Guitar dreams

Emily Freudenberger grew up watching her uncle play guitar, but every time she tried to emulate him she couldn’t.

“I was never big enough to get my arm around the body and I couldn’t ever press down on the strings,” she said.

Finally, three and a half years ago, she was big enough, and after six months of learning to strum simple chords, her teacher found an open spot for her at the Crown Guitar Workshop and Festival in Bigfork. The 15-year-old Whitefish High School student is once again headed to the festival, along with four other Whitefish students.

“It was completely life-changing,” she said of that first experience. “By the end of the week I was so, so much better.”

The workshop and festival gathers students and teachers of all genres of music for a week filled with concerts, workshops and jam sessions. Evenings are filled with public concerts featuring masters of their instruments.

Now in its seventh year, Director of Development Diane Hautzman said the festival is all about mentoring the next generation of musicians. Crown has awarded 147 scholarships and 13 fellowships to students and teachers since it began.

Freudenberger is going to the festival as a scholarship recipient for the third year in a row. To apply, students have to fill out an online form, write essays about what music and guitar mean to them and what they hope to do in the future, attach a letter of recommendation from their teacher and submit two songs as samples. Then a committee of four determines who will attend the festival that year. Out of 24 applications this year, 17 musicians were chosen.

“We try to make sure that those who have not had the opportunity before get an opportunity,” Hautzman said.

Students have breakfast together each morning before starting a day that consists of classes, elective classes and masterclasses with professional musicians. Classes could be jazz studies or songwriting courses, and electives could be spending some time learning a new instrument. Then they return for dinner and perform in or attend concerts after. Once the concerts are done, the late night jam sessions start, and musicians are often pushed to cross genres and try something new.

“They get out of their comfort zone. Maybe you’re a shredder and you sit next to someone who plays jazz, and you get to watch what they do. It just opens up your mind to all different kinds of music,” Hautzman said.

Freudenberger also plays piano, volleyball and dances, but being onstage with a guitar in-hand has become her favorite activity.

Through songwriting, Freudenberger said she’s able to speak with a much clearer voice than through other outlets. She remembers one moment in particular that helped her realize the impact her music can have while on stage at the festival.

“I was singing a song that I had written, and it was about friendships and self-worth and things like that, and as looked out into the crowd I noticed so many people nodding along, and one lady started crying,” she said. “So many people were so receptive to the lyrics. That was a huge moment where I realized I can relate to people and touch people through my music.”

Along with the festival, Freudenberger is working on recording an EP this summer while performing at Whitefish Lake Golf Club, the Craggy Range and in Columbia Falls.

Crown Guitar Festival runs Aug. 28 through Sept. 4 at the Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork. Concerts start at 7 p.m. Performing artists include Jim Messina, Dweezil Zappa and Josh Turner and many more. Tickets are $40 ahead of time and $45 at the gate. For more information, visit crownguitarfest.org.