Last month, I had the chance to take part in something I’d never done quite like this before — SongWorks Edmonton, a songwriting camp hosted by the Songwriters Association of Canada. As a concert violinist, I spend most of my time interpreting music that’s already written and writing my own music for solo violin. SongWorks flipped that completely: three days, a room full of songwriters I’d mostly never met, and the challenge of building something entirely new, in different genres, together.

The lineup for the camp was incredible. Multi-platinum producer and songwriter Rob Wells was there — a writer whose credits read like a who’s-who of pop music, with hits crafted for artists across genres and a reputation as one of Canada’s most established hit-makers. Alongside him was Dan Davidson, lead singer of the Edmonton rock band Tupelo Honey, plus a whole group of writers with wildly different backgrounds: country singer-songwriters, dance and electronica producers, pop vocalists, and me, bringing the violin into a room that wasn’t necessarily expecting it. Vince Degiorgio hosted the whole thing, and he ran an incredibly well-organized, top-notch camp from start to finish.

My own session paired me with Dan Davidson and fellow writer Jimmy Whiffen on day one. None of us had worked together before, and there’s a particular kind of vulnerability in walking into a room with strangers and trying to write something honest within a few hours. But that’s exactly the magic of a camp like this — the awkwardness burns off fast once you’re all reaching for the same thing. We ended up writing a modern, radio-ready pop rock song with a real hook, Dan’s vocals carrying the melody while I tried to bring a different texture into the arrangement. It was the kind of song that gets stuck in your head, and I was proud of what the three of us built in such a short window.

What struck me most about SongWorks was how much it stretched everyone’s idea of what they could write. Writers who’d spent their careers in one genre were suddenly collaborating across genre lines — country meeting euro-dance, rock meeting classical instrumentation — and somehow it all worked. That’s the real value of an event like this: it’s not just about chasing a potential hit, though that’s certainly part of the appeal. It’s about what happens to your own writing when you’re forced out of your usual patterns and into someone else’s process.

As a violinist, most of my creative decisions happen inside pieces that are already fully composed. Sitting in a songwriting room, watching a song take shape line by line, chord by chord, in real time, gave me a completely different appreciation for the craft — and for the writers who do this for a living. I came away from those three days with songs I’m proud of, a handful of new collaborators, and a real respect for the Songwriters Association of Canada’s work fostering this kind of creative collision.

If you ever get the chance to step into a room like that — even if it’s completely outside your usual lane — take it. Some of the best creative work happens exactly there. I was so honoured to be a part of this group!

Sophie XO

SongWorks Edmonton 2013 Participants. Clockwise from Top Left: Cecil Frena, Bryan Finlay, Rachel Woznow, Olivia Wik, Sophie Serafino, Jimmy Whiffen, Ari Rhodes,Dan Davidson, Rob Wells. Photo Courtesy of Rachel Woznow