Pianos in a Natural Key
Tranquility. For some, it’s found seated at their piano, translating the ink of a songbook into a personal musical expression. Others experience tranquility hiking or camping in the woods, getting reacquainted with the natural world. But some amateur pianists like to combine the joy of making music and experiencing nature by visiting a piano camp.
“We’re in the middle of the forest—music and nature,” says Jim Mazzaferro, artistic director at Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in California. “What’s better than that?”
Ideal Conditions
Residential piano camps give students 88 reasons to leave behind their busy, stressful lifestyle for an intimate, collaborative musical experience. A piano camp is an environment that provides a special place and time for music to flow from the soul to the fingers, an opportunity few hobbyist musicians have these days.
Adults can attend the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in Cazadero, California, for instance, for one week during the summer. While Cazadero has instruction for numerous instruments, the camp’s Artistic Director Jim Mazzaferro explains that the piano classes are always the first to fill up. During the week students work with experienced members of the faculty, as well as with other students.
Students have control over which pieces they play—be it an original work, a 17th century classic, or a contemporary composition. They even have different pianos to choose from. In other words, Cazadero and similar piano camps offer ideal learning experiences. Instructors, says Mazzaferro, hope to generate new creative interest, improve skills, and increase motivation in their students.
Serenity
The piano camp experience had such an impact on 60-year-old Jane Wisan of Peterborough, New Hampshire, that she decided to begin taking private lessons as soon as her session was over. Wisan attended Pianoscape, a camp on the East Coast, in Dublin, New Hampshire. Pianoscape takes about 20 adult students a year and focuses only on piano instruction.
Since the New England retreat is located among picturesque hills, serene bodies of water, and crisp, unpolluted air, the relaxation part of the experience came easily. “The week-long experience was wonderful,” Wisan says. “The classes were taught in a very relaxed and fun atmosphere and we all learned a lot.”
Wisan explains that before she packed for camp, an unplayed piano decorated a corner in her house for 10 years. She took a few lessons in her teens, but stopped when she grew bored with them. “I never wanted to play professionally,” she says. Nevertheless, she has always believed music plays a crucial role in people’s lives: “Music is something that everyone in the world can share and appreciate, regardless of language barriers.” Her love of the art made her eager to start playing again. “I thought that it was something I might be able to do for my friends at parties.”
Creative Outlit
Many people decide to attend piano camp as a way to rekindle their passion for the piano, which doesn’t surprise Mazzaferro. “Adults from various professions come to our camp,” he explains. “Lawyers and teachers and doctors … everyone wants a creative outlet that they don’t get from their regular jobs.”
Tom Randall, 60, of Ft. Jefferson, New York, can relate to that. One of the reasons he decided to go to piano camp was because his job as a teacher limited the amount of practice time he had. “I always had an innate love for music,” he says, which was why he couldn’t quit altogether and why he actually wanted to improve. “Before I even learned how to play the piano, I was affected on an emotional level by music. Now that I can do it, I’m able to really delve into the music and gain an understanding of what the composer of the piece was trying to say.”
The intense experience of piano camp gave Randall valuable insight, but piano camps aren’t “all work and no play.” After all, “camp” is usually associated with songs, s’mores, and campfire skits, and piano camp delivers the music, food, and performance one would expect from a weeklong getaway.
There are plenty of fun ways to balance the studying and sheet music page-turning. There are jazz history classes, improv courses, and special one-on-one tutorials. People are free to shop and dine at local businesses, explore nature trails, and swim in the lakes. Pianoscape even offers hikes up nearby Mount Monadnock. The relaxing environment, the fun activities, and the fascinating classes mean that for some, a piano camp can become the perfect vacation, a way to relax without becoming bored or stressed.
Shifting Focus
Some students use the intimate setting to connect with their piano in a way that fills a void. For Phyllis Evans, 76, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, the piano holds a special place in her heart, especially as playing her Steinway helped her get through the death of her husband. Evans knew that she likely wouldn’t be remarrying, but that her life had to continue.
“Playing piano helps me achieve mental highs and self-satisfaction,” says Evans, who has made music such a central part of her life that she got rid of her cable TV. But Evans is anything but a piano-playing hermit. “I always did a lot of things, and I still do plenty of things, and go out with friends, but I really enjoy playing the piano.”
Evans says she enjoyed piano camp because she had lessons every day instead of the usual one day a week. She appreciated how teachers would not just correct her mistakes, but praise the things she was doing right. “Piano camp is a weeklong gift,” she says. “It gives me inspiration and pleasure. The people are all on the same page, and the teachers are wonderful and so invested in teaching.”
Ultimately, playing piano has helped Evans adjust to life without her partner, and piano camp has introduced her to new friends. “Now that I play so much,” she says, “I wonder how I went so long without it.” Evans, like many participants at these camps, has forged a level of closeness not only with her piano, but with her peers.
