Grammy nominee Brady Rymer offers songwriting workshop for teens
Brady Rymer will be hosting a songwriting workshop for teens in January 2020. Credit: Randee Daddona
Teens interested in songwriting can enroll in a new, weeklong workshop at the East End Arts Council in Riverhead led by Long Island children’s rocker Brady Rymer.
Participants, who must be at least 15 years old, will learn how to make what they hear in their heads become reality, says Rymer, a three-time best children’s album Grammy nominee who lives in Southold and has released 10 CDs. The workshop, which will run Jan. 6 to 10, will include classes from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and will culminate in a 7 p.m. performance on Jan. 10 that is open to the public. Adults may also register. The location of the performance has not yet been determined.
Rymer has taught at the Arts Council before, but this is the council’s first songwriting week, says Diane Giardi, education director.
Participants can be lyrics writers or focus on instrumental music, Rymer says. They just need to bring ideas that they may not know how to bring to life, and the class will collaborate to make them gel. “We’ll be doing a lot of listening to cool songs and cool examples,” Rymer says. He says he is looking forward to giving students tips while boosting their confidence in expressing themselves. "It’s really great to commit to getting it out there and performing it in front of somebody,” he says. The group will not only collaborate on each other’s individual songs but will also try to write a few songs together, Rymer says.
The cost is $400 for the week, Giardi says. The Arts Council’s school is at 141 E. Main St., Riverhead. For more information or to register, call 631-369-2171 or visit eastendarts.org. For more information on Rymer, visit bradyrymer.com.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
