Following the loss of all its members last year except one, the Camas High School (CHS) songwriting club had to be rebuilt from the ground up by the current president of the songwriting club, CHS junior JT Tuason. Through his efforts, Tuason has managed to bring the songwriting club back into fruition by recruiting new members.
Before becoming president of the songwriting club, Tuason was a member of the club during both his freshman and sophomore years. After his sophomore year, every member except Tuason had graduated. Due to this, Tuason assumed the role of president and was able to gather a group of self-motivated student musicians to be a part of the newly-realized club. The songwriting club is now able to accommodate 10-25 people per meeting every Thursday in the choir room.
“Everyone contributes their own ideas, whether it’s creating a song or hosting events,” CHS sophomore Katie Lemus-Hodgson said. “We all bring a part of our personality to each project we do together.”
Along with the weekly meetings on Thursdays, there is an open mic hosted by the songwriting club every early release Wednesday where CHS musicians perform in the theater.
“I really am passionate about giving people the chance to perform, and so with open mic, that’s a big thing,” Tuason said. “But more so, just a space for people to hang out with other people who are interested in music, and to have that group.”
While not everyone in the club performs live, Tuason has made it one of his goals to have as many club members participate in the open mic session as possible.
“I’m encouraging a lot of them to get out there and try for a segment at open mic,” Tuason said. “We’ve been getting our footing, as it’s mostly new members.”
Tuason’s leadership in the club is partially derived from his love for music, but also comes from his desire to bring the joy of music to others.
“[Songwriting club allows me to build] a community and [gives me] a time and space where I can actually refine my skills and improve,” Tuason said. “As well as being able to run something that people enjoy and look forward to every week.”
Open mic, while organized by students, is not limited to students. CHS English teacher Lukas Johnson had the opportunity to perform a guitar-and-singing act during the latest open mic. Johnson’s experience left him inspired by the group of young musicians that had organized the event.
“It’s extremely encouraging to see the amount of student initiative in the school and in this community that has created a performance space for students,” Johnson said.
“[The songwriting club] is starting to feel like a family,” CHS junior Haden Reiter said. “We all have our own text chain, and we’re all participating in the same thing; it brings us together.”
