Community Music School of Santa Cruz
Community Music School of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
About
Community Music School of Santa Cruz offers music workshops, concerts, summer camps, and ongoing ensembles that focus on making music together. Participants can join Teen Band, Kid Camp, Redwood Dulcimer Day, and other programs that include playing Celtic music, practicing in small and large ensembles, singing, doing crafts, and playing and learning about the dulcimer. The organization also brings instruments to music “petting zoos” at community events so kids can try different instruments.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Teen Band meets on alternate Wednesday evenings, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month; Kid Camp is a two-week day camp running July 20–August 1, 2026
Community Music School of Santa Cruz has been engaging kids through music since 1992 and has brought people together through Celtic music for nearly 35 years. Its mission is to enrich the lives of students, teachers, professional musicians, and the community through music education, performance, and appreciation. The organization hosts camps with Celtic music at the heart of the shared experience, and its refreshed logo features a Celtic knot described as a symbol of connection and continuity.
The leadership team includes Susan Willats, Executive Director; Shelley Phillips, Founder and Artistic Director; Tom Padula, President; Wren Reeve, Vice President; Cheryl Golich, Treasurer; Thérèse Johannesson, Secretary; and board members Lisa Charnock, Juliet Davoren, Neal Hellman, and Sophie Widman. Susan worked as a program administrator at the University of California, Santa Cruz for over 30 years, and Shelley Phillips holds an MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The Santa Cruz Sentinel awarded Shelley Phillips the Gail Rich Award in 2008, and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission selected her as 2017 Artist of the Year.
Teen Band is a Celtic teen band for musicians ages 12–18, and it meets on the westside of Santa Cruz. Kid Camp is for kids 7–13 who can already play an instrument and focuses on Celtic music. Redwood Dulcimer Day offers beginning to advanced music workshops for players of both the mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer in a low-pressure, low stress environment.
Community Music School of Santa Cruz maintains a free database of local music teachers, places donated musical instruments with people or organizations who need them, and publishes a free monthly e-newsletter listing upcoming concerts and music-related events around the Monterey Bay area. The organization receives support from the California Arts Council, Santa Cruz Arts Council, Omega Nu, Santa Cruz Rotary, El Vaquero Winery, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (Scotts Valley), and The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist.
Parent and student comments about the programs include: “Teen camp is a safe place for our teens to explore not only what they can do musically and artistically, but who they are and who they want to become.” Another shared, “You guys are all amazing and you’ve changed my life.” A third said, “[My kid] LOVED the camp, and it really reignited their enthusiasm for playing music with other people.”
Last updated June 24, 2026.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Teen Band meets on alternate Wednesday evenings, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month; Kid Camp is a two-week day camp running July 20–August 1, 2026
Community Music School of Santa Cruz has been engaging kids through music since 1992 and has brought people together through Celtic music for nearly 35 years. Its mission is to enrich the lives of students, teachers, professional musicians, and the community through music education, performance, and appreciation. The organization hosts camps with Celtic music at the heart of the shared experience, and its refreshed logo features a Celtic knot described as a symbol of connection and continuity.
The leadership team includes Susan Willats, Executive Director; Shelley Phillips, Founder and Artistic Director; Tom Padula, President; Wren Reeve, Vice President; Cheryl Golich, Treasurer; Thérèse Johannesson, Secretary; and board members Lisa Charnock, Juliet Davoren, Neal Hellman, and Sophie Widman. Susan worked as a program administrator at the University of California, Santa Cruz for over 30 years, and Shelley Phillips holds an MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The Santa Cruz Sentinel awarded Shelley Phillips the Gail Rich Award in 2008, and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission selected her as 2017 Artist of the Year.
Teen Band is a Celtic teen band for musicians ages 12–18, and it meets on the westside of Santa Cruz. Kid Camp is for kids 7–13 who can already play an instrument and focuses on Celtic music. Redwood Dulcimer Day offers beginning to advanced music workshops for players of both the mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer in a low-pressure, low stress environment.
Community Music School of Santa Cruz maintains a free database of local music teachers, places donated musical instruments with people or organizations who need them, and publishes a free monthly e-newsletter listing upcoming concerts and music-related events around the Monterey Bay area. The organization receives support from the California Arts Council, Santa Cruz Arts Council, Omega Nu, Santa Cruz Rotary, El Vaquero Winery, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (Scotts Valley), and The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist.
Parent and student comments about the programs include: “Teen camp is a safe place for our teens to explore not only what they can do musically and artistically, but who they are and who they want to become.” Another shared, “You guys are all amazing and you’ve changed my life.” A third said, “[My kid] LOVED the camp, and it really reignited their enthusiasm for playing music with other people.”
Last updated June 24, 2026.
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