We are pleased to announce that vocal and performance coach Steven Memel will be joining us this year! Steven is an internationally acclaimed voice & performance coach, is creator of “The Science of Switching On” – the first fully integrated vocal technique and performance system. His clients are some of the biggest names in today’s music and film industry and have won Academy Awards, Grammys, Emmys and Golden Globe awards. Included among them are Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Sara Bareilles, Halsey, Justin Long, Drew Barrymore, Brie Larsen, Taryn Manning, Jesse McCartney and more. He is also an award-winning actor, singer and director in his own right.
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New mentor, Chris Keup!
New to Cacapehon in 2024 is songwriter/producer Chris Keup! Chris released his debut solo album, The Subject of Some Regret, in the early 2000’s. The album earned ASCAP’s Sammy Cahn lyricist award in a Lincoln Center ceremony (John Mayer, Lori McKenna and Josh Ritter won the prize on either side of Keup). Keup continued his work behind the scenes, collaborating across genres as a platinum selling songwriter and producer (with productions reaching as high as #2 on the Billboard charts and songs used in nearly 50 tv shows/films). In 2016, he founded a music publishing company, Salinger Songs, with a focus on developing talent, chriskeup.com.
New Name – Same Goals
Cacapehon retreat started as two separate programs, the “Mountain Recording Retreat” in 2016 and the “Mountain Songwriting Retreat” in 2018, but after an experimental combined event in 2021, we found that the participants loved the new format. The two programs are now combined, with the possibility of adding more components in the coming years. Also, so many participants from the recording side and the songwriting side have become such good friends, we could not bring ourselves to tear them apart now!
The new name “Cacapehon” was launched for the 2024 edition of the retreat. The name is one of the Anglicized versions of an old Shawnee word, likely meaning “Healing Waters”. There is also speculation that the name may have meant “to appear,” “to rise to view,” and “to be found again.” Other variant spellings of this word can be found throughout the Capon Valley, including the beautiful Capon Springs Resort, where our retreat is held. We chose the variant that George Washington used in his journals from 1732.
The titles says we have the same goals, but maybe the truth is that the goals are becoming more into focus. The retreat is completely packs with education, but the reality is that over the years it has become clear that the gathering of wonderful people is the heart and soul of Cacapehon.
Learn more about the name here
