July 6-10, 2026
Host instructors
Libby Hortop (Elizabeth Bruce) and Clarissa Fortin.
About
Give voice to the songs that are already inside you, with like-minded creative spirits. Revel in the luxury of a quiet songwriting space, just for you and your ideas. Enjoy daily opportunities to perform and receive valuable feedback on your singing, playing, lyrics, music writing, and stage presence.
Your instructors will guide you through the landscape that all performer-songwriters need to navigate: finding your muse, pulling a song together, and performing it effectively. Through hands-on creative activities and lively brainstorming sessions, you’ll gain useful insights into establishing and sustaining a songwriting routine.
The camp will feature one guest coach each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We’ll finish the week with a student concert in which everyone will perform one solo song and one group song.
Whether you are working on your first song or your fiftieth, your creative spark will ignite in this supportive environment.
Registration:
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July 6-10, 2026
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9 am to 4 pm
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Age: Adult
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Registration Fee $600, (non-refundable)
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Deadline June 12th
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Enrollment limited to ten participants.
FAQ's:
Do I need to play an instrument?
It helps, but you can also sing a cappella, or use beats and loops on your digital device.
What if I've never finished a song?
We've had lots of people write their first song ever at OSSC. And feel free to bring along your partially completed stuff.
Do I have to sing my song?
It's a good idea. Gives you the chance to work stuff out in a safe and supportive environment.
What about accompaniment?
You will hone your singing and playing skills at camp. And we can usually find some musicians around here somewhere.
What should I bring?
Your instruments(s) other than piano, your lunch, snacks, refillable water bottle, notebook, pencil, eraser, your idea journal if you keep one, your creative mind!
Happy Goat Coffee is around the corner on Laurel St and a variety of Cafe's are down the hill on Preston St.
We supply: overnight instrument lock up, piano, inspiration, and creative space.
Questions? contact us through email info@alcornmusicstudios.com or phone 613-729-0693
Singer-Songwriter Coaches
Libby Hortop has been writing songs since the late 1990s, when she would rush home after school to sing and play piano while the house was quiet. Her love of music led her to Montreal, where she earned a BA in music and recorded her first album. In 2007, she returned to the Ottawa area and began teaching voice and piano at Alcorn Music Studios. In 2013, she released an ambitious 21-song concept album based on the tarot. After discovering the autoharp, she joined forces with a 12-string guitarist to form Libby & Cal. They are releasing their third album, The Hagstrom-Schmidt Affair, in May 2025. Libby’s songs have been described as unique and surprising. She believes all musicians should try their hand at songwriting!
Visit libbyhortop.com
Clarissa Fortin is a singer-songwriter, teacher, and performer with a decade of experience guiding young and old musicians alike. As a teacher she's committed to exploring many different genres and styles beyond her classical background. Clarissa believes in focussing on the goals of each individual student, whether that means belting out showtunes, preparing for exams, or assisting them in writing their own original songs. She endeavours to create a safe encouraging space for her students to try new things and express themselves. She aims to give them the tools to develop a strong, unique, sustainable singing voice. She also loves directing students towards open mic events, bringing them to Kiwanis Music Festival, and guiding them through auditions. Clarissa also teaches at Alcorn Music Studios.
Youtube Clarissa Fortin
Facebook @ClarissaAnneFortin
Guest Coaches 2026
Naledi Sunstrum is an Ottawa based musician-producer who fronts the high energy, Queer, Afro Fusion music project OK Naledi. Featuring traditional sub-Saharan clean guitar lines, classic deep bass and movement-inspiring beats, OK Naledi's compelling lyricism and catchy melodies showcase them as an exciting up and coming group to keep tabs on in the Canadian music landscape.
Naledi writes and composes music on the guitar and piano and expresses her craft through multiple mediums — music, video, poetry, graphic arts.
This multifaceted expression exemplifies the themes in OK Naledi's music in ways that make them more widely accessible and attainable.
Visit OK Naledi
Chris MacLean
A consummate explorer, Chris adeptly stretches herself across a wide musical spectrum from traditional and contemporary folk to jazz and world music.
At 12 years old, Chris met the musical duo Nigel Russell and Stan Rogers who were booking and performing at Trent University’s student pub. Chris became their frequent sidekick, tagging along with them to concerts where she met many of the legendary artists of the day, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Bruce Cockburn and Murray McLaughlin.
In her 30+ years as a professional musician, Chris has performed in trios, in quartets, and as a solo performer with and without backing musicians. She is currently one of Bray & MacLean Trio (original folk-roots) and Paugan Dames, (all female trio based in Wakefield QC). Several times, she has toured across Canada and outside the country both solo and in groups. Through the years she has been awarded grants from the Canada Council for the Arts as well as the Colleen Peterson Award for Songwriting from the Ontario Arts Council; a nomination for English Songwriter of the Year from the Canadian Folk Music Awards; and Folk Music Ontario’s Songs From the Heart Award for Best Historical Song.
Brent Smith is the lead singer and songwriter for Tin Constellations, a sometimes four-piece, sometimes six-piece indie-folk band based in Ottawa, Ontario. The band’s sound is built on equal parts melodic narratives, compelling harmonies, participatory sing-along anthems, and indie pop sensibilities. Exploring lyrical traditions from murder ballads to folk fables inspired by the eastern woods and northern skies, the Tin Cons’ catalogue finds something beautiful in the vernacular, the pastoral, and the prosaic moments of daily life.
Consistently selling out live performances at ~100 seat venues including Ottawa’s beloved Irene’s and Redbird, the Tin Cons have toured Ontario, playing at such renowned venues as The Wolfe Island Hotel, Kingston’s The Mansion and Café Musicale, and Toronto’s legendary icons The Cameron House and Dakota Tavern.
Their most recent EP, “COBDEN”, was released at the Gladstone Theatre to a sold out crowd in January 2026.