When Ruth Kiefer first started taking voice lessons at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), she imagined that she’d improve her voice and engage a community of musicians ” guitarists, pianists and vocalists ” with whom to make music.
Her lessons were fabulous but she didn’t find the community she hoped for.
Thus was born Villa Musica, a music community center that aims to draw musicians from all ages, backgrounds and talents to indulge their passion together. The center also intends to create a space for teachers ” who often are isolated in their own private studios ” to inspire and learn from one another, Kiefer said.
Kiefer envisions a center of “cross-fertilization,” where a young pianist could form an ensemble with an adult first learning to sing and a novice guitarist. That’s what she had expected to find at UCSD ” a pianist and guitarist to simply “make music” with.
“Once we have a permanent location, I really envision a place where people from all ages and backgrounds can come together to make music,” Kiefer said. “So in the future, when someone already plays an instrument and would like to meet others and play in an ensemble, they will think of Villa Musica first and that it would really become a sort of meeting place for the community.”
While the center likely won’t move into its permanent home until early 2007, it will launch its activities at UCSD beginning July 24 with summer day camps for young singers ages 11 to 18. The weeklong camps will combine solo and group vocal instruction with workshops on acting and movement. Yoga will warm up students in the morning and the afternoon will include lectures by local artists. The ensemble will cover songs from Broadway to classical repertoire.
In the fall, the center will expand its programs to all ages with a community choir, guitar ensemble and flute ensemble.
Fiona Chatwin, artistic director for Villa Musica, plans to model the community choir after her experience teaching voice at UCSD Extension. Her students ranged from engineers to politicians who improved during the session but were not quite confident enough to audition for larger choirs, Chatwin said. Novice singers will be able to find their niche in the community choir at Villa Musica, where no auditions are required.
“We call it graduating from the shower to the stage,” Chatwin said.
The center doesn’t wish to be an island until itself, however. It will move into Music Place San Diego at the former Naval Training Center (NTC), where organizers anticipates collaborating with other organizations, such as the La Jolla Music Society, the San Diego Choral Union and the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus.
Creating a diverse music community is also integral to the center, which is largely inspired by the San Francisco community music center that strives to open its doors to musicians of all socio-economic backgrounds. In light of this, Villa Musica will offer a sliding-scale fee to members. A benefactor has also contributed two scholarships to assist children who might not otherwise be able to attend the summer camps.
Keifer and Chatwin discovered their shared vision for Villa Musica one day after voice lessons. Keifer was saddened that no focal music center existed in San Diego like the one in her hometown in Germany, where she took piano lessons, voice lessons and performed in numerous ensembles.
Chatwin had also dreamed of a communal place for musicians, something that she perceived lacking in San Diego’s pocketed art community.
Chatwin also hopes that Villa Musica will buffer the lack of music education in city schools. After the eureka, the co-founders began contacting leaders in the music community to glean input in order to avoid birthing Villa Musica in a void.
“Every time we had a meeting with somebody, we came away with the feeling that the interest was starting to grow and that people were talking about it,” Chatwin said. “It didn’t feel just like Fiona and Ruth’s little idea anymore.”
Summer camps for students ages 15 to 18 run July 24 to 28, and for students ages 11 to 14 from July 31 to Aug. 4. Tuition costs $375 per week and classes are held at the music department at UCSD, 9500 Gilman Drive.
For more information about Villa Musica call Kiefer, (619) 723-8820, or visit www.villamusica.org.