Folk festival, SPRD offer adult Americana class

Inspired by the musical success of local school kids, Jay Mather kicked off the new year by dusting off his old guitar and venturing into the inaugural Adult Americana class offered through Sisters Park & Recreation Department (SPRD).

Mather joins a dozen other grown-ups with latent musical aspirations, gathering weekly for guitar and songwriting instruction that, up until now, has only been offered to middle and high school students.

SPRD Executive Director Anne Heath wasn't surprised the class sold out.

"While attending the My Own Two Hands concert [of high school performers] last year, I was struck by the amount of adults who said 'I want to do that.' I continued to have adults ask for guitar and Americana classes, and so I approached Brad Tisdel (Americana Project co-founder and director) with the idea. We were able to put together a class for adults that is a partnership of the (Sisters) Folk Festival and SPRD."

Only two weeks in, students already had something to show for it. Mather took a turn performing a verse written in class, accompanied by his own 1971 Martin D28 acoustic guitar-the guitar he bought upon returning home from the Peace Corps.

"I really wanted to get back into playing because I'm involved with the folk festival," said Mather, who first learned to play in the eighth grade. He joined the class, which he affectionately calls "big-boy song camp," out of a growing desire to craft his own piece of music.

"I thought I'd take a shot at seeing if I could write an articulate song. And I wanted to get an idea of what the kids in the Americana Project experience." A bonus, says Mather, is that learning to write songs is "good brain gymnastics."

For Mimi Graves and Katy Yoder, the class is an opportunity to do something together as mother and daughter. Graves praised the spirit of camaraderie and the diversity of students in class. "I think it's wonderful," she said.

For Jill and Mike Dyer, the Thursday-night class is date night.

"We were looking for something we can do together," says Mike. Music brought the married couple together years ago at a Christian college in Lubbock, Texas. As students and members of a 10-person a cappella group, they performed together at weekend retreats; they often still sing together today, in church.

Jill writes poetry and lyrics, but never learned guitar. Mike plays a little guitar, but never had songwriting instruction.

"I wrote my first verse tonight," he said on Thursday.

Jill, too, said she was feeling a sense of satisfaction "just to be brave enough to share what we come up with."

Class instructor, Travis Ehrenstrom - a former Sisters High School Americana Project student himself - says it's the first time he has witnessed a group of adults in which everyone was willing to sing right away. Typically, adults are shyer than younger

students.

"This class is pretty unique," he said.

Ehrenstrom drew his curriculum directly from the high school Americana Project. He spends the first half of class teaching introductory guitar and guitar theory and the second half focused on songwriting.

With a variety of students and skill levels, including a banjo and a mandolin player, the common denominator is a sense of fun and willingness to try something

new.

"They've all really had a good time," he said.

Although this nine-week class is full, Heath says if there is continued interest, she will add more classes in spring and summer.

"I believe that there is a need for these kinds of adult classes in Sisters. Forming partnerships such as this one with the folk festival allows us to bring a higher quality of programming as we bring experts to the table. The true winners are the adult community, who have the opportunity to participate in high-quality programs."

Community members are encouraged to come forward with ideas for education and enrichment classes. Please contact Kelly Sheets at SPRD at 541-549-2091.