Irwin Altman is Camp Director Cara Bergantino’s maternal grandfather, and was a beloved Educator, Assistant Principal, School Superintendent, and summer camp enthusiast. In addition to his career in education, he spent his summers working as a Head Counselor at overnight camps in Maine at Camp Naomi/Joseph  and in Upstate New York at Camp Oquago.

After his death in 1993, the Middle School #172 in Queens, NY was renamed the Irwin Altman Middle School in his honor. In 2023, Altman’s children began an Encore/Coda scholarship in his name to bring one music student from the Irwin Altman Middle School to Camp Encore/Coda each summer. Irwin Altman knew first-hand the importance summer camp played in the development of young people, and he would have been thrilled to know a young musician was able to spend the summer in Maine in his name.

This yearly scholarship for one camper is funded by the generosity of Artie and Randy Altman and Candy Altman and Joe Bergantino. The family would love to be able to extend this scholarship to other deserving young people either from the Altman Middle School or another public school.

Becky Conkle,(1940-2012), pianist, vocalist, and music educator is remembered fondly for her impeccably high standards, tireless dedication to her students and colleagues, and a never-ending song in her heart. Her notoriously exuberant laughter was truly a thing of beauty!

We celebrate the legacy of the Saltman Family, who founded and stewarded this amazing camp for 72 years! The idea of Camp Encore was conceived by Phil and Ruth Saltman, who ran a summer music program at their home in Marblehead, MA in 1950 with just one student each.  The program grew over the course of a decade until it outgrew their home in Marblehead and moved to its current location in Sweden Maine, which so many would come to call their home away from home. Phil and Ruth passionately ran and grew Camp for 30+ summers, giving generations of children from all over the world the musical summer experience of a lifetime.

After Ruth & Phil ran the camp for 30+ years, Jamie and Ellen ran the camp for 30+ summers! Jamie and Ellen wanted to make it possible for any camper who wanted to attend Encore/Coda to do so through their very generous scholarship program. Many of our campers come from other states, and Jamie and Ellen always felt it was really important for our camp to represent the local community, both in patronizing and supporting local businesses, and bringing local kids to Camp.

In honor of Jamie and Ellen’s generosity, we present the Saltman Family Scholarship, which we will use to bring at least one child from Maine to Encore/Coda who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend Camp, every summer. If you wish to donate to the Saltman Legacy Scholarship, please write “In honor of the Saltman Family Legacy”.