Booher family leads music camp

The halls of Sisters Community Church were alive with the sound of music last week as fiddlers, guitar pickers, piano players and bass thumpers from all around the country gathered for the annual Booher Family Music Camp.

They came from Texas, Missouri, California, Washington and Oregon to partake of some hands-on learning from top-notch instructors — including half-a-dozen Boohers.

Chris Booher drove 32 hours from his home near Ft. Worth, Texas, to teach piano and his brother Justin drove down from Kennewick, Washington, to teach fiddle.

Rudi, Ben and Brendan Booher had shorter commutes; they still live in the Sisters area.

Sister Meriwyn — now Meriwyn Thompson — returned to lend a hand in fiddle instruction.

“I’ve had a wonderful time,” said Peggy King of Little Valley, California.

What made the trek from the little community 100 miles east of Redding worthwhile?

“The quality of instructors, for one thing,” she said. “It’s a nice, relaxed atmosphere.”

Many of the music campers take the “camp” aspect of the experience literally, pitching tents on the church grounds for their weeks’ accommodations. A good number parked their “tin teepees” in the lot and enjoyed a little RV stay.

According to Dolores Booher, there were about 140 musicians registered for the week-long camp, which closed with a scholarship concert by campers.

With campers, instructors and volunteers, Dolores said, “we’re feeding about 235.”

This year marked the 17th annual educational gathering — the fourth in Sisters. The academy attracts a wide range of students — and some of the finest musicians in the country as instructors.

Piano players not only had a chance to work with Chris Booher — formerly the keyboard player for Asleep at the Wheel — they also had a chance to learn from the incomparable Floyd Domino, a Grammy winner who has worked with the likes of George Strait and Waylon Jennings.

The staff included two National Fiddle Champions (Rudi Booher and Trish Ferguson), Oregon State Fiddle Champion Meriwyn Thompson, three-time Grand North American Fiddle Champion Ivonne Hernandez, ace guitarists like Dick Gimble and Tony Marcus and other standout local and regional instructors.

But for all the rarified quality of instruction and the enthusiasm of the campers, the atmosphere was as down-home as an afternoon picking on the front porch.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 5415499941