Community Support: Cazadero’s Lease Renewal and Facility Project Funding

Hello, my name is Beth Lutt. I am and have been a resident of Berkeley since 1954.  Bob, my late husband, and I founded Berkeley’s Cazadero Music Camp in 1957 and have contributed to the ongoing development of Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in its current form continuously. I support and respectfully request our Berkeley City Council approve the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp 25-year lease renewal at the December 1st meeting.

Cazadero Performing Arts Camp “CAZ” provides a “once in a lifetime” immersive  educational experience for young people and its campers. Over the years many campers have commented to me that they learned more and gained more music experience at camp than they had in the previous year in school or with home music instruction. At the root of their comment is their learning to love making music.

I attribute this deep love to the mentoring that the camp counselors and staff provide for each group of campers in the Cazadero redwoods setting. The campers are assigned to groups with a role model that loves music and is focused on music education as a potential career.  Also, and most importantly, it is the beauty and isolation that the redwood setting provides that is ideal for campers to just flourish and focus on their craft.

Our counselors and guest conductors are often CAZ alumni. There is a “magic” in their revisiting the camp that invokes the deep tradition of the love of CAZ and music in the redwoods. This heritage is due to the over 60 years of the City of Berkeley supporting the camp for its residents and students of music and the arts.

I ask that the City of Berkeley renew the lease for the next 25 years and be proud of the tradition of music education that has been built at Cazadero Performing Arts.

Sincerely,

Beth Lutt

Hello,

My name is Barbara Fairweather, and I am submitting this email to the City of Berkeley in regards to the Lease Renewal for Cazadero Music Camp this evening, pledging my support to the camp and the renewal of their lease.

As a young musician taught to play by ear (without reading music), my first summer at Cazadero was difficult despite how much fun I was having. The music I was expected to learn was on paper and I remember not being able to play the sight reading sheet at my placement, and staff members Rebecca and Natalia being impressed that I played my other piece by memory. Rebecca Fitch took the time to meet with me individually, despite there being at least 25 flute players, to teach me how to read music. She went through the Mozart arrangement we were playing and was perfectly patient. For that experience alone, I owe so much of my musical education to Cazadero. I learned later that Becky had decided to pursue music education. I love knowing that in addition to being able to help me in the beginning of my music career, I was also able to help Becky to start her own.

I still play music as a minor in Flute Performance at UC Santa Barbara and music is something I intend to carry with me my whole life. And while Cazadero Music Camp is part of that experience, I carry Caz with me in a different way – as a lively community of people I still keep in touch with in a beautiful place that I will never forget. I hope that the City of Berkeley finds the enriching experiences of youth musicians valuable enough to renew the lease of Cazadero Music Camp to create another 25 years of unforgettable memories.

Best,
-Barbara Fairweather

November 9, 2020

Dear Councilmembers,

I am writing to tell you how important Cazadero Music Camp is. My name is Diane Fukawa. My mother (Haruko) and I have lived in Berkeley for over 50 years. We own the Hopkins Launderette in North Berkeley. My sister teaches at and runs the Crowden Music Center on the corner of Rose and Sacramento.

Caz helped our family become part of the community by supporting us with good music teachers and mentors that helped influence us while we were growing up. Our family did not have enough money to go to Cazadero in the summers. My sister, brother and I all got scholarships from our schools and from Caz to be able to attend. We were all involved with the music programs at Jefferson and Franklin, King, West Campus and Berkeley High. We also were lucky to also get jobs at Caz as teenagers to help our family.

Our family was a blue collar family when we were growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s. My dad was a Teamster truck driver, and my mom a stay at home mom until they were able to buy the Hopkins Launderette. My parents both valued education, and felt that studying music was also important because they understood that it would help us, their children, feel like a part of American culture. Caz (and BUSD’s music programs) helped change
the trajectory of life for me and my family.

At the Hopkins Launderette, my mother and I still recommend Caz to grandparents, and families with children because we know how important it is for children to feel like they belong somewhere, and are supported in something they really like or love to do, which is music. Cazadero is also a place where families can bond together, and people of many different generations, beliefs and cultures can share a common thing that they enjoy. And for many children and families, it is the first time to be in those beautiful redwoods. Music doesn’t care what zip code you live in, or what part of society you’re from. It is one or those places that provides some of the glue for this city, a place where people still come together to create a common goal of making music possible for many generations. It is still a great place to support people. Please support renewing the lease for Cazadero Music Camp.

Sincerely,

Diane K. Fukawa

Hello. My name is Ricki Blau and I’m a resident of Berkeley. Cazadero is a treasure! Our child had wonderful experiences at Caz during a JumpStart weekend with the public schools and in several years of summer camp attendance. I hope many more children will continue to have the opportunities he enjoyed. Please support the lease renewal for the camp. Thank you!

Hi my name is Karen Wells. I live in district 2 and I also am a music teacher in the BUSD. I am the band director at BHS and I also teach 3-4-5 at Oxford, Cragmont and Washington schools. Cazadero has made a huge impact on the music students in Berkeley. We go there for Jumpstart weekends in the fall and spring, and so many students have had their lives changed in both those weekends and in the summer camp program. The Cazadero camp has been shepherded through these past 25 years by this non-profit that has created equitable opportunities for SO many Berkeley students and I for one am excited for them to be able to·continue this amazing work at Cazadero. Please renew the. Cazadero lease!

Dear Council-members,

My Cazadero Support Letter:

My name is Andrew Grishaw, and I am currently Viola faculty at Cazadero Performing Arts Camp (or simply ‘Caz’). Before I held this position, I was a boy’s counselor for a number of summers. One session in summer of 2015 I had a camper named Brendan, a pianist who was mostly blind and had a severe hearing impairment. Brendan required more attention but I was happy to assist him. As the two weeks progressed, the boys grew to not only include Brendan in group activities but to really enjoy his humor and positivity towards life. Each night, after Taps (the song played before bed), Brendan removed his earpiece and said “Goodnight” to all the boys. All the rest of the boys would then reply “Goodnight Brendan”. I like the think that Brendan could feel the message, even though he couldn’t actually hear it. Each night, this was a beautiful moment of true care shared between these 12 young men. Ultimately, Brendan performed the piano beautifully, and got a huge applause from all his new friends. Only a camp such as Caz offers such a fantastic musical experience while fostering this type of friendship, empathy, and understanding.

Thank you for your consideration of the new 25-year lease, Camp needs to continue to powerfully impact the lives of young people!

Sincerely,
Andrew Grishaw

4 December, 2020

Dear Mayor Jesse and Berkeley Council Members:

My name is William R. Lutt, Thousand Oaks area, born Berkeley, BUSD etc.

I was quite active in Cazadero and BUSD music when a student.

So pleased that the Council/Mayor approved the continued/new Cazadero lease with Music Camps Inc.

Thank you.

The synergy between the City, it’s citizens, BUSD while not unique, is special in it’s level of participation and it’s strength in the case of Cazadero Performing Arts Camp. I was there in the late 60’s and 70’s and am grateful for this program.

Two quick stories that show how dynamic this partnership is:

#1: 25 years ago the large outdoor performance venue needed to be rebuilt. Goal of $600,000 actual $800,000 with safety and acoustic upgrades. This was built with small donations and some grants. Large amount of Berkeley citizens and Caz alumni contributed along with garnering corporate matching funds from their places of work and a few foundations threw in.

#2: A few years ago one of the water tanks on the hill damaged in mud slide.   Goal of $5-8000 to replace. A quick call from Doris Fukawa (BHS ‘74) Artistic Director of the Crowden School at Jefferson Elementary started a chain of small donations. I for example called my fellow jazz and band trumpet players when I was at BHS and asked them to all donate. Caz had the funds in 60 days and put a plaque on the new water tank honoring all the Berkeley citizens who threw in.

Cazadero Performing Arts Camp is good for our treasured Berkeley residents. In my class at BHS there were 6 good trumpet players. Norman became head of Physics at Michigan State, Jon Director of Bands at Los Medanos College (and Artistic Director at Caz), Robbie a pro trumpet player, Clark, head of “I.T.” at Rutgers, Guy just retired as head of urban housing City of Vallejo, and myself, I started a classical music festival company. We could not have achieved so much without this dear City and the growth into adulthood/character building that Cazadero Performing Arts camp provided. Grateful.

Sincerely,

William R. Lutt

PS: For a small city we have one of the best “Parks and Rec” departments in the nation.

For the Berkeley City Council meeting:  heartfelt comments and a testimonial for Cazadero

I lived on the Peninsula, not Berkeley (and in Nevada now). But I am a quintessential Cazadero Music Camp alumna in many ways. Although at first, I was afraid I would not fit in because I did not live in Berkeley, my concerns were unfounded.  I was welcomed and accepted immediately. (That could also be because I played the French horn, who knows?)  I likely had a scholarship to attend, but my parents never shared that with me.  Cazadero was a big part of my life in the 70s, musically and socially. I was a camper and staffer in the 70s and it is now an honor to serve on the Cazadero Board of Directors. As soon as my kids were old enough, they were enrolled at Cazadero and they loved it too, one even became a counselor for several years.

Although I am an attorney now and not a musician, I credit many opportunities to Cazadero Music camp: significantly, my full University scholarship, was partly based upon my audition and commitment to play in the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra – all attributable to my ongoing music education and youth symphony participation enhanced by Cazadero Music Camp. Without my music background generally, and my Cazadero music Camp participation specifically, I likely would not have had the options I was so fortunate to have had.

But sometimes, anecdotes are the most persuasive.  The sweetest story is about my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah several years ago. We live in northern Nevada and one of Rachel’s Cazadero friends traveled from the Bay Area for the celebration. It took a while to notice and appreciate that seated in the same row as my daughter’s friend, was one of my oldest and dearest friends from Marin, who had also been a camper and staffer with me at Cazadero 1972 – 1979! I also oozed with pride when my daughter chose to request that in lieu of gifts, donations be made to Cazadero Music Camp.

Cazadero is certainly about music. But it is also about the community, friendships and lifelong bonds we form.

Ellen Jean Winograd

Cazadero Music Camp changed my life and continues to enrich the lives of thousands of local children and their families. Not only did I grow up in Berkeley (I’m very proud of that) but I grew up going to Caz as well. I first went to Caz Family Camp when I was less than a year old. My late mother, Rosemary Richie was on staff at family camp and ran the under 6 year olds program. It was a time every year for our family to unplug and spend time together making music and art under the redwoods. When I was old enough to go to youth music camp, I eagerly went and ended up being in the same cabin with young musicians that are still my good friends until today. Youth camp, hand-in-hand with the BUSD music program gave me the skills to play in the BHS Jazz Band and travel the world performing in Berkeley High’s name. This helped inform my world view as an artist and along with Caz gave me the confidence to have a career as a professional artist. And now an educator myself, I enjoy camp every summer with my own two children (third on the way) and my partner Whitney Pollack. Some of my fondest memories of my late mother are from Caz. I am so thankful and impressed with the work Caz Music Camp has done over the many years and look forward to many more.  My whole family (that live in Berkeley) thanks them for making it possible for thousands of children to discover the love of performing arts every year and begin their journey as artists.

John DeSerio
Former camper
Director
Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp

I first started working in the Cazadero dining room as a BHS student 50 years ago.  It was my first job and I learned so much about music, good work habits and how to cultivate friendships that would last a lifetime.

Fast forward to the 1990’s when I joined the first Board of Directors formed to re-open Cazadero Performing Arts Camp after the property had undergone years of decay and neglect.  I spent many hours at camp work weekends helping to get everything ready for the newest batch of young musicians to arrive.  And the camp has thrived again ever since.

So it was easy when I retired from school administration 6 years ago to join the camp office as a weekly volunteer.  Reading annual surveys from campers and speaking with parent donors has reinforced my appreciation for the profound effect Caz continues to have on the development of our young people.  Their passion for music develops under the guidance of music teachers and expert conductors who give their heart and souls to the camp experience.  It is truly a gem for the City of Berkeley’s arts program!

Cathy

My name is Rich Rice, a Berkeley resident, and also one of the directors of the California Brazil Camp, a multi-cultural event which has subleased the Cazadero Music Camp at the end of August for the last 23 years.

Our event is a bit different than the rest of the summer programs in Caz in that our attendees are mainly adults; from professional musicians and dancers, to university professors, to enthusiasts.  But the response is the same.  I hear from countless of our participants that coming to Caz each summer and being immersed in music and dance is the best week of their year.  Some say the best week of their lives. While I’m confident we offer a great curriculum, with a high level of instruction and performances, as I have said so many times over the years, our program just wouldn’t be the same without the magic of Caz.  And the magic isn’t just the trees and facility, it’s also the professional and friendly staff of Caz that we’ve worked with over the years.

I’m proud of what we offer, and the joy it brings people, but I can’t help to think that I wouldn’t be part of it if I didn’t have the opportunity to start studying music in school as a 10 year old.  And this is the opportunity that the Cazadero Music Camp has offered to thousands of Berkeley kids over the years through their summer programs.

Caz camp participants return to Berkeley to spread the music in public schools, music venues, the California Jazz Conservatory and all around the City.  What a great way to help keep Berkeley a world-class city of the arts, directly in line with Berkeley’s  Arts and Culture plan.

That spot in the middle of the Cazadero redwoods was meant for music, and the Cazadero Music Camp has done a tremendous job providing enriching programs for Berkeley’s youth, and caring for an amazing natural venue.  I think there’s no better group to continue the mission for the next 25 years.

Hello,

My name is George Gaebler and I live in district 5.  My wife, Ann, and I were both born and raised in Berkeley.  Ann and her 4 siblings , and me and my 5 siblings, all attended and worked at Caz throughout the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  I was a board member through the ‘90’s and 2000’s and served as board president.  Further, Caz has played an integral part in education of our 5 children as they progressed through Berkeley’s public schools.

The camp program helps young people develop self-confidence and social skills in a safe, fun, nurturing, and beautiful environment.   The program lets campers experience accomplishment, helps them to build life-long friendships, and instills a sense of community and environmental stewardship.   Yet, as a non-profit organization, the camp program constantly struggles for funding.

Please support this valuable and unique Berkeley institution by approving the lease agreement as presented.

Warmest Regards,

George Gaebler

Cazadero offers an unparalleled immersive musical experience for Berkeley youth. A place to meet new peers and friends from throughout the region brought together in such a magical location. The friendships, artistic discoveries, and personal growth offered by “Caz” deliver lifelong benefits for our youth of diverse backgrounds. I urge the the city of Berkeley to renew the lease for Cazadero Music Camp and continue a unique and irreplaceable Berkeley cultural tradition.

Michael Ely

Hello Berkeley City Council –

We support Cazadero for another 25 years! Our family has attended Cazadero Family Camp for the last 12 years (since our kids were 4 and 7). We live in Berkeley, and Cazadero has changed ALL our lives. It is a place where we go every summer and unplug, play music, connect with other families, live in the woods, sing around the campfire, and feel fully accepted. The positive impact is immeasurable. There are very few places open to all generations of people – young children and grandparents alike. It is a place where we leave our phones behind and grow. Our children need more places like this to thrive, connect, and create magic. Both of our children also attended Jumpstart at Cazadero Music Camp (in elementary, middle, and high school). Many of those early years they were able to attend because of scholarships. We cannot imagine a life without Cazadero!

Melanie Green

I am Doris Fukawa. My family’s business, Hopkins Launderette is in District 5. I teach and am an administrator at the Crowden Music Center in District 1. Caz helped me become a professional musician, gave me my first job – working in food service, then teaching and playing. My family is a blue collar family. We did not have resources to pay for lessons, instruments or attend a program like Caz. If it weren’t for personal scholarships from my violin teacher, scholarships from Caz/BUSD, and a massive network of support, I would not have been able to pursue my dream which became reality. Caz provided a crucial pivot point to change life for me and my family.

I can only pass forward what was afforded to me. Students need places to pursue their passions. Caz is still a place where all students can belong and share a common love of music. Please approve the lease renewal for Caz.

Doris Fukawa
Executive and Artistic .Director
Crowden Music Center

My name is Susan Brooks and I’m a Berkeley resident who has enjoyed going to Cazadero Music Camp for 8 years. ·

It’s the best week of the year! My daughter also got the wonderful opportunity to bring her cello to the Jump Start weekend and deepen her musical education experience in the Berkeley school. There’s something incredibly special about the art, music and the humans in this little paradise under the
redwoods.

Please support the lease renewal and the facility improvements that are being proposed. Caz has been impacted by the pandemic and needs some assistance to continue providing this gem of a learning environment and this tradition for many Berkeley students and families.

These last months of the pandemic have reminded us all how essential the arts are for our well-being. Thank you so much.

Dear Berkeley City Council,

My family writes to you this evening to share our support of the Cazadero Music Camp. My son and daughter have attended Cazadero Music Camp for the three summers. Caz has been a place where they experience nature, share music, make friends, and grow as individuals. The Caz administration and staff are professional, reliable and dedicated. We greatly appreciate the council’s continued support of the program and look forward to the creation of many generations of music makers to come!

With gratitude, the Burmester Family

Dear Berkeley City Council,

I’m writing to raise my voice in deep support for funding for Cazadero Music Camp which since 2013 has made a lifelong impact on my family.

Caz has been a place we can rest our souls for a week each year and lasting memories and friendships will always be rooted there. Because Cazadero is a small non-profit, I strongly encourage the City of Berkeley to allocate funds to improve the camp’s Health Center and Dining Hall to increase accessibility for all Caz campers for years to come.

Sincerely,
Rachel Medanic

My family has been attending Cazadero Family Camp for the last 14 years. My children have attended and worked at Cazadero for 8 years. I have seen first-hand the wonderful positive effect the camp has had on my own family. While at Berkeley High School, my children have also attended Jump Start at Cazadero. We know many kids and families besides ourselves that have benefitted from the time at camp. Both the music camp and the family camp bring us joy through the arts, the redwoods, and community, which are so desperately needed. Covid has been extremely hard on all artists and all citizens of Berkeley and on this small non-profit. In order for Cazadero Music Camp to continue to provide this wonderful resource to a diverse group of people they need financial support to upgrade the facilities to be ADA compliant. Please give this wonderful camp the funding they need to continue bringing the arts to our families.

Thank you,

Joan Bell

I grew up in Berkeley, attended Cazadero as a camper and then worked as a counselor and music faculty. Years later my own children attended the camp. I have first-hand experience of the tremendous musical and social impact of this program. Nowadays, when kids and their phones are inseparable, they “unplug” from social media for two weeks in order to make music and don’t even miss it. They then beg to return the following year.

Debbie Chin Rokeach

Hello, I’m Emily Wainacht, Executive Director of Cazadero Performing Arts Camp. Tonight I hope that Council hears about the fantastic experience Caz provides for many Berkeley youth. As an alumni myself, I could go on and on about how Caz changed my life, how the friends and mentors I met there are lifelong, how the music education I received there paved the way for my two music performance degrees.

But I want to focus on something you might not hear much about tonight. Cazadero takes immense pride in stewarding the beautiful campsite and facilities we lease from the City. We care deeply about providing a beautiful, comfortable, well-maintained campsite for our campers and staff. Which, I might add, is NOT an easy task with an average annual rainfall of 85 inches! We’ve accrued over $680k in “rent credits” during the 25 year lease, which is just a fraction of our actual maintenance and improvement costs for the camp.

Our maintenance staff, and especially the camp director and his wife, go above and beyond any salary we can afford to pay, to complete an endless list of tasks annually, and keep track of our short-term and long-term projects. We’ve also developed a strong partnership with Berkeley Kiwanis and Cal Circle K to organize two volunteer work-weekends per year, giving us the manpower needed to set up camp and winterize camp each year. And there are countless Kiwanis-constructed projects around camp to show for it! Maybe most importantly of all, we’ve instilled in our staff and campers a culture of respect for this treasure we call Caz. We understand how lucky we are to be responsible for its sustainability.

My son, now a freshman at UCSD, had two wonderful summers at Caz while he was at Berkeley High School.  The experience built his musical skills and self-confidence.  It also fostered a spirit of camaraderie with his classmates that transcended differences in cultural backgrounds.  The Caz program is a jewel, and well worth supporting in coming years.

Sincerely, James Lovekin  (Berkeley resident)

Dear Berkeley Council,
I want to add my voice to support renewal of the Cazadero Music Camp. Caz outings are one of the truly great institutions of the Berkeley Schools. 2 of my 3 children have been to them and always found them inspirational. My youngest daughter (17 and a senior at Berkeley High) still sighs every time we drive past the road that leads up to the camp. It is a magic place that combines the beauty of music and the outdoors:
Please renew the lease and enable Caz to continue for new generations of Berkeley students.
Best regards,
Robert Hodges

I have been attending Cazadero Family Camp every summer since 1996. I was the Co-Director from 1999-2001, and served on the board for 3 years. I cannot overstate how important this program has been to me. I have forged many lifelong friendships, professional relationships, and launched several business and artistic endeavors all from my connections though Caz. And I have brought up my son attending Caz every year since he was born (I also met my wife there!). I know I am not alone in my fierce love for the program, and for the beautiful site. I implore you to allow CazPac to continue to lease the site from the City of Berkeley, and to fund badly needed improvements. Their stewardship has been outstanding, and has had a tremendously positive impact on so many lives, including mine and my family’s, as well as those of dozens of my students and colleagues.
Jeremy Steinkoler
Musician, Teacher, Author
Co-Director, BandWorks

Cazadero is a magical spot and allows students to explore independence and nature in the protective net of music. my two former
BUSD children had several experiences there and it was an important part of their musical and social development. they went on to play in BHS BAO and jazz band and now, as’ college freshman, are on sound footing which I partly attribute to the BUSD music program arid the inspiration CAZ provided. please-approve the continuation of the CAZ opportunity for our youth .
Thank you,
Shelley Horwitz

To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to voice my support for the renewal of the lease for Cazadero Music Camp by the City of Berkeley. Cazadero is truly.a treasure, one that benefits many Berkeley residents. The programming offered to BUSD students extends and enhances the superb BUSD music department. And the summer camps offer enriching musical experiences for campers and families.
I hope Berkeley will renew the lease and continue its commitment to this wonderful camp program.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Whitney

Dear Council,
My family has been going to CAZ for the family music camp and Brazil Camp since 1995, we hardly miss a year. I have even taught there. We love the beauty, the support of many amazing people, and the community that meets there year after year. Without CAZ we wouldn’t have family music together throughout the year. We LOVE and support CAZ!!! The experience is one of the finest things about Berkeley. We also hear they may be up for a grant to help repair and maintain the camp, this is so needed, as a non-profit they are a vital piece of the Berkeley experience.
Please allow CAZ to renew their 25-year lease, and receive the suppose of the City of Berkeley.
Patti Kjonaas

Hi,
I am a resident of Cazadero and live within a mile of the Caz Music Camp.
The camp has been an excellent tenant and I’d much appreciate the renewal of their lease with the city of Berkeley.
Thanks,
Frank

Dear Berkeley City Council,
I write in support of the Cazadero Lease Renewal that you are considering on November 10. I’m the Board Chair of the Cazadero Camp and have been involved in the lease negotiations, so don’t pretend to be a disinterested party :-). I just wanted to weigh in, wearing a personal rather than organization hat. I first went to Caz as a 12-year old in 1973. Having grown up in the North Bay, I found Caz to be the first true melting pot experience of my life, with exposure to kids from all over the Bay Area. I cried on my way up to camp because I was nervous and cried on my way back because I didn’t want to leave. Amazingly, in this world that has changed so much in the last decades, Cazadero still has that effect on kids. What the City of Berkeley has helped create at Caz is a touchstone of Bay Area music education, an incredible summer camp experience, and a jewel in the crown for the City. We hope it can continue for years to come with this new lease.
Thanks again for your partnership over the decades!
Best wishes,
Bruce Lowry

I am writing to support an extension of the lease for Cazadero Music Camp. This music camp is an important part of the culture and artistic life of our city. It is well run, appropriately governed, inclusive and all-out ­wonderful. Please renew this lease. It would be a terrible disruption for the kids if the camp has to move to a new location.

David Wooley

I am Pro-Caz, and I vote!
Please keep Caz alive.
Supporting youth while developing music skills is a worthy cause that improves our community.
Best regards,
-David Lerman

Hi my name is Radha, a Berkeley resident. I’m requesting that you support Cazadero Performing Arts Camp’s lease renewal.

I respectfully urge the council to extend the lease for Cazadero music camp. My daughter, a BUSD student, attended from 4th-7th grade, and made a lifetime of memories. May the camp continue its traditions for generations of children to come! For these reasons, I ask that you please extend the lease. Thank you.

Cazadero has made a huge impact on my daughter. She has been attending Cazadero since 4th grade — for nearly 5 years! In fact, 2020 was the first year that she did not participate. Our story is common among Berkeley families. Caz is the non-profit that runs all programming and manages maintenance & improvements at the Berkeley campsite. We must continue to support music education in Berkeley, especially now, and Caz is a huge part of that! Berkeley is proud a leader in the arts, and every concert at Caz is a shining example of Berkeley’s commitment to the arts. I support 25 more years of Caz!

Please support Cazadero Music Camp programs by renewing the lease! Caz has been a foundation of her whole development as a musician and a person with a big heart! We have seen countless children benefit in those years between 2015 and 2020.

What a wonderful place to maintain,

Radha Seshagiri
BUSD parent

Hi my name is Karen Wells. I live in district 2 and I also am a music teacher in the BUSD. I am the band director at BHS and I also teach 3-4-5 at Oxford, Cragmont and Washington schools. and I want to thank you for your efforts to improve City facilities with T1 funding. I’m requesting that you support the urgent improvement projects at Cazadero Music Camp.

Cazadero has made a huge impact on the music students in Berkeley. We go there for jumpstart weekends in the fall and spring, and so many students have had their lives changed in both those weekends and in the summer camp program. Caz is the non-profit that runs all programming at the Berkeley owned campsite. Caz is struggling financially to withstand the COVID pandemic. Even so, Caz has agreed to take on $800k of the $1.2M facility projects that must be completed at camp including health, safety, and accessibility work. Cazadero needs the City to complete two urgent projects at camp, which account for the remaining $400k.

These projects include health and safety upgrades and accessibility work at the Health Center and Dining Hall, key facilities which every single camper, staff, and visitor relies on at camp. I rely on Caz to provide quality music education and excellent camp experiences for my kids – and now Caz must rely on the City to complete this work. Thank you 

Mayor and Council,

I am Jack Rosano, retired Berkeley Fire Captain and Past President of the Berkeley Kiwanis Club.   This message in in regard to the lease renewal request for the Cazadero Performing Arts camp

I have had the privilege to provide a work party, made up of Berkeley Kiwanians and Cal students, twice a year to maintain and refresh the facilities at the camp before and after their summer sessions.  It is a beautiful camp centered in the middle of the redwood forest near the Russian River.

For years now, the camp has provided musical instruction and appreciation for numerous Berkeley area students .  One of the Berkeley Kiwanis major programs is providing camperships to Berkeley ‘s aspiring music students.

The camp has provided music knowledge and appreciation to many young students, many of whom have gone on to be professional musicians.

We sincerely hope you will renew the Camp’s  lease once again so we can continue to provide a rewarding experience for our young people.

Respectfully Yours,

Jack Rosano, BFD Ret.

Please support Cazadero Music Camp programs by renewing the lease! Our daughter attended Caz nearly every summer from 5th grade jump start through 10th and it has been a foundation of her whole development as a musician and a person with a big heart! We have seen countless children benefit in those years between 2013 and 2018.

What a wonderful place to maintain,

Larisa Cummings

Being able to attend Cazadero is one of the things I’m very great full for. The nature, activities, and staff are all amazing. It’s so refreshing to take a step back, breath in the redwood air, and play your instrument. The staff are very helpful and specific with tips for you to improve your playing. In my four summers I’ve attended, I’ve never once found a single thing to complain about. Cazadero is honestly the best camp I’ve ever gone to, and I’m very grateful to the organizers, staff, and sponsors that have made this camp a reality–

Kelly Camacho

Berkeley High, Class of 2021

Hello! My name is Carlotta Jacobs. I am a music teacher in the BUSD. I am the Senior Orchestra director at Martin Luther King Middle School and I also teach 3-4-5 at Oxford, Cragmont, Emerson, Washington, Berkeley Arts Magnet and Thousand Oaks schools. I want to thank you for your efforts to improve City facilities with T1 funding. I’m requesting that you support the urgent improvement projects at Cazadero Music Camp. These improvements will effect all the students and adults who visit this beautiful camp, and I’m all in favor of preserving this awesome learning environment!

Cazadero has made a huge impact on the music students in Berkeley. We go there for jumpstart weekends in the fall and spring, and so many students and teachers have had their lives changed in both those weekends and in the summer camp program. Caz is the non-profit that runs all programming at the Berkeley owned campsite. Caz is struggling financially to withstand the COVID pandemic. Even so, Caz has agreed to take on $800k of the $1.2M facility projects that must be completed at camp including health, safety, and accessibility work. Cazadero needs the City to complete two urgent projects at camp, which account for the remaining $400k.

These projects include health and safety upgrades and accessibility work at the Health Center and Dining Hall, key facilities which every single camper, staff, and visitor relies on at camp. I rely on Caz to provide quality music education and excellent camp experiences for my kids – and now Caz must rely on the City to complete this work. Thank you

Carlotta Jacobs

We are Catherine and David Epstein and we strongly urge you to fund the needed improvements at our beloved Cazadero Performing Arts Camp.

We graduated BHS in ’70 and ’69 respectively and music was a huge part of our high school experience. Cathy played the clarinet in the Marching Band, and I sang in Concert Chorale. Cathy is a former camper and “Kitchen Girl”, and I was a “Kitchen Boy” at Caz. Somewhere along the way we married! We are both former members of Caz Board of Directors. Back in the early 2000’s, I was Head of the Site Committee. We are now on the Advisory Board of Caz.  Since retiring 5 years ago, Cathy has spent several hours per week volunteering in the Caz office.

Cazadero is a challenging environment with Austin Creek and towering redwoods. Fall brings warm winds and redwood duff that falls everywhere.  Deluges of rain come, and branches fall from the sky in the Winter. Spring is a time of rebirth and reevaluation of the site and what needs repairing! Summertime brings excited musician campers and committed staff. On Concert Days, parents absorb their children’s  music and the supernatural ambience of the camp. What a glorious place Caz has been for generations and we hope, will continue to be!

To keep the site safe is not a simple task. Many of the projects to get and keep Caz “up and running’ are due to the commitment of community volunteers, former campers, their parents, and employees. CazPAC has done wonders to maintain and upgrade the systems and buildings on-site.

These are challenging times for us all. As a small non-Profit, CazPAC is suffering financially from its closure due to the Pandemic. Please help fund the projects of the Health Center and Dining Hall campers so deserve. For thousands of children Caz has provided an impressive and memorable summer vacation spot, a musical experience next-to-none and a chance for Berkeley’s children to explore what “music under the redwoods” can be.

We are committed to Caz; we hope you will make that financial commitment too.

Sincerely,

David and Catherine Epstein

T1 decision-makers:

I grew up in Berkeley, attended Thousand Oaks, Garfield (now MLK Middle), Berkeley High School, Cal AND CAZADERO MUSIC CAMP for five glorious summers. So which of those do you imagine had the most impact on my life?  What I learned at Cazadero Music Camp included discipline, understanding leadership, seeing excellence in action, having fun, appreciation for our environment and discernment of what makes quality relationships. Now I run a successful Berkeley business.

I am writing this to advocate for T1 funds desperately needed to allow Cazadero Performing Arts Camps Inc to accept the terms of the City of Berkeley lease renewal agreement. $400,000 T1 money is needed to offset the obligations the City is imposing on its tenant, Cazadero Performing Arts Camps, for improvements in accessibility and safety of facilities that deteriorate rapidly in the dampness of the Cazadero site.

The reason the Camp is able to function as well as it does is in part due to the active participation of alumni such as myself. My family has contributed over $25,000 to Cazadero in the last quarter century to continue the legacy and vision of the music camp founders to support Berkeley’s young people. We also have volunteered through the Berkeley Kiwanis Club to help maintain the camp during those years. But we need T1 help to keep the momentum. Please make that possible.

Frank Bliss

George Rose of District 3 here. Thanks for the great work. I also would like the city to support improvements at Cazadero. Berkeley taxpayers support a robust music program for all of our students, and Cazadero is an essential part of that training. We should do whatever we can to support the continuing music education of our children.

My family’s business is the Hopkins Launderette located in District 5. My mother and sister have been residents of District 5 since 1965. We are calling in to ask Parks and Recs to support the projects at Cazadero Music Camp. Cazadero is a part of the community glue for students and families who want to experience and study music in an incredible natural environment. I myself was a camper and faculty member at Caz in the 1970’s and in great part received incredible support to pursue music as a profession. I continue to recommend and send students to Caz and hope that it will be around for our current students and future students/families to also experience . Many students have their first outdoor experience at Caz. Please support the efforts of Cazadero to continue to provide these experiences for current and future generations of Berkeley residents. Thank you for all that you do for Berkeley. -Doris Fukawa

I am a constituent of Sophie Hahn. I would like to support some urgent projects at Cazadero Music Camp. My whole family has spent time at camp over the last 14 years and it is a very special place for us. I also have been a chaperone for Berkeley High School with kids there for jump start weekends. There are health, safety, and accessibility upgrades that the camp needs. I understand that the camp will pay for most of the $1.2 million needed, but they need the city to pick up $400K. Especially in this uncertain time for the arts we need to show a commitment to our children that music matters. -Joan Bell