Interlochen

A student's personal memoir
of four glorious summers

Interlude

SUSAN LOCKMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Bunkmates at Interlochen.

nterlochen. Just that word
brings back so many feelings,
emotions and memories that I
don't know where to begin. In
those eight weeks during the
summer, I not only learned
more musically than I ever did
in any year of school band, but
some of the experiences were
simply once-in-a-lifetime hap-
penings. From eating ice cream
with Itzak Perhnan's son, to be-
coming friends with kids from
across the globe, to living with
12 other girls for two months, I
cannot imagine how different
my personality would be if I
hadn't gone to this wonderful
place.
It all started when my par-
ents took my brother, sister and
me to visit the camp in the sum-
mer of 1989. They heard from
friends that the place was ex-
traordinary. They wanted to
see how we liked it, primarily
my sister since she was the pi-
ano player in the family. I
couldn't get over how enchant-
ing it was. When you are at the
Interlochen Arts Camp, actu-
ally then it was called the Na-
tional Music Camp, you are in
the presence of future leaders,
musicians, actors, artists and

dancers. Something about the
place I fell in love with, and
from that moment I knew I
wanted to be a part of it.
I attended the music camp
for the next four summers
(1989-1992). The first year, I
was in the junior division, the
group for campers that haven't
yet completed the sixth grade.
I enrolled in band (I play per-
cussion), choir and drama. In
the junior division, there is less
emphasis on competition and
more on introducing each art
form to expose the campers to
the various fields. I had a won-
derful time, met friends from
across the country, and came
§ home enthused about playing,
cr), singing and acting.
6
The summer of 1991 was
when I had the choice to be one
of the oldest, most experienced
campers in the junior division
or one of the youngest, most in-
experienced in the intermedi-
ate division. I decided that I
would learn more, have more
freedom, and have a better time
as an intermediate girl in an
age group that ranged from
sixth to 10th grade. In this di-
vision; much more emphasis is
placed on competition and ex-
celling in one field. This led me
to another decision, since I en-
joyed drama, chorus and band.
After much thought, I de-
cided I would do some-
thing that wasn't
recommended, tokiiig
two majors. In -order to
be able to pursue all of
my interests, I decided
to take operetta and
band. While I had a
great time in both, it was
too much work because
each area expected all
my time and effort; there
just wasn't enough time
in the day to practice
both.
Therefore, I deter-
mined that I would pur-
sue my percussion
playing; for I was first

Interlochen students reading
about world events.

chair as a sixth-grader in
a section with eighth-and

ninth-grade boys. I re-
ceived a minor role in the
production. In retrospect,
I am glad that I did take
both majors; for I became
friends with twice the
number of people, got to
explore all my interests
and had fun.
Although I had a
great time, I knew that
if I really wanted to ex-
cel to the limit and work
up to my fullest poten-
tial, I would have to
choose one field. I had
been taking private
lessons and knew I had
more experience and in-
terest in orchestral music; I de-
cided to pursue my percussion
playing. That year I got serious
about my music, practicing con-
stantly not only on snare and
drum set but also on marimba.
I was certain that I wanted
to be in the New York Philhar-
monic when I was older. I loved
listening to classical music and
looked forward to going to the
symphony. Consequently,
when I returned for my third
summer at the International
Music Camp, my improvement
showed. I enrolled in band, an
introduction to jazz and pup-
petry (just for fun).

Susan Lockman dressed in her

Interlochen uniform.

That year was significant for
me, for it was the first time that
I wasn't the only girl in the sec-
tion. It was a relief to work with
a talented, older girl who also
played percussion. Although I
was second chair to Anna, I
didn't mind because she was
my friend; I looked up to her,
and, of course, it really made a
statement when the first two
chairs in a section were the only
two girls in the section!
I also enjoyed my puppetry
class. First we each created a