Interloclien Arts Camp
Founded: 1927 by music educator Joseph Maddy, who died
in 1966
Location: Southwest of Traverse City on 1,200 acres
between Lake Wahbekaness (Duck Lake) and Lake Wah-
bekanetta. (Green Lake)
Background: The Interlochen Arts Camp is part of the non-
profit umbrella organization the Interlochen Center for the
Arts. The Center has 450 buildings. It is an international
training center for young musicians, dancers, actors, visual
artists and writers.
This summer, its 67th, there will be an eight-week session
of instruction. The students, ages 8 to 18, come from 50 states
and 36 countries.
Tuition: $3,440 for room and board for eight weeks. Schol-
arships are available. The camp also sponsors Michigan stu-
dents in two-week music sessions.
Phone: 1-616-276-7372
puppet ( I was Kermit) and
then, in the "Campus Collage,"
a big performance of different
groups, we performed "The
Muppet Show." It was a lot of
fun, and once again it was an
opportunity to explore other
fields and take a break from the
competition during the day.
Overall, I had a great summer,
coming home overly
excited about music
and determined to ex-
cel even more.
When I returned to
camp in 1992, I was
devoted to my percus-
sion playing. All my
classes involved music;
I took band, jazz band
and a private lesson.
Amazingly enough, I
learned about com-
pletely different con-
cepts in each. In jazz
band I learned about
improvising, blues and
"feeling the beat." In
my private lesson I
learned to obtain the
fullest sound, perfect
my rudiments and scales and
to practice efficiently.
When most people think
about Interlochen, they think
of it as a school or even a type
of confinement. After all, there
are uniforms, classes and strict
guidelines. This is definitely not
the right image; I had some of
the best times socially. There
are dances, field trips to the
sand dunes, concert dates,
recreational time, swimming,
tennis, archery, tether ball, free
days and, best of all, main
camp.
In main camp, there is the
Melody Freeze, an ice cream
shop, and the Scholarshop, a
general store. After a tough
day, friends would gather to get
an ice cream and just hang out,
celebrating getting a higher
chair, finally making the con-
cert date or cheering someone
up about losing his chair or be-
coming heartbroken. It was
time to forget about troubles
and have fun!
Although I really loved the
Dance and theater are
fundamentals of Interlochen. •
Photos courtesy of Interlochen
Center for the Arts
musical part of camp, I have to
admit that I looked forward to
just relaxing with friends. So,
in answer to how this camp op-
erates: There is a time to work
and a time to play. It is neces-
sary to be serious during class-
es, but that is the only way to
accomplish anything. Then,
there also is a time to hang out
and relax.
Here is my schedule as an in-
termediate girl:
Tues.-Sat.: 7:30 wake up;
7:45 flag pole and announce-
ments; 8-9 clean up and break-
fast; 9-9:45 recreation
(swimming class four weeks,
archery four weeks); 10-10:45
supervised practice; 11-11:45
jazz band; 12-1:15 lunch and
free time; 1:15-2:15 rest hour;
2:30-4:15 band (a double period
because it was my major); 4:30-
5:30 free time; 5:30 dinner; 7:30
concert, play, cabin activity or
free time; 10 lights out.
On Sundays there are no
classes, but some groups do
have concerts. Most of the day
is free time for practicing, hang-
ing out, and, best of all, sleep-
ing in!
On Mondays, there are only
"major" classes. The classes
would be in the morning and
there would be some kind of di-
visional activity, usually in-
cluding the guys. At night there
is a dance. Monday is always a
special day, espe-
cially since nor-
mal clothes are
allowed.
Another part
of Interlochen is
the cabin life.
Living with 12 to
15 others isn't
easy, and it takes
a lot of coopera-
tion. From the
shower order to
who does what
chore, we der).-
Susan and a group of international friends.
nitely had our share of bicker-
ing; but, on the other hand, at
the end of two months of living
together, we were all family.
Yes, we had our faults and pet
peeves; but when it all came
down to it, we were there for
one another. Friendship is
There is a
time to work
and
a time to play.
something that is really hard to
explain, but I think it is under-
standable why these people had
such an impact on me.
I probably grew more from
the cabin experience than any
other; for I had a hands-on les-
son on how to interact with oth-
er people. In my cabin, I was
roommates with girls from Sau-
di Arabia, California, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona,
Maryland, Idaho and Michigan.
I really learned a lot from each
of my cabinmates and what
strikes me as so incredibly as-
tonishing is that we walked in
as strangers and out as best
friends. Where else can that
happen?
For so many reasons, I can-
not fully express how much my
Interlochen experience had
done for me. I grew musically,
intellectually and socially —
more in two months than ever
before.
I did not return last summer
because, after a lot of thought,
I decided that it was time to try
something else. After four
years, I felt that I wanted to
have a different kind of expe-
rience. I went to Kutz Leader-
ship Academy, a camp for
Reform Jewish teen-agers. I
had a great time, but there was
and always will be a piece of me
that longs to be at the Interna-
tional Music Camp. I cherish
the experiences that I had at
that special place and will nev-
er forget them.
Interlochen gave me four
years of music, fun, laughter
and friendship. I am not sure if
I will ever return as a camper,
for there are a lot of summer
programs I am interested in.
Whether I do or not, one thing
is certain. There will always be
a place in my heart for Inter-
lochen.
Susan Lockman is a sophomore
at Seaholm High School. This
summer she will be a foreign
exchange student in a Spanish
speaking country.