visionary teachers, has done, is to create a truly sacred and safe space for ANYONE to explore and express their authentic creativity among other loving, supportive, like-minded artists. Having attended several camps, I now feel most at home, as a performer, when I am playing a new song for one of my fellow songwriters, or singing at one of the camp "coffeehouses." One final note - Summersongs has also created a vibrant community of people who come to camp not only for their own enhancement, but for the betterment of others, as most or all of us who write and perform do it in the spirit of serving our communities, whether playing in nursing homes, hospitals, or to benefit charitable causes. Summersongs has been a truly valuable experience for me and i feel that I have grown not only as a performer and songwriter, but as a person.

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