Camp gets people with Williams syndrome onto Opry stage, into recording studio

By Forrest Sanders

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — A music camp pulls together people from all over who have Williams syndrome. For the ultimate Nashville experience, it’s hard to imagine something better than this.

“I’m from Ontario, Canada, and I’m so glad to be here in Nashville, Tennessee!” a camper said, walking into a room.

A crowd gathered in Gold Pacific Studios. Even in this excited group, the smile of Maria Sexton jumped out.

“Great to be here,” said camper Maria. “I really am happy. I like the music cause I love to sing.”

Taylor Wolf is the director of the Academy of Country Music’s ACM Lifting Lives program.

“This is our ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp which we do in partnership with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center,” Taylor said. “These are 30 really special campers who have a developmental disability called Williams syndrome, which is a pretty rare disability. Often, a lot of campers meet the first person like them at a camp like this.”

Many have come to the camp several times.

“This is eight times,” said camper Micah Wilgus. “You never know who’s going to be at a recording studio at a certain time.”

The campers exploded into applause as country band Parmalee joined the campers.

“Good to see you!” a camper said, shaking the hands of the group members.

“They light up with music,” said Taylor. “It’s a really important through line in a lot of their lives. We’re learning a bit behind the scenes of how this works.”

Band members of Parmalee recorded alongside campers into audio booths.

Gold Pacific Studios and the Festival of Children Foundation partner to host free recording sessions like this one.

“I love it,” Maria smiled. “It’s about making memories that we won’t forget.”

“The adventure’s amazing every time,” Micah added.

The week of camp had a grand finale, maybe I should call it a grand ole finale.

“Would you welcome back to the stage our friend Jackson Dean and the ACM Lifting Lives campers!” a host announced to the Grand Ole Opry audience.

The campers filed out onto the Opry stage to the sound of thunderous applause. At the start of camp, the crew helped create a song. They performed it together at the Opry.

“It’s called The Best Year Yet,” Maria said. “It’s a good song! My family’s going to watch me sing. Very happy.”

“All 27 of us came up with ideas,” Micah said. “It’s awesome. There was a country music artist who said, ‘every mile is a memory’, so it’s really cool you’re creating memories every mile you go. You’re creating memories throughout your life.”

“I’m honored to be here,” Maria said. “I’m really grateful, so thank you.”

There were actually even more amazing stops in the camp. Among those stops were the National Museum of African American Music, Seacrest Studios, and the Bluebird Cafe.

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