A Message From Neil

Big News & Exciting Expansion!

Due to the overwhelming demand from guitar players who want to attend our IGC retreats, and responding to previous attendees’ suggestions, we're thrilled to announce our first Spring Event! This event, in April 2024, will continue to enhance your individual skills and help you grow as a musician. This event will be a totally immersive, multi-day experience, with deep one-on-one instruction. Personal attention will be given to every attendee, leading to group practice and performance for all. Due to the hands-on nature of this unique event, it will be limited to a maximum of 20 people.

In addition to building on your own experience, the principal focus of the weekend will be collaborative engagement, working in pairs or groups, exploring the very real excitement of playing and performing with others.

Songwriter extraordinaire, Dave Nachmanoff, will be lending his expertise to the attendees interested in crafting and enhancing their own compositions. His songwriting and Play Along classes are always a huge draw. With a limited number of participants, working directly with Dave will be easier than ever.

The incomparable Doug Young will bring his amazing fingerstyle guitar technique, as well as his deep expertise in arrangement, and alternate tunings, to share.

As always, expert vocal coaching will be readily available from our Vocal Master, Jim Bruno.

Like at all IGC Events, we will still have several open mic opportunities throughout the day and evenings, with group collaboration & performance being emphasized. This unique Spring Event is the result of tremendous demand, and we expect to fill up quickly. Over the course of the long weekend (Thursday evening through Sunday morning) you can expect the same great IGC experience that we’ve been delivering for a decade.

The Spring event is appropriate for all levels of guitar player. The support and enthusiasm of every participant, not to mention the depth of the instruction, is all but guaranteed to take your playing to the next level. If you have questions about IGC feel free to hit the Contact Us link above.

Our traditional Fall Camp will return in September 2024. It will be held the entire week of September 9-13 and feature the familiar format our campers have come to enjoy since 2013. With our fantastic staff, including Dave, Doug and Jim, we'll maintain our tradition of nightly Open Mics, morning class sessions, Songwriting, Mini Sets, Meal Sets, and of course, the late-night jam in the Pueblo. The Fall Camp is limited to 35 students. Overall, you can expect more of the same with a few small tweaks, like every year.

Like all IGC events, we expect both events to sell out quickly. If you would like to be notified when we open registration for the Fall, hit the Contact Us link at the top of this page to be put on the list. If you’re interested in our Spring Event at the end of April, please register today!

With two camps scheduled this year, I look forward to meeting some new players and reconnecting with many familiar faces in 2024.

Neil


International Guitar Camp 2024 News


International Guitar Camp 2022 Highlights
International Guitar Camp 2019 Highlights

What Is The International Guitar Camp

The International Guitar Camp, or IGC for short, is a Guitar Player's community event being presented by Totally Guitars offering some of the finest guitar playing, training and instruction by an elite panel of guitar instructors who truly are "Masters of the Craft".

This International Guitar Camp event, the brain child of Neil Hogan and others in the TotallyGuitars.com family, will be attended this year by guitar playing enthusiasts from all around the world, many from the TotallyGuitars.com community and a lucky few who find their way to the "Register Now" button on this page.

Most of our players have come to multiple camps, a handful have even been to all our previous ones, continuing their journey of musical development and recharging lifetime bonds formed at earlier camps. Be sure to check out some of their experiences on our IGC Highlights page.

For new IGC attendees this will mark the beginning of their guitar instruction journey and they will discover why this years' International Guitar Camp continues to be heralded as a lifetime experience that promises to give its patrons guidance, progression, and immersion in all things guitar and music.

When and where will the IGC Spring Camp be held?

TotallyGuitars.com is excited to share with you several incredible details regarding our next, highly anticipated, International Guitar Camp. Once again we are in the beautiful Redwood Forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, just minutes from San Jose and Los Gatos in Northern California. Take a deep breath and settle in for a time of serene relaxation, reflection and rejuvenation. The historic Presentation Center has been resurrected, refurbished, and rechristened The Green Mountain Retreat This incredible venue will play host to the lucky group of eager guitarists looking to take their musicianship to a whole new level the weekend of April 25-28, 2024.

Don’t forget the FOOD!

The food being presented at the IGC could be an event by itself. The IGC Spring Camp will include cooked meals from Thursday evening through Sunday morning prepared by the talented chefs at the Green Mountain Retreat. You'll enjoy an authentic taste of California's Central Coast from their fresh, sustainable menu. At its heart is the simple use of quality local ingredients such as beef, fish, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and salads prepared with delicate seasoning, and with attention to sourcing from regional farmers, ranchers and fishermen. They have no problems accommodating most dietary requests or restrictions.

Who are the “Masters of the Craft” that will be training?

We are proud to announce that we expect to reassemble most of our very knowledgeable and talented crew of in-house experts and instructors as staff for the IGC, These VIP, "Masters of the Craft" instructors will be offering subject specific classes over multiple days and will be on-site and accessible over the course of the event. These inspirational instructors will of course include Neil Hogan, Dave Nachmanoff, Doug Young and vocal master Jim Bruno.

Will there be anything else?

Well, of course there will be. As we continue to reach out to others, we will be announcing possible special guest instructors, songwriters, music business professionals and other VIPs who will join us. Really, who knows what else we may conjure up?

So simply we are saying, stay tuned to this site, the TotallyGuitars.com Forum and your emails for further updates and announcements over the coming days, weeks and months.

Wrapping up

It is our expectation that our next International Guitar Camp completely blows you away. We will keep this a regular event on the Totally Guitars annual agenda, and we need you to help us make it a success. This camp is for you, the TotallyGuitars.com family of guitar enthusiasts and we welcome your ideas, suggestions and any insights that will make the guitar camp even better. So, come on and join us for this fun-filled and enlightening guitar instructional and educational event.

*** Special Note ***

Space is limited for this incredible gathering as we are committed to every student having easy and personal access to all the instructors. We need to limit attendance to 20 campers. Time is of the essence and don't let this camp sell out without you. We don't want you wait until the last minute and miss out on what is destined to be one of the best things you can do for your guitar playing and learning, as well your overall well-being and peace of mind!

Be sure to visit the Guitar Instructor bios below to really understand the power of what we are offering you at this event. We are excited and look forward to seeing you here.

Instructors

Neil Hogan

Dave Nachmanoff

Dave Nachmanoff

Doug Young

Doug Young

Jim Bruno

Jim Bruno

Typical Fall Schedule

Monday

  • 4:00PM
    Check In
  • 6:00PM
    Dinner
  • 7:30PM
    Teacher Intros & Open Mic

Tuesday

  • 8:00AM
    Breakfast
  • 9:00AM
    Essential Theory I with Neil
  • 10:30AM
    Essential Vocal Basics I with Jim
  • 12:00PM
    Lunch
  • 1:00PM
    Sing/Play Along with Dave
  • 2:00PM
    Songwriting with Dave & Individual Lessons
  • 4:00PM
    Performance Workshop
  • 6:00PM
    Dinner
  • 7:30PM
    Open Mic II

Wednesday

  • 8:00AM
    Breakfast
  • 9:00AM
    Essential Theory II with Neil
  • 10:30AM
    Essential Harmony II with Jim
  • 12:00PM
    Lunch
  • 1:00PM
    Sing/Play Along with Dave
  • 2:00PM
    Songwriting with Dave & Individual Lessons
  • 4:30PM
    Mini-Sets
  • 6:00PM
    Dinner
  • 7:30PM
    Open Mic III

Thursday

  • 8:00AM
    Breakfast
  • 9:00AM
    Hearing Chord Progressions with Neil
  • 10:30AM
    Free Time
  • 12:00PM
    Lunch
  • 1:00PM
    Songwriting with Dave
  • 2:00PM
    Individual Lessons & Practice Time
  • 4:30PM
    Mini-Sets
  • 6:00PM
    Dinner
  • 7:30PM
    Collaboration Night & Closing Concert

Friday

  • 8:00AM
    Breakfast
  • 9:00AM
    Pack It Up
  • 11:00AM
    Check Out
  • 1:00AM
    Lunch at TG Central (for anyone still in town)

Location

Green Mountain Retreat

Asilomar Green Mountain Retreat contains a number of historic structures including a few that were relocated from the Tevis Estate in 1909. The Tevis Estate was located on the adjacent property which is now part of the Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve (Mid-Peninsula Open Space District).

Guest Rooms
The building structures range in design from rustic, Spanish Colonial Revival, to modern. The newest structure is the Welcome Center and Dining Room, which was built in 2005. The Welcome Center is a Leed Gold Certified building for its energy efficiency and green construction. The Main Hall (Pueblo Lodge) is the largest building and is a strikingly beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival design. There are also several smaller rustic cottages on the property. Julia Morgan, the renowned architect of the Hearst Mansion was instrumental in the architectural designs when Green Mountain was owned by Montezuma Mountain School for Boys from 1911 to 1955.

Labyrinth

Setting & Accommodations

Surrounded by nature, supported by attentive staff, more cost effective than comparable facilities...

Whether you are part of a large retreat group or small, we can provide the setting you need to meet your needs, with meeting, gathering, and worship spaces to accommodate up to 195 retreatants.

Browse the Green Mountain Retreat website for a complete list of services.

Pricing

General Registration for our IGC Spring Camp is $1900. It includes 3 nights lodging at the Green Mountain Retreat, all workshops and events, and 3 meals a day. This rate includes a private room in the Pueblo Building, which is dorm-style. You can also upgrade to a private room in one of the historic cottages for an additional $150. Register Now

Refund Policy

All registrations must be paid in full in advance. If you need to cancel, up to 50% of your payment may be refundable until January 15, 2024, with the balance available as a credit toward our next IGC. After January 15, 2024 we would need to fill your reserved spot with someone you refer or one from our waiting list. In that case we would refund your payment minus $350 for administrative costs. For complete details please see our Registration and Payment Policy

 

Map Directions

Green Mountain Retreat

Address
19480 Bear Creek Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95033

Website
Green Mountain Retreat

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What Campers Are Saying



Previous IGC Highlight Videos


IGC

Green Mountain Retreat
Los Gatos, California
April 25-28, 2024

Register Now