History
In a world where girls, women, transgender, and gender non-conforming individuals face innumerable threats to their self-confidence and safety, we seek to create a SAFE space where all ideas are valid, diversity is embraced, creativity is strongly encouraged, and campers learn they can do anything they set out to accomplish. We routinely tell our campers, “If you can learn an instrument, form a band with 4 people you just met, write a song and get up and perform after just ONE week, you can do ANYTHING!” We teach them to support one another, and we work to proactively discredit stereotypes of “mean-girl” cultures. Women, transgender, and gender non-conforming individuals are underrepresented in the world of music, taking a minority role on instruments such as drums, bass, and electric guitar. Exposing our campers to this experience enriches them and bolsters our music scene.
After our first camp in 2010 with only 32 campers, we quickly grew to offer 3 camps each summer to, on average, 145 girls. Our programming expanded to offer an “Advanced” camp for older girls, instruction on ukulele and violin, as well as programming in mindfulness, movement, and stage presence. In the summer of 2020 during the height of pandemic restrictions, we quickly pivoted to offer two Virtual Camps, serving 55 campers. In the summer of 2021, we welcomed back our campers to 3 safe and smaller camps, reaching 90 campers.
Our design is straightforward; we empower our campers by giving them tools to feel successful when performing. We encourage our campers to be bold, loud and to build each other up. We offer daily instrument instruction, songwriting lessons, band rehearsal and other special breakout sessions. We have daily staff debriefing so we quickly identify and address areas where campers need assistance. We have a very low staff to camper ratio (there are 1-2 band coaches for each band of 4-5 campers) so that each camper gets plenty of assistance and attention.
We have specialized staff such as a Gear Manager (to inventory and keep gear in working order) and a “Girl Power Coach” who is a staff member who has an educational/child psychology background. This position was designed to assist campers and staff when behavioral-emotional issues arise. A week goes by incredibly fast, and we have learned that when we address these issues quickly with an experienced professional, that campers and staff have a much more empowering experience. We also have a Diversity Equity and Inclusion subcommittee of our Board that is committed to creating policy and practices that are inclusive for our campers of color.
We also offer employment opportunities to female and gender non-conforming musicians. Our staff have as many success stories as our campers. We've had several staff who were able to “quit their day jobs” and move into full-time music careers as instructors, performers, and studio musicians through the connections they've made through GRCM. We've actively worked to recruit a diverse staff in terms of age, musical background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity so that our campers see that a diverse group can create amazing collaborative spaces.
We have a tradition of accepting campers regardless of ability to pay, and in the past have done outreach through various community centers and youth programs to reach potential campers from underserved communities. Several of our staff members are teachers in Madison-area school districts and they recruit underserved campers as well. We provide cab rides for campers to help overcome transportation barriers. To remove barriers for employment opportunities for our staff, we offer free childcare to those who have children. Finally, we offer before and after-camp care opportunities for parents who may not be able to transport their children to and from camp during the allotted hours.
