andreastolpe.comReviews of andreastolpe.com

I had the most fortunate pleasure of attending Andrea's songwriting workshop in Fall of 2022 with 30 other writers from around the world. From the moment I arrived I was enveloped in an atmosphere of creativity and inspiration. The location was perfectly nested in an intimately secluded and wooded area of Yosemite national park. Andrea and her Team had carefully curated a program catered to both seasoned and intermediate writers, who all shared a passion for their craft. There was morning yoga, daily workshops, and evening performances around a campfire. The diversity of the attendees added to the richness of the experience, and fostered a vibrant and collaborative environment. The surroundings were tranquil and majestic, and I felt incredibly inspired to share my ideas, learn new techniques, and grow as a writer with each daily workshop. Do not underestimate the life long connections you will surely make, fresh and new musical avenues you will explore, and the natural beauty that you will find both in the locations and with Andrea and her Team. I left impressed and inspired and I wanted more again. Still do.

I attended the 2023 Nashville Retreat held by Andrea Stolpe. It was a five day retreat and very well organized. Here are my thoughts based on my experience: - The group was not too big (about 30 people), which allowed everyone to get to know everyone. It had a wide range of song writing and musical talents and experience. This allowed our songwriting experience to blossom, as everyone was able to bring different strengths into the equation. - Each person was put into three separate songwriting groups of three over the week to write and perform a new song together, after mornings of songwriting techniques held by Andrea. Every day was something new and exciting to look forward to. - Since I had already attended many of Andreas online songwriting sessions, I had made the assumption that most of the group had done the same, however, that was not the case. I personally found it difficult to write with others who did not have a base or some knowledge of songwriting. I did not know the wide level of songwriting knowledge beforehand. In a couple situations, it was difficult to participate in the songwriting purely because of the large difference in ages, as lifetime experiences are limited in the very young and very different in more seasoned individuals. Understandably, though, that's what makes great songs. -I would love to attend another songwriting retreat, however, my goals are not the same as younger individuals. I would look for a retreat with the focus on songwriting without the expectation of performance. Not everybody has a desire to perform, or the skills to perform. That would be a different type of retreat. -While I had no expectations before I went to the retreat, I did learn and enjoy myself. I was opened up to the many facets of co-writing, as different as personalities. And, I learned more about myself and my own strengths and weaknesses. -In closing, I would love to see different types/levels of retreats based on goals, level of songwriting experience and maybe less significant age spans.

The mentorship program really raised the bar for me on my songwriting passion, discipline and skills. The regular communication with Andrea kept my creativity and energy flowing and maintaining this flow for 3 months really helped me to improve! Andrea's feedback was very helpful and insightful - she knew what I needed to learn and how to help get me there. What I enjoyed most was how personal the learning experience was - I am a self-directed learner and being able to choose what I thought would work best for me was a big plus. I highly recommend the program - there's nothing like it out there and, if you are serious about songwriting, the one-on-one guidance is an opportunity you don't want to miss out on!

I absolutely loved the retreat. It felt kind of magical. The teachings seemed so calm and kind of simple even, and so was the program, but it was as if it all had a deeper layer to it and it somehow brought out the best in us all. I was so sad to leave by the end of it but the whole group is still in touch even now a few weeks later and many people are co-writing songs together and making plans to visit each other! Thank you Andrea and your wonderful team, I feel super inspired and so grateful for everything. 🙏🏻♥️

Andrea is an outstanding mentor; her knowledge and experience are second to none. Her supportive and dedicated approach creates an experience where one can open up and expand every aspect of their creative journey.

It's hard to say how I would improve this experience. The staff and their preparation were excellent.

It was more people than I was expecting. I found the amount of people a little overwhelming and it was difficult to connect until late in the course. Perhaps better 'break the ice' exercises at the beginning instead of all introducing ourselves in such a big circle which was quite daunting. Not enough breaks to just take it all in. 14 hour day with only breaks for meals felt very intense. My accommodation was a long walk away from the main venue so the round trip meant I had to take everything I needed at the start of the day and did not really get a chance to go back to my room unless I missed the communal meal experiences. I had not expected to do so much cowriting with people who were quite inexperienced . That made the experience quite difficult to be really thoughtfully creative and became more about working on one's levels of patience and tolerance. I found Andrea captivating, sensitive and very knowledgable.

A magical week with fantastic mentoring , caring team and talented people. Would go again in a heart beat !