Rock On!
- "Rock On!" originally appeared in the November 2024 "Impact" issue of COMO Magazine.
Compass helps young musicians chart a creative journey.
An 11-year-old rock guitarist channels Joan Jett. An intergenerational rock band choir (aptly dubbed, IGRB). A “Little Rockstars Camp” for young girls that focuses on empowerment and creative expression.
Those are just a handful of myriad outcomes — and showcases — from Compass Inc. music students who prepare for live audiences with youth open mic nights and other inviting opportunities.
Compass programs director Violet Vonder Haar further explains, “We have a band that is playing at the Biscuits, Beats, and Brews. The guitarist is 11 years old and she’s riffing on rock songs like Cherry Bomb. Getting to see them evolve, grow, and become more confident in themselves and as musicians, there’s nothing like it.”
Founded in 2007, the nonprofit Compass Inc. offers aspiring musicians, singers, and songwriters a place and programs to achieve those goals. The organization has experienced exponential growth since moving into and establishing the Compass Music Center at 1107 University Avenue in June 2022.
“The students are getting the opportunity to perform in a safe space, where it’s low stress, where if they make a mistake and hit a wrong note, I can be like, ‘Hey, it’s okay, we’re just having fun,’” Vonder Haar explained. “The kids that continually show up have shown a lot of promise and progress.”
One of the biggest stars in the nonprofit’s seventeen-year history is the Veterans United Foundation, which doled out $10 million in grants for the foundation’s ten-year anniversary. That was in 2021, and Compass received a shade under $225,000.
“It was a godsend,” Vonder Haar added. “It paid, down to the dollar, for the renovation process. I think I paid six dollars out of pocket.”
Before she became more hands-on with the organization, Vonder Haar was an artist who participated in some of the early showcasing performances in 2009. In 2012, she was brought on as a staff member for the first Compass music camp.
The camp is for youth ages eight to eighteen, and they are divided up into bands. Throughout the day, they take different classes, such as music theory, music history, stage presence, and an art class is focused on making their own band logos and album designs. There are also classes for recording, how to perform on stage, and how to run sound. The songs the students work on and write throughout the camp are recorded. At the end of the week, the music students and bands perform in a showcase.
“The students are getting the opportunity to perform in a safe space, where it’s low stress, where if they make a mistake and hit a wrong note, I can be like, ‘Hey, it’s okay, we’re just having fun.’”
– Violet Vonder Haar, Compass programs director
Since opening its new location, the Compass programming has expanded beyond the camp experience. In addition to the summer camp, new camps have been added including: an introduction to music camp, Little Rockstars Camp for young girls, songwriting camp, and the intergenerational rock band choir (IGRB). The IGRB is a choir for all ages, singing rock and pop songs that span the decades, backed by a rock band and showcased at the Blue Note. Compass will also add a folk choir directed by Vonder Haar. In the spring, Compass will offer an acapella choir, youth open mics, and lesson programs.
The Compass team also strives to make programs and lessons more accessible. The “Music is for Everyone Fund” helps provide scholarships for low-income families.
“The majority of our staff members, aside from just appreciating music, also have an understanding and appreciation for the healing power of music and the power to bring people together,” Vonder Haar noted. “It’s at the root of everything we do. The most important thing is that the students have a positive experience with music. The goal for them is not to become some virtuoso but to just have fun. It’s kind of a holistic approach.”