Winter Village Music Camp moves downtown for first time to CSMA and Canopy by Hilton, starting on Jan. 9

Visit Winter Village Music Camp, a fun and inspiring winter weekend of LISTENING, LEARNING & PLAYING in a friendly and inclusive setting, from Jan. 9 through Jan. 12. The weekend of concerts, workshops and jam sessions in downtown Ithaca is hosted by the Community School of Music & Arts and its neighbor, the Canopy by Hilton Hotel.

To register for the camp or buy concert tickets, visit wintervillagemusic.org/info.

LISTEN: Winter Village faculty concerts are a highlight of the camp. Join us on Thursday night for the Camp’s Opening Concert featuring Emily Miller & Jesse Milnes and Hildaland (Louise Bichan & Ethan Setiawan). The popular Saturday Night All-Faculty Concert features all camp faculty in a series of short performances and spontaneous collaborations. On Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., the Closing Concert will feature The Clements Brothers with Natalie Padilla & Quinn Bachand.

LEARN: WVMC offers more than 100 workshops on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass, ukulele, singing and songwriting taught by our 30-person faculty. Workshops explore a variety of styles – Bluegrass, Old Time, Irish, New England, Cajun, Scandinavian, Swing, Folk, Americana and more. Singing and songwriting workshops are offered along with sessions on how to practice more effectively and enjoyably. This year we will explore some new topics during the lunch hour including online marketing strategies for working musicians, new ways for recording at home, in the studio or a hybrid approach for recording and sharing your music, and holistic approaches practice and performance for musicians.

PLAY: There will be many opportunities for playing music with old and new friends in group sessions, the styles you like, and at a level where you feel comfortable playing with others.

Weekend at a Glance
Thursday, January 9
The Winter Village will kick off with some great live happy hour music at the Bike Bar, located next door to the Community School of Music & Arts (CSMA). Special thanks to South Hill Cider who is sponsoring all three evenings of free happy hour music at Ithaca’s Bike Bar this year. On Thursday Naomi Sommers, Dave Davies and Rick Manning with special guests Bobby Henrie and Perry Cleaveland will open the camp performing Naomi’s original songs and some other bluegrass standards. The Camp’s official opening concert next door at CSMA’s Hamblin Hall begins at 7:30 pm and features two great duets – Emily Miller & Jesse Milnes and Hildaland (Louise Bichan & Ethan Setiawan). Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
Friday, January 10
In 2025, we will begin workshops sessions on Friday morning with Thursday evening performers Emily, Jesse, Louise, Ethan and other Ithaca and Finger Lakes faculty. We’ll begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning with 3 warm up sessions – old time, bluegrass, Celtic jams and a song circle, followed by numerous instrument, singing and songwriting sessions at 10:45 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. At lunch time on Friday, we will feature a brown bag session on ‘Music Theory You Can Use’ for all instruments. There will be a happy hour opening reception at 5 p.m. in the Strand Cafe and happy hour music from 5 – 7 p.m. next door in the Bike Bar featuring Richie Stearns, Kevin Wimmer and Steve Selin. Camper Orientation will begin at 7:30 p.m. with short performances and introductions by faculty, followed by facilitated jam sessions for campers in different styles and skill levels, all led by camp faculty at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, January 11
Saturday begins with early-riser jam sessions and morning yoga for musicians at 8 a.m., followed by two 75-minute instructional workshops at 9:15 and 10:45 am. Lunch time on Saturday you can eat at the Strand or on the town, or grab some lunch and attend a panel on Social Media for Working Musicians. Ithaca Stringed Instruments will also have a display set up during lunch and into the afternoon. After lunch there will be two 60-minute afternoon workshops at 1:30 and 2:45 pm followed by 4 p.m. special band workshops/casual concerts and master classes. Lobby happy hour jams and dinner will begin at 5 p.m. In addition, the Notorious Stringbusters, the Ithaca Guitar Works house band will perform at the Bike Bar from 50 to 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 12
Sunday also begins with early riser jam sessions, a song circle and morning yoga for musicians at 8:30 am. This will be followed by two 60-minute morning workshops at 9:30 and 10:45 am. Lunch time special sessions will include brown bag sessions on recording strategies, holistic health practices for musicians, and a fiddle workbench session. After lunch, two afternoon workshops will be held at 1:30 and 2:45 p.m. The closing Sunday Camp Concert will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and feature The Clements Brothers with Natalie Padilla & Quinn Bachand.
Tickets for the closing concert cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door.t the hotel on designated music floors.