Mariposa Ukulele Ensemble Now Offering Small Group Class

By: Sierra News Posted On: October 21, 2025 View: 2

MARIPOSA, CA – A Mariposa Arts Council grant, funded by the County of Mariposa, is helping to provide music education, inspiration and camaraderie to Mariposa residents at a monthly ukulele ‘Boot Camp.’

Piloted in spring 2024, the Art + Community grant program invites working artists, groups and organizations to submit proposals for projects and programming that support community goals and serve, uplift and represent underserved populations in Mariposa County. The Ukulele Boot Camp was one of three programs that received the grant in 2025.

The Class

Organizer Gail Dreifus explains that the class is a necessary addition to the Mariposa Ukulele Ensemble, which has been running for nine years and has over 30 members.

The Mariposa Ukulele Ensemble performed on Saturday, August 16 at the Music On The Green festival

“Given the size of the group, I was not able to give instruction to beginners and those that wanted to advance their playing,” said Dreifus. “I decided to address this with an hour of small group instruction once every month.”

Following the September Boot Camp class at The Grove House, Arts Council Program Director Ava Burns talked with participants JoAnne Zeek, Nan Oswald, Marti Fazio, Jeannine Andre, and Karen Kuper to discuss the impact of the program.

The mentioned benefits of Dreifus’ Ukulele Boot Camp ranged from advantages like having access to learning, to gaining musical perspective, to building community, to finding political reprieve, with each participant expressing immense gratitude for the program.

“This has been really life changing for me,” Kuper said. “It’s opened up a whole new world.”

Community

For many new musicians, the addition of the Boot Camp this year became an invitation into a community of artists and learners, here in their local region.

“I was looking for music instruction,” Zeek said. “Living in a rural area, usually you have to drive a long way so I was very pleased to find that I had it right here in my community.”

Oswald said that on top of the ease of access to instruction, she found it refreshing to be given the skills to quickly and effectively integrate into the ensemble.

“We learn two or three chords and all of a sudden, we’re playing these songs,” she said with excitement. “It made it so easy to be part of a group and feel really excited about it.”

Fazio agreed, explaining how being part of the ensemble, and its instructional quality and depth has expanded her musical horizons.

“I’ve always loved music, but since joining this group I listen to music differently,” she said. “I hear a song now and I listen to it as a player, not just a passive listener, and I think ‘I could play this!’”

Performing at local events like Music on the Green and The Mariposa Butterfly Festival has been a rewarding experience for performers and audiences alike.

“When the audience sings along, that’s so fun,” said Andre.

Oswald added that “music draws people together. It’s outside of politics. I think that’s what I love about it the most.”

While it was music that brought the group together, the impact of the ensemble goes beyond the individual musicians, audience members and songs. Zeek believes that the impact of this learning stretches our collective capacity, and that music has the power to effect broader societal change.

“I think,” she said, “that the saving grace for America is local community art.”

Dreifus is very happy that Mariposa County is able to provide funding for the Ukulele Boot Camp and programs like it. “I’m so grateful that Mariposa County supports local community art. It allows people in Mariposa to have a creative outlet.”

The Details

The Mariposa Ukulele Ensemble meets at the Grove House every Monday from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Ukulele Boot Camp meets on the third Wednesday of each month from 5:00 – 6:00 pm, also at the Grove House. For more information, contact Gail Dreifus at gailpisces1@gmail.com or 209-628-8786.

The Arts Council, is an incorporated not-for-profit organization, created to promote and support all forms of the cultural arts, for all ages, throughout Mariposa County and is supported in part by the County of Mariposa, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the California Arts Council, a state agency.