The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) has a longtime working relationship with the Academy of Country Music’s philanthropic arm, ACM Lifting Lives®, co-sponsoring two unique summer camps that celebrate the performing arts and the hard work that goes into creating a song or a play.
Read on to learn more about this year’s ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp and SENSE Theatre® Camp.
2024 ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp
Summer is always a great time to go on fun trips and spend quality time with friends old and new. Adults with Williams syndrome took advantage of the season to visit Nashville during ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp, June 9-14. Returning campers got to see familiar faces, new campers made new friends, and all of them explored the country music scene with some up-and-coming singing and songwriting talent.
This year’s camp marked the 20th year of for the VKC’s partnership with ACM Lifting Lives® in putting on this annual summer camp experience for adults with Williams syndrome.
Williams syndrome is a rare genetic condition associated with an unusual pattern of strengths and weaknesses in linguistic and cognitive profiles, as well as intellectual disability. A common attribute in individuals with Williams syndrome is an affinity for music, which makes the partnership with ACM so meaningful.
“It’s always wonderful to welcome new campers and watch returning campers reunite,” said Music Camp research director Elizabeth Roof, M.A., HSP. “Music Camp is the highlight of the year for many of our campers, and we are honored to work alongside ACM Lifting Lives® and the many recording artists – many of whom generously give their time during touring breaks – to provide our campers an amazing and memorable experience.”
This year, campers got to participate in a songwriting session with longtime Music Camp mentor and songwriter Ross Copperman and his colleagues J.T. Harding and Russell Dickerson; to brainstorm their original song “Find the Sunshine”; record their new song at Ocean Way Studios with singer and recent Beyoncé collaborator Tiera Kennedy; hit Loser’s Bar & Grill for some karaoke with Caylee Hammack (along with an surprise visit by Post Malone); hang out at Seacrest Studios with Jordan Davis; go on a backstage tour of Municipal Auditorium with PTP Live; learn the “Austin” line dance at the Nashville Palace with Dasha; enjoy a private concert at the Bluebird Café with Lily Rose; and visit Hatch Show Print to create their own concert posters. To end the camp experience, Music Campers took to the Grand Ole Opry stage alongside newcomer Alex Hall to perform “Find the Sunshine” and received a standing ovation.
Dates for the 2025 ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp are still being determined. Click here for more information on ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp, including an option to join the Music Camp interest list for future camp applications.
SENSE Theatre® ACM Lifting Lives® 2024 Summer Camp
SENSE Theatre® is a unique intervention research program designed to improve the social and emotional functioning of individuals with autism. The intervention research is supported by ACM Lifting Lives® and the National Institute of Mental Health. SENSE Theatre® founder Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., works with ACM Lifting Lives® to host an annual summer camp for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) alongside neurotypical peers, working together to rehearse an original play, and closing out the week by performing the show in front of a live audience.
2024 ACM Lifting Lives® SENSE Theatre Summer Camp took place June 17-27, with 12 campers and 12 peer actors participating in theatre activities and research opportunities. Prior to arrival, the campers’ families provided information on their campers as a pre-intervention measure. Throughout the camp experience, counselors worked with the campers on elements such as social awareness and adaptability, skills that autistic individuals often struggle with in their daily lives.
In addition to rehearsals and performance games to prepare campers for the stage, SENSE Theatre® Camp coordinators had extra special activities added to the schedule.
We had a visit from ACM Lifting Lives® on our last day before the shows,” said Rachel Calvosa, a SENSE Lab research assistant and co-music director for this year’s camp. “The Band Loula visited us and played a few songs, then they listened to us sing! They also answered some questions we had about performance, what to do when we get nervous, and about them as a band.”
Throughout the camp experience, campers and counselors worked together to put on a show, closing out camp with June 28-29 live performances of Corbett’s original play “HATS.” Following camp, the campers’ parents will continue to provide information to the SENSE team through parent reports and questionnaires to observe how social responsiveness and adaptive skills learned during SENSE Theatre® carried over after they returned home.
“Camp went great this year and the kids had lots of fun,” said Calvosa. “We enjoyed watching the kids make friends and gain confidence in their performing. It was wonderful to see the amount of growth the participants had from the first day to the last, and to see how much they engaged in different activities such as theatre games and rehearsal of the play. They were such an enthusiastic and talented group.
“We are so grateful to ACM LL for their contributions and for their dedication to enhancing social skills and competence in children and adolescents with ASD.”
SENSE Theatre® is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at https://senselab.vkcsites.org/, or contact the SENSE Lab at (615) 513-9562 or senselab@vumc.org.
Pictured top of page: Participants on stage at the SENSE Theatre® ACM Lifting Lives® 2024 camp. Photo by Erin O. Smith.
Pictured below: Slideshow of participants at the ACM Lifting Lives® Music Camp. Photos courtesy ACM Lifting Lives.
