Oregon Adult Camp
July 6-12, 2026
(7 days)
Leaders: Natalie Nowitsky, Avery Book & Heidi Wilson
location: St Benedict's Lodge - McKenzie Bridge, Oregon
Price: $950
Accommodation primarily in single rooms with shared bathrooms. Some larger rooms are available in the main blocks.More private cabin space is also available for a surcharge..
Led by veteran VH teachers Natalie Nowytski, Avery Book & Heidi Wilson, the Village Harmony Oregon week will be filled with music, dancing, rest, fabulous meals and conversations at a spectacular location right on the McKenzie River in southwestern Oregon.
Natalie’s repertoire will include music from Bulgaria and Ukraine, peppered with pieces from elsewhere in the Balkan peninsula and the Carpathian mountains. Avery will be teaching sacred and folk songs from the Republic of Georgia and from the Island of Sardinia, as well as English-language songs of social struggle. And Heidi will be teaching traditional Swedish songs plus some of her own infectious compositions.
The framework of the popular Oregon program is communal, with everyone taking turns to help prepare meals and clean under the supervision of a team of head cooks. The food at this camp will be primarily organic and vegetarian, leaning on the gourmet side; and menus will be responsive to the tastes, needs and culinary talents of our camp participants.
Extra-curricular events at the Oregon camp include an afternoon off to enjoy the trails, hot springs and hikes near by, plus an elaborate Georgian-style supra (feast) evening and a cabaret night.
We will conclude with a low-key public concert on site of the works we have been studying.
Meet our leaders:
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Natalie Nowytski
Natalie Nowytski has been leading Village Harmony camps and workshops for teens and adults since 2011. Based in Minneapolis, she works at the intersection of music, sound healing, and design as an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and educator.
Natalie’s repertoire spans more than 50 languages—including her native Ukrainian—and dozens of stylistic nuances that inform her pedagogy, performance, and compositions. She calls Eastern European traditional vocal styling her superpower, sharing these techniques through her workshops and on stage for music, theater, and dance.
Natalie has studied and performed with folk luminaries across the US, Bulgaria, France, Czech Republic, and Serbia. She began her directing career at age 14 and has since directed and consulted for notable ensembles throughout the US, also teaching a wide range of students from elementary age to PhD candidates in university and beyond.
Natalie is known for her enthusiasm for helping people unlock their capabilities with her disarming nature and command of the human voice.
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Avery Book
Avery Book is a performer, song leader, music educator, and community organizer from Thetford Center, Vermont.
After growing up in his teenage years as a participant, Avery has taught with Village Harmony since 2011. His eclectic musical interests and experience span the gamut from early music to traditional world folk to work songs to songs of social struggle.
Avery has founded multiple chapters of the Vermont Solidarity Singers, and regularly teaches and leads songs for social movements. Currently teaching elementary school music, he also tours with the Tenores de Aterúe, a quartet specializing in the throatsinging polyphony of Sardinia.
Avery has a dynamic and warm teaching style with an emphasis on community building, supportive risk-taking, and creative pedagogy.
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Heidi Wilson
Heidi Wilson’s passion is to share original songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for healing. She has also been exploring the traditional music of her Swedish ancestors and loves to share old songs of the forests and fields.
Heidi has been leading community singing groups for the last 19 years including work with the Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture, University of Vermont, Village Harmony, Burlington Integrated Arts Academy, Young Tradition Vermont, the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, Sterling College and more.
As a member of Heartwood Trio, Heidi is thrilled to be performing The Well Tree, their original storytelling musical, for audiences of all ages.
St. Benedict’s Retreat:
Set in the heart of the Cathedral Forest, St. Benedict’s Lodge in McKenzie, Oregon (about an hour east of Eugene, and three hours from Portland) on the McKenzie River at the edge of the Willamette National Forest is an inspiring setting for singing.
St. Benedict’s might as well be in Avalon, it feels so isolated and idyllic. There are enough rooms that everyone who wishes may choose single accommodations. Limited handicapped-access accommodations are also available in on-site cabins. Seventy acres of wooded grounds, bounded on one side by the cold and sparkling McKenzie River, and on the other, by Willamette National Forest. The sound of the river and mist and sunlight through the trees accompanies each day as we’ll sing, dance, eat and hang out on the big deck overlooking the river.
“Going to the Oregon summer camp was a life-changing experience for me… those days turned out to be an opportunity to let go of my roles (as a mom-wife/-daughter-sister-manager)… As each day went by I started to remember my interests & passions from childhood, which had been put on the back burner for many years. It was really satisfying to sing for so many hours a day with other people who were equally engaged, and to experience the struggle and satisfaction of learning each song and each dance. The beautiful setting by the McKenzie River and the rhythm of each day of dancing, singing, eating, cleaning, resting, socializing & singing again was very restorative and joyful.”
– Past Oregon camp participant