By Kristen Dean
Registration for Girls Rock! Rhode Island’s third Girls Rock Camp opened today, on Sunday, April 1st. The camp will be held Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 13, 2012 at the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s Carter Center at 667 Waterman Ave., East Providence.
For a peek at last year’s camp, see http://girlsrockri.tumblr.com/
During the intensive, five-day camp experience, girls aged 11 to 18 take lessons in guitar, bass, drums, vocals or keyboards, form a band and collaborate on an original song. In addition, campers participate in workshops on topics such as media literacy, gender issues, body image, self-defense and screen printing. During the camp, girls will have the opportunity to work with professional female musicians who serve as both instructors and mentors. The culmination of camp is a showcase performance in which the new bands perform their original songs for a live audience of family and friends.
The first Girls Rock Camp was held in July 2010. Since that time, the camp has served nearly 60 girls from throughout Rhode Island. Campers of all musical abilities are welcome, with many campers learning to play an instrument for the first time. A typical day includes a morning assembly, instrument lessons, workshops, lunchtime performances by songwriters and rock bands, and band rehearsal.
The cost of the camp is $300 per camper and covers instrument lessons, all workshops and the showcase performance. Full and partial scholarships are available and based on need. Registration for this year’s camp begins on Sunday April 1st. Parents can register their daughters or get more information at www.GirlsRockRI.org.
Girls Rock! Rhode Island is a 501c(3) nonprofit that provides gender-centric music programming for girls and women. The mission of Girls Rock! Rhode Island is to help girls and women empower themselves through the development of musical skills in order to foster self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. In additional to the annual summer camp, Girls Rock! Rhode Island has a year-round Rock Lab for musicians of all experience levels, afterschool programming in schools, a film and discussion series and a Ladies Rock Camp for ages 18 and over. Girls Rock Camp welcomes participants who identify as female, trans, and gender-nonconforming.
