WHAT:  

Girls Rock Philly Camp Week – Philadelphia’s first and only rock camp exclusively for girls.

WHEN: 

• Camp Week: August 9 – 13
• Press Day: Wednesday, August 11
• Campers’ Performance: Sat, August 14 at 1:00 p.m. at the Trocadero Theatre(1003 Arch St., Philadelphia)

PRESS DAY:   

Members of the press are invited to schedule interviews and photo shoots on Press Day, August 11, and to attend the Final Performance on August 14.

Visits to the campus must be scheduled in advance for access to camp. A schedule of the day’s camp activities is available upon request.

WHERE: 

Girard College; 2101 South College Avenue (enter at Girard Ave. & Corinthian Ave.)

INFORMATION: 

For general information, visit www.girlsrockphilly.orgor call (215) 789-4879.

PHILADELPHIA – Girls Rock Philly returns for its fourth summer of teaching girls how to rock out while building self-esteem through music education, from August 9 – 13, 2010.  The organization saw record-breaking interest this year, as the camp expands to serve 80 junior rockers ages 9 to 17 and camper slots were filled in less than two months.

A non-profit organization presenting Philadelphia’s only rock camp for girls, Girls Rock Philly (GRP) serves girls from the Greater Philadelphia region, including participants from South Philly, Mount Airy, Roxborough, Center City, Delaware County, Montgomery County, the Main Line, and from New Jersey and Delaware. 30 of the 80 campers are returning this year, and fifty percent of campers received scholarships or financial aid to attend camp week.  The girls will be supported by trained, onsite adult female volunteers, including local teachers, nurses and musicians. 

Camp week culminates with a public showcase for the community on August 14, allowing the newly-formed camper bands to perform their original material in front of a live audience. For the first time, the girls will have the opportunity to take their skills from Girard College’s campus to a professional music venue, the Trocadero, for their final camp performance.

For the second year, GRP will also take camper bands into a professional recording studio to create a compilation CD. The girls will have the chance to record in WXPN’s World Café Performing Studio, generously donated by the radio station.

GRP provides girls with a chance to unleash their inner rock stars and to learn songwriting, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, DJ’ing and vocals. No previous musical experience is necessary and all equipment and instruments are provided. Campers form bands and write their own songs over the course of a week, allowing the aspiring young musicians a space in which to figure out what and how they want to play, while working in a team setting.

The female-only environment, a rarity in the music world, provides both campers and volunteers with a comfortable atmosphere, emphasizing artistic independence and creative ownership, including copyright to their own songs. The camp also features guided band practice, special guest performers and diverse workshops, including the history of women in music, non-traditional instruments, sound and recording, self-defense, and band art, where participants have the opportunity to create original t-shirts and buttons.

About Girard College: Girard College is a private boarding school for academically capable students, grades 1 through 12, from families with limited financial resources, each headed by a single parent or guardian.  All Girard students receive full scholarships to take part in the school’s strong academic program and to live safely on its enclosed 43-acre campus in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia.  Girard is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.  It holds membership in the National Association of Independent Schools, The Association of Boarding Schools, the Coalition for Residential Education, and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools.  For information, visit www.girardcollege.com.

Girls Rock Philly is supported by individual and corporate donations as well as foundation grants from the Sara Weaver Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation and Women’s Way’s Community Women’s Fund.

###