About
Community Music School of Santa Cruz offers music workshops, concerts, summer camps, and ongoing ensembles for musicians age seven and up. Programs include Teen Band, a Celtic teen band, the SC Harp Festival, the Redwood Music Teen Camp, and music instrument “petting zoos” at community events.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Teen Band meets on alternate Wednesday evenings, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month; Redwood Music Teen Camp runs June 14–20, 2026, with six nights of residential camp
Community Music School of Santa Cruz has been engaging kids through music since 1992 and has been connecting people to music through music since 1992. Its mission is to enrich the lives of students, teachers, professional musicians, and the community through music education, performance, and appreciation. The organization is led by Executive Director Susan Willats and Founder and Artistic Director Shelley Phillips, MM San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with a Board of Directors that includes Tom Padula (President), Wren Reeve (Vice President), Cheryl Golich (Treasurer), Thérèse Johannesson (Secretary), Lisa Charnock, Juliet Davoren, Neal Hellman, and Sophie Widman. Shelley Phillips received the Gail Rich Award from the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 2008, and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission selected her as 2017 Artist of the Year.
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 offers music instrument “petting zoos” at community events. It also publishes a free monthly e-newsletter that lists upcoming concerts and music-related events around the Monterey Bay area, receives support from several local organizations, works with Arts Now Santa Cruz County to advocate for equitable access to arts education in local K–12 schools, and serves on the advisory board of the Cabrillo Youth Chorus. One parent described Teen Camp as “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 testimonial states, “You guys are all amazing and you’ve changed my life,” and a third parent shared that their child “LOVED the camp, and it really reignited their enthusiasm for playing music with other people.”
Last updated March 25, 2026.
• Ages: 7–18 years old
• Schedule: Teen Band meets on alternate Wednesday evenings, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month; Redwood Music Teen Camp runs June 14–20, 2026, with six nights of residential camp
Community Music School of Santa Cruz has been engaging kids through music since 1992 and has been connecting people to music through music since 1992. Its mission is to enrich the lives of students, teachers, professional musicians, and the community through music education, performance, and appreciation. The organization is led by Executive Director Susan Willats and Founder and Artistic Director Shelley Phillips, MM San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with a Board of Directors that includes Tom Padula (President), Wren Reeve (Vice President), Cheryl Golich (Treasurer), Thérèse Johannesson (Secretary), Lisa Charnock, Juliet Davoren, Neal Hellman, and Sophie Widman. Shelley Phillips received the Gail Rich Award from the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 2008, and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission selected her as 2017 Artist of the Year.
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 offers music instrument “petting zoos” at community events. It also publishes a free monthly e-newsletter that lists upcoming concerts and music-related events around the Monterey Bay area, receives support from several local organizations, works with Arts Now Santa Cruz County to advocate for equitable access to arts education in local K–12 schools, and serves on the advisory board of the Cabrillo Youth Chorus. One parent described Teen Camp as “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 testimonial states, “You guys are all amazing and you’ve changed my life,” and a third parent shared that their child “LOVED the camp, and it really reignited their enthusiasm for playing music with other people.”
Last updated March 25, 2026.
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