Company Profile
Cazadero Music Camp
Company Overview
Cazadero Music Camp is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire the love of music and learning in youth. We provide a nurturing, inspirational environment for young musicians ages 9-18. Cazadero offers a dynamic program that strikes a thoughtful balance between in-depth music education and camp fun.
Cazadero serves over 1,100 youth each year through two complementary music programs: Our sleep-away Summer Music Camp welcomes musicians of various abilities, providing challenges and opportunities for artistic growth at many levels. While the focus is music, Cazadero is an all-around camp experience with sporting and other activities to balance the artistic commitment. Participants enjoy rehearsing, sleeping, and playing outdoors. JumpStart in Music is a low-cost, high-impact, condensed version of our Summer Music Camp, bringing Bay Area public school students, along with their music teachers, to Cazadero for a 3-day music immersion program during the school year.
Company History
Located in a beautiful Sonoma County redwood grove, Cazadero Music Camp has inspired tens of thousands of young musicians since its founding in 1957 by Robert and Beth Lutt.
Originally, Cazadero Camp was leased to the City of Berkeley by Judd and George Montgomery in 1927 for $150 per year. The purchase of the 50-acre campsite was negotiated in 1929 for the sum of $25,000 and the camp was formally dedicated on June 15, 1929. Cazadero Camp was originally designed to meet the needs of family campers, but declining enrollment led to the discontinuation of the family camp in 1956.
The idea of a music camp was proposed by Robert Lutt, Director of Bands at Berkeley High School. The pilot program in 1957 was an immediate success. Two years later, two sessions were reserved for the music camp. By 1961, over 300 campers were attending the popular music program. In 1964, the music program was extended to four 12-day sessions, and Cazadero Music Camp served 600 young musicians every summer.
In 1975, Bob Lutt moved his program to a camp near Mendocino, under the name of Mendocino Music Camp. The program then moved to the Athenian School in Danville, and finally to the San Domenico School in Marin County, where it became known as Meadowood Music Camp. Bob Lutt retired his summer music camp operation in 1986.
Eight years later, Bill Lutt, son of Bob and Beth, and an ex-Cazadero staffer himself, gathered a group of 50 Cazadero alums to see if they could restart the camp at its original location in the Cazadero redwood grove. They formed a non-profit corporation, Cazadero Performing Arts Camp, negotiated a long-term lease with the City of Berkeley, and got to work. By the Summer of 1996, Caz was able to welcome 323 young campers and Cazadero music camp was reborn.
Caz has been lucky finding directors and staff. Those first summers after 1996, the camp was managed by Caz-lovers, Kent and Patty Stewart. From 2001-2021, Jim and Anita Mazzaferro (both former campers) took the reins as Camp Director and Head Chef, respectively. Under their care, Caz flourished as a program able to provide young musicians a safe and nurturing place to grow and learn. Caz has also inspired many campers and staff to become music professionals with careers as musicians, educators, and administrators. Two of those prior staffers are now our current Executive Director Emily Wainacht and Camp Director Carolyn Niehaus-Owen.
From 1957 to today, Cazadero has inspired generations of young musicians, and is one of Northern California’s most popular summer youth music camps. By offering two complementary youth music programs: Summer Music Camp and JumpStart in Music, Cazadero now serves a diverse student body of over 1,100 young musicians every year—ages 9-18 from across the Bay Area and beyond.
In 2021 a new 25-year lease was negotiated with the City of Berkeley, guaranteeing that Caz will be able to keep serving our musical community for decades to come. Our program continues to have a lasting impact on the youth we serve, inspiring an often-lifelong connection to the camp. Our Board of Directors, of which over a third are Cazadero Music Camp alumni and over half are parents of alumni, work to ensure that the Cazadero experience will continue to reach and inspire young musicians for the next 65 years and beyond!
Benefits
Housing and meals are provided during the duration of the assigned/scheduled work period.
Seasonal Flexibility: Commit to a focused season of work without being tied down year-round.
Regional Access: Join us in a location that offers more than just a job—it offers a gateway to Northern California. Spend your downtime hiking Armstrong Woods or relaxing by the ocean in Bodega Bay and Jenner. When you’re ready for a change of pace, you are perfectly positioned for exciting road trips to Fort Ross, Napa, and San Francisco, ensuring your time off is as memorable as your time in the kitchen.
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