• 10th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us Announced

    10th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us

    BLOOMINGTON, IND. — The 10th Annual Jim Richter Mandolin Camp for the Rest of Us featuring Don Julin and Mike Compton will be held July 12-15, 2023 at the Grant Street Inn.

    The camp welcomes this year's sponsors Kimble Mandolins and the Grant Street Inn.

    Dating back to 2011, the Camp has focused on providing an educational and nurturing environment for adult mandolin enthusiasts who often feel stuck in their playing and tend to have musical interests outside of bluegrass (though always a welcome genre at Camp!).

    Don Julin, masterful writer of Mandolin for Dummies, returns as a featured instructor. Don has instructed at the camp for seven of its past nine years and has been instrumental in shaping the camp into what it has become. Joining the camp for 2023 is Mike Compton, a modern mandolin master gifted at tastefully incorporating rural, roots-based lead and rhythm mandolin styles into modern Americana music who is an incomparable instructor and organizer of the Monroe Mandolin Camp.

    Though the Richter Camp focuses on rock and blues, the camp also intends to address "beginner-itis," or the dreaded disease effecting those mandolinists who never seem to move beyond beginner status. If your goal is to win Winfield next year, this may not be the camp for you. But, if your goal is to learn to better enjoy the mandolin both in your practice and playing with others, this most definitely will be your mandolin camp.

    This camp is meant to create a protected space for all mandolin voices, ensuring that one doesn't need to be steeped in bluegrass to benefit from the camp. 20 minutes of individual instruction per student is a standard part of the camp.

    The curriculum, which is in final development, will cover:

    • Blues
    • Rock
    • Jazz
    • Other Traditional Styles
    • Arrangement
    • Basic music theory (especially pentatonics)
    • Technique (especially right hand)
    • Practice routines
    • Jamming
    • Instrumental construction

    Camp Schedule

    • Wednesday Evening: Meet and Greet, Bourbon Tasting, Jamming
    • Thursday: Individual Instruction, Classes, Evening Jamming
    • Friday Day: Individual Instruction, Classes, Faculty Concert, Evening Jamming
    • Saturday Day: Individual Instruction, Classes, Student Concert, Evening Jamming

    Additional Information