GRP announces schedule for 2014 Institute

Summer Music Institute 2014 This July, Girls Rock Philly will be running our second Summer Music Institute out of GRP HQ in the Fishtown/Kensington neighborhood. Informed by the values and existing model and methods of GRP, the Institute seeks to explore new applications of our mission. In a more relaxed summer setting, the institute will be an opportunity for current and new GRP participants to discover alternative musical applications, unified by a programmatic theme (2014- BUILDING!), allowing for experimentation, deeper engagement and non-traditional study. Activities will include: group lessons, improvisation, recording and editing, field trips, workshops, interviews, and writing workshops.

The program is a drop-in program, meaning no registration or application is required and students can attend any session. There will be projects that last the entire 4 weeks, so we encourage regular participation as much as possible.

Calendar (all session run from 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm unless otherwise noted)

Tell me more about the workshops and projects!

Dealing with Life Workshops: GRP welcomes Mary Chen to lead 4 workshops dealing with bandmates, friends, more-than-friends, or whoever. *Students do not need to attend all sessions to participate, though it’s preferable. Dates: July 7, July 16, July 23, July 28

Workshop 1: Putting Yourself Out There It can be intimidating or even scary to let people know how you really feel, or to share something you created.  People always say confidence is key, but how do you GET confident if you weren’t just born feeling that way? We’ll talk about some ways to do just that.

Workshop 2: How to Fight Fair Sometimes we talk around each other instead of talking to each other. Or sometimes things get heated, and then it’s hard to trust each other again. How can you deal with gossip, hurt feelings, and talking about difficult things without it turning ugly? This workshop will help you say what’s on your mind in a way that helps you get heard.

Workshop 3: How Love Works What is a “good” relationship? Is it normal to fight all the time? If you really love someone, should you give them your password? What’s normal and what’s not? How do you know when it’s love, and how do you know when it’s over? Let’s talk about it.

Workshop 4: Troubleshooting This is a group workshop where you can talk about any specific band, friendship, or relationship problems in your life that you don’t mind sharing with everyone, and we can all talk about different solutions that might work.

Build-a-drum Project: GRP resident drummer Cheshire Agusta will  lead the girls in assembling two kit drums, a snare and a bass drum from the bottom up, which means attaching lugs, washers, tension rods, rims, heads and all supporting parts to existing shells.  We will learn names and functions of drum parts, touch on the physics of  sound and create both a stop time video and a how to video of the assembly process.

Before the date of the ARISE workshop we will  build a water bowl organ and gather  pieces for a found percussion orchestra with the hope that ARISE can help us electronically enhance and amplify our found percussion with contact mics and recording techniques.

If we have time we will also create an instructional drum kit assembly and secrets of drum hardware video for use by future GRP, LRC participants and camp roadies.   Besides fun and self expression and doing things together,  hopeful outcomes include increased tool using skills,  independence in manipulating physical reality,  increased communication and exposition skills. Dates: July 9 and July 10* Students should attend both sessions. Project will be shown at the Fearless Expression event on Saturday July 26.

Photography Project: Local teacher and photographer, Ryann Casey, will lead students in a variety of activities around the art of photography! Dates: July 14 and July 16* *Students should attend both sessions. Prints will be shown at the Fearless Expression event on Saturday July 26.

Learn to DJ workshop: Philadelphia DJ Mekeva McNeil will teach this exciting DJ workshop! Participants will learn basic DJ skills including equipment knowledge, stage presence and various song transitions. Date: July 17 and July 24* *Students will have an opportunity to showcase their skills on Saturday July 26 at Fearless Expression event.

ARISE workshops: ARISE is an innovative electronic music program created by arts organization TECHNE, founded by musicians Bonnie Jones & Suzanne Thorpe. ARISE is an ecosystem of interconnected music, technology, and arts events that explore social identity through electronic music and improvisation.TECHNE will give a workshop in DIY electronics, alternative instrument building and improvisation, and co-curating concerts featuring Bonnie and Suzanne in duo, plus workshop participants! The workshops and performances, together, create a network of encounters that dynamically inform one another in the moment, and beyond, rippling outward to enhance the roles of women in technology and electronic music. GRP is one of a few places that will be hosting these workshops this summer including: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Washington, DC, Charlottesville, Charleston, Nashville, and Baltimore. Dates: July 21 and 22* *Students must attend both sessions to participate in the workshop. There will be a special second session of the workshop on Tuesday the 22nd right before the concert. More information soon! *Open to students 13+.

Open Jam: There will be lots of time throughout the program for playing instruments, writing songs and jamming with eachother. There will be opportunities for band practice as well- by forming new bands or continuing an existing project. GRP staff will be on-hand for group lessons and facilitation.

Tell me more about these events!

Tuesday July 22: Bowerbird in collaboration with Girls Rock Philly and TECHNE are excited to present ARISE: A Dynamic Musical Environment for Change. This concert will be the culmination of our exciting two day collaboration with TECHNE. The event is open to the GRP community and will be held at the Rotunda in West Philly at 40th and Walnut Streets.

Friday July 25: GRP has been asked to perform at one of the weekly film screenings at Eakins Oval this summer. The city is setting up a stage, inviting food trucks and local musicians to perform themed for each movie they show. We’ll be performing when they show the hit movie “School of Rock”. Current GRP bands are invited to perform as are new bands that might form during the institute. Regular attendance at band practice and Open Jam is required for participation in this performance (unless otherwise arranged).

Saturday July 26: All of our workshops and projects will be featured at the Fearless Expression event at The Bean Cafe on 7/26. This event will be planned by GRP youth and feature their art and music. All participants in the Institute are encouraged to attend this fun event!

For more information email us at info(at)girlsrockphilly.org or call us in the office at 215.776.5246.