Registration is now open.
Inaugurated in 2011, the Julian Family Fiddle Camp (JFFC) is a five-day acoustic music camp for people of all ages and musical abilities. JFFC is held annually at a full-service, rural family retreat center near the historic mining town of Julian, CA. All meals, instruction and evening concerts are provided for a single fee.
The JFFC experience is a celebration of life. It is as educational as it is social. Lifelong friendships often begin here, with many people returning year after year to enjoy a very special break from their usual day-to-day routine.
Your Support makes a difference!
With your help, the CBA continues to improve and develop our camps & education programs, plus we enable more to attend. Thank you!
A family music camp
The Julian Family Fiddle Camp knows there’s much to raising good people and fine musicians (yes, in that order). Indeed, in our view, a positive music camp experience is one that stimulates the interest in music by exposing us to musical sub-cultures that exemplify patience and generosity through the sharing of traditional and accessible tunes – an experience that enhances, encourages and represents an ageless participation in a uniquely human celebration.
While musicians young and old may share their favored tunes, parents and/or chaperones coming to a music camp may have additional things to talk about with others in the same boat. This parental “sharing of notes” is not only inevitable, at JFFC it’s encouraged. Indeed, we make a point of introducing parents to one another, and have built into our program a special time for them, chaperones and interested others to meet and get to know one another.
Something for everyone
As long as you can play a couple of simple tunes on fiddle, mandolin, guitar or banjo, and/or know how to pluck a bass and keep decent time, we have a class and instructor for you! Our 2025 instruction will include classes in Appalachian old-time and bluegrass style fiddle; flat-pick and rhythm guitar; bluegrass mandolin; bluegrass and old-time banjo; upright bass; band dynamics; harmony vocals, and many other specialized workshops.
Julian Family Fiddle Camp honors acoustic music traditions as well as musical innovation. People from 8 to 88 come to the Camp for many reasons. While everyone seeks fun and instruction, we are particularly sensitive to:
- Classical musicians seeking more comfort playing “off the page”
- Young musicians hoping to broaden their skills, interests, and repertoires
- Adult instrumentalists who wish to rejuvenate their skills and expand their network of musical friends
Registration
Early Bird Pricing through Feb 1, 2025
Included Meals: 3 meals a day Thursday – Saturday, including dinner Wednesday and breakfast Sunday.
Included Accommodations: Dorm-style lodging, 2 – 3 occupants per room (we try to keep it to 2). A common area in all three dorms has a comfy couch and a mounted TV. One Toilet, sink & shower in each dorm building: 1 dorm with a wheelchair-accessible shower Additional baths/showers adjacent to buildings. Heat and A/C. No linens provided.
Private Room (additional purchase): Private bathroom, shower, and sinks in each spacious room. Most bottom Bunks have a pull-out trundle. All bunk beds are twin-sized, but with trundle, the bottom bunk is a full-sized bunk. Heat and A/C. No linens provided.
Adam Roszkiewicz
Julian Family Fiddle Camp Director
Adam Roszkiewicz is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist and composer from the west coast of the United States. Specializing in Folk, Americana, and Classical Crossover genres he has played with the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Front Country, Small Town Therapy, the Ger Mandolin Orchestra, and many others. Adam has performed at music festivals around the world including: Merle Fest, Grey Fox, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Rockygrass, Telluride, the La Roche bluegrass festival in France, the Didmartin bluegrass festival in England, the Blue Highways festival in Utrecht, Holland, the Singer Festival in Warsaw, Poland and the Hardly-Strictly-Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. In 2013 Adam received a Grammy nomination for his work with the Modern Mandolin Quartet.
What to Bring
- Your instrument(s) with your name labeled somewhere on the instrument or case
- Bedding (Sleeping bag or sheets & blankets) / Towels / Personal pillow
- Personal toiletries / Medication(s) / Mask (optional)
- Warm clothes (in case of rain and/or snow)
- Sun screen
- Small digital recording device / Personal cameras
- Extra strings for your instrument
- Comfortable hiking/walking shoes
- Slip-on shoes for showers
Camp Policies
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, ILLEGAL DRUGS, AND PETS ARE NOT PERMITTED
Possession or use of illegal drugs or alcoholic beverages will result in removal from the camp without refund.
Visitors and guests are not permitted to bring pets unless it is used to assist the visually impaired.
SMOKING AND FIRES
- Smoking must be confined to designated areas defined by the manager.
- Fires may only be ignited in specifically designated fire rings, using provided wood only.
- Removal of, or tampering with fire or safety equipment is prohibited.
Adam Roszkiewicz is a Grammy nominated mulit-instrumentalist and composer from the west coast of the United States. Specializing in Folk, Americana, and Classical Crossover genres he has played with the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Front Country, Small Town Therapy, the Ger Mandolin Orchestra, and many others. Adam has performed at music festivals around the world including: Merle Fest, Grey Fox, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Rockygrass, Telluride, the La Roche bluegrass festival in France, the Didmartin bluegrass festival in England, the Blue Highways festival in Utrecht, Holland, the Singer Festival in Warsaw, Poland and the Hardly-Strictly-Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. In 2013 Adam received a Grammy nomination for his work with the Modern Mandolin Quartet.
Adam also received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of music. In addition to extensive performing experience, Adam is also an active music instructor having spent over 15 years teaching at music camps, giving private lessons, group classes, and workshops on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and composition.
Luke Price is a multi-instrumentalist known for his balance of taste, rhythm, and technical ability. At the age of 7, Luke began competing in fiddle contests, winning the National Title at ages 12 and 17. Since then, he’s won numerous awards, including Fiddlers Frolics and the Grand Masters. In 2014, he became the National Old-Time Fiddling Grand Champion, duplicating this fete in 2015 and again in 2017! After completing his B.A. in Professional Music at Berklee College of Music, Luke moved to Portland, OR where he records and performs with his band, Dean, and collaborates with a host of other musicians. In addition to being an Instructor of Fiddle and Jazz Violin at Portland’s Lewis and Clark College, Luke gives private lessons from his home studio, and via Skype.
Luke instructed at JFFC 2015, 2017 and 2018 and left such a lasting impression that JFFC brought him on in 2019 as the camp’s Program Coordinator. Luke returns to continue influencing the development and atmosphere of the camp, and to help assure that class content is substantive, instruction adaptive and well-suited for the students, and that out-of-class time is a boat-load of fun.