The first inaugural Debutant’s Hoot Camp was a wonderful week of musical workshops and guided jam sessions! Forty-five young musicians from Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Kendallville, and surrounding areas began the week as strangers and ended as friends and musical collaborators. Hosted by the Community Arts Academy at PFW and sponsored by the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association under its 501(c)(3) nonprofit umbrella, Hoot Camp included students ages 10–18 from absolute beginner to advanced skill levels.

Each student began the day with their instrument-specific teacher. Walking around the music center, it was easy to hear Sean Hoffman and Lauren Blair coaching their young fiddlers; Jon Swain and Kenny Taylor leading the guitar players; Lynn Nicholson guiding the mandolins; Ellen Coplin teaching the cellos; and Michael Earl Newsome working with the banjo students. Bluegrass music was floating through the halls! Students learned two traditional tunes and three Debutants originals, as well as taking classes in improvisation, how to join a jam session, songwriting, and harmony singing.

To conclude the week of camp, students eagerly tuned up their instruments for a final concert side-by-side with the Debutants on the Baker Street Centre stage. With a packed house of over 300 attendees, the room was crackling with enthusiasm! The young musicians performed the traditional tune Old Joe Clark with solos, followed by their own rendition of Little Liza Jane complete with newly composed verses. Ending with three favorite Debutants songs, they then turned the stage over to their camp teachers and sang and danced to an hour of music.

“We are so thrilled and grateful for a full week of musical opportunities for youth made possible by our community of supportive musicians in the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association. Keep your eye out for some new faces at festivals and jam sessions from Debutants Hoot Camp.”
— Ellen Coplin and Sean Hoffman, Hoot Camp Directors