Find your voice with the GRVC
Songwriting Program
Are you a songwriter? Or a person who loves music and has always wanted to learn how to say something with it in your own words and melody? Have you hit a wall in the writing process and need some guidance? Maybe you're feeling solid with your songs, but you have no idea where to start with marketing them... or performing them. Maybe you're nervous to perform them. Perhaps you've been looking to record, but the process is too daunting to try on your own. Maybe you're looking for feedback after performances to fine-tune all that you have to offer.
We saw a need. We're filling it. Welcome to the GRVC Songwriting Program - coming October 2024!
Learn to...
Performing & Recording
Is this program for me?
Here you'll find an exciting opportunity to workshop your songs- lyrically, melodically, structurally, and in performance.
No matter where you’re at in your songwriting journey, whether you’re curious about writing and have never lifted a finger (or a vocal cord), or you’ve written and recorded several albums, the GRVC Songwriting Program is custom-tailored to your artistic needs and creative desires.
This opportunity includes instruction in songwriting structure, performance (with the opportunity to perform at open mics around Grand Rapids and receive feedback!), an in-house recording session, learn the ins and outs of marketing & booking techniques, and more.
To ensure you receive the full support we have to offer, this exclusive program is open to only 6 students per semester, and blends group studio classes with 1-on-1 weekly instruction.
The GRVC Songwriting Program includes:
Weekly 1:1 Sessions with GRVC instructor Rachel Gerson
Every-other-week Studio Class
In-House Recording Session
Community Performance Events
Assistance with Marketing & Social Media Presence
Learn How to Book Gigs and Upload Music
Create an Electronic Press Kit (EPK)
Meet your Instuctor
Rachel Gerson
Instructor
Rachel Gerson has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, first with voice, then with piano and voice, and then in collaboration with several different instrumentalists throughout the years, both in improvisational and collaborative intentional songwriting endeavors. She has experience writing pop, rock, pop-country, folk, progressive metal, world, alternative, and nature-based/shamanistic music. She has extensive training in vocal technique, creative writing, and metaphysics to help you really bring your songs to life.
Her first recording studio experience occurred at age 9 on a children's album in Los Angeles, CA. Since then, her experiences performing internationally and recording across the United States led her to release her first single, “Metamorphosis”, in 2023. She has opened for Billboard-acclaimed artist Ayla Nereo and was featured at Sol Harmony Festival in North Carolina in September 2023. Currently, Rachel is planning a national tour with her folk-metal band, Heaven & Ritual.
Rachel has a passion for helping artists to find their voice- both literally and figuratively- as lyrics and music become not just a song, but a felt experience.