TAPA Music Students Get Personal at MARS Camp

Well into my 20s, I began to regret not ever having gone to summer camp for something I was interested in. I may have attended a couple of athletic camps in my youth, but I walked away with neither the fond memories so many have of going to camp nor a new skill I could be proud of, and I can assure you that these hands haven’t been anywhere near a basketball or tennis racket since Clinton was in office.

All of this leads to the incredible sense of envy and admiration I felt when speaking with Angela Cooper, 16, and Shaydee Saythideth, 17, two local teens who attended the MARS Camp (Music Arts Recording Songwriting) at Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA) this past summer. Started by TAPA instructors and local musicians Sara Azriel and Dan Dodd, MARS Camp ran for five weeks and gave TAPA high school students an opportunity to delve deep, and expand their own personal ideas for what music could be, all in a safe and encouraging environment.

“We don’t get to spend a ton of one-on-one time throughout the [school] week. For me there was a desire to spend more time with them and help them find their voice.” Sara says of what inspired her and Dan to start MARS Camp. “And also to do songwriting. They’ve been in music classes and learned how to play all of these songs, but what can they turn that into?”

“We wanted to have an environment where everyone was comfortable enough to get into that kind of space to express themselves,” adds Dan. “After that it was like rolling a ball down a hill. Sara and I were impressed by how much they wanted to get to work.”

The camp serves as a guiding hand, putting the musical skills learned during the school year to personal, creative use. Meditation, something many of the students had no real experience with prior, played a big role in this process.

“It really focused the group,” says Sara, and Shaydee confirms that meditation allowed her to truly clear her head for the first time. After daily meditation, students would set their personal intentions for the day, then free-write for ten minutes and share their work with the group, usually the last thing a teenager wants to do.

“It was a place where you could be yourself and not feel judged,” says Angela, “[and] be around people who have the same passion as you.”

The students formed a handful of groups and set out to create original pieces of music. This came from jamming and bouncing ideas off of one another. Lyrics and themes would often come straight from the students’ free-writing sessions, and they learned quickly how to curate their own thought process into workable, tangible ideas.

The end goal was to have a body of work – a mixtape released on Bandcamp – culminating their efforts and showcasing their bravery in sharing their personal thoughts with one another. When we spoke, Shaydee, Angela, Sara and Dan were putting some final touches on a five-track mix tape that featured everything from R&B-type ballads and rap, to punk and electro. From the sneak preview I was allowed, I heard confident and excited young voices. Speaking with Shaydee and Angela, I was surprised at how thoughtful and articulate they were in describing their music and their experience at MARS Camp – this is where that envy I spoke of earlier comes in. I wish I had been half as well spoken about my passions when I was their age.

As for the future of MARS Camp, Sara and Dan would like to see it live on as a weekly after-school program at TAPA, but definitely plan on bringing it back next summer. Shaydee and Angela are glad to hear it will return, and offered words of encouragement to hypothetical students who may be on the fence about participating.

“Step out of your comfort zone,” says Angela. “I walked away with more confidence in my music. I have a song that I’m proud of and I’m not afraid to show anyone.”

“I honestly didn’t really know what to expect,” adds Shaydee. But, in the end, she walked away from MARS Camp having experienced something profound: “It’s not just a music camp. It’s a camp of life.”