Jubilee introduces youth songwriter’s workshop

The New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee is creating another avenue to get youth involved in the annual music festival.
New this year will be the Youth Songwriter’s Workshop at the Celtic Circle in New Glasgow.
The workshop will be led by East Coast musician Carmel Mikol who has conducted these youth workshops in both Florida and throughout Cape Breton.
“This is a nice opportunity because I know New Glasgow has such a strong component of youth performers. It’s very exciting,” says Mikol.
The workshop is geared toward grades 6 through 12 and will go over the basics of song writing such as structure, melody, lyrics and arrangement as well as performance techniques and audience interaction.
“I like to have the workshops small enough to make it personal for the participants,” says Mikol. “There is certainly no cap on the number of participants, it can be anywhere from 10 to 200, but I prefer to have enough time to answer all of their questions and have that one on one interaction.”
Two of the lucky participants will be chosen to take part in the actual songwriter’s circle on the main stage August 4.
“We will choose the two participants that really excelled to perform as part of the songwriter’s circle,” she says. “The ones that are ready for the stage and will really benefit from that experience; it’s also great for them to share the stage with such seasoned performers as Tim Chaisson and Slowcoaster’s Steven MacDougall. They will learn a lot from that experience.”
Mikol is hoping the event will become an annual component of the Jubilee each year.
“It’s always a goal of the festival to keep youth involved and it’s great to have these types of things that give youth an opportunity to learn structure but also the joy of performing,” says Mikol.
The workshop will take place July 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Celtic Circle. Pre-registration is required by calling Glasgow Square, the Celtic Circle or online at www.carmelmikol.com/workshops. Registration can also be done the morning of at the Celtic Circle and the fee is $20.
“We want everyone to feel welcome, regardless of their level of expertise,” says Mikol. “Even if you haven’t written a song before but want to or if you have written songs but want to improve. It is a relaxed, informal workshop but very informative.”