INTERLOCHEN - Great changes, Great Traditions

 

The 1200-acre land mass that is the campus of Interlochen – the Arts Camp during the summer and Arts Academy boarding school during the academic year – is an architect’s dream. Two idyllic lakes sit on either side of the densely wooded property dotted with small 80-year-old stone and wooden practice huts and various performance and academic buildings. Interlochen is located just south of Traverse City, Michigan.

30 years ago, the international architectural and planning firm, Sasaki Associates, was engaged to create a campus master plan. Interlochen saw a great need to offer world class teaching and living facilities to serve arts students in the 21^st century. Also, it had to re-build classic buildings which have become dangerously out of date.

The plan, which was recently completed, involved 17 major projects which included constructing new buildings, rehabbing existing ones, and creating attractive outdoor spaces. The overall cost: an amazing $90,000,000.

I was at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the final two buildings and the visit brought back powerful waves of memories. I first experienced the magic and beauty of Interlochen in 1960 as an Intermediate student French horn player in the arts camp.  

Coming from my home in Cleveland Heights, traveling by bus to Interlochen (before Interstate highways) seemed like journeying to the Yukon Territory. Since Interlochen was founded back in 1928, it was already an “old place” when I arrived in 1960. Now, of course, it is nearly 100 years old.

The boy’s camp was located across the highway (M137) from the girl’s camp and the center of the campus which included outdoor concert spaces, rustic cabins for visitors, a modest hotel and a small store which included the most beloved place on campus – the Melody Freeze, serving soft serve ice cream and other goodies.

Back then everything was built for the summer camp – open air, rural and sparse. Only when the Arts Academy opened in 1962 did Interlochen start to build year-round permanent buildings.

For a suburban kid from Cleveland, attending Interlochen for eight weeks was a life changing experience. I wrote a feature article for Symphony Magazine many years ago and interviewed symphonic musicians from all over America who attended Interlochen in their youth. Almost to a person, they told me that Interlochen “changed my life”. It is estimated 17% of American orchestra musicians attended either the camp or the academy.

My interviewees of those musicians echoed my memories. When I first arrived at camp I was immediately surrounded by music (perfected and not quite perfected) emanating from everywhere. I was stunned to find that the place was filled with other kids like me who loved classical music, discussed all the new recordings of Beethoven or Brahms symphonies and were treated with the respect afforded to people who took music seriously.

The Interlochen I saw last month was a different place, at least physically. The festivities that celebrated the master plan’s completion took place at the new and impressive 26,000 sq. ft, Dance Center. We sat in a huge rehearsal room featuring floor to ceiling glass windows giving the young dancers spectacular views of Green Lake on one side and the pastoral campus on the other. 

The gleaming new building sits next to the Interlochen Bowl outdoor amphitheater which is one of the very first structures built on the property. To see the two buildings together side by side is like viewing the entire span of history of Interlochen in one glance.

And on the other side of the new dance palace is the Dow House, a combination residence hall for academy students and luxury suites for visiting artists featuring lake views, fancy amenities and fireplaces.

I was most impressed with the execution of a project of this complexity over a period of 30 years. A project that included designing, planning, constructing and fund raising over three decades and being completed on time.

During that time America experienced a market crash in 2008, huge political upheavals and Covid in 2020, but the 30-year project stayed on track and reached its goal. An amazing feat and a testament to the leadership team (Trey Devey, President), along with the Board, faculty, and a group of alumni and donors who love Interlochen as much as I do.

The Academy is a high school with about 550 students. The tuition and lodging are $65-$72,000 per year. For the six-week summer camp, the costs are nearly $10,000. This year, Interlochen will spend $19 million in assistance for students at both programs.

Interlochen, like many old institutions, nurtures its traditions and carefully makes changes, respecting those traditions. In terms of these beautiful new buildings (creative writing, film and new media, theater, music, etc.), it is remarkable that the new and old facilities somehow do not clash with each other on the campus. It all flows together, new and old.

But even before this 30-year master plan was put into place, the institution was always involved with a modernization process that slowly evolved without stepping on the look of the northern woods beauty of the place.

One of the first projects to usher the camp into modernity was the roof that was erected over the outdoor Kresge Auditorium. Although it’s a modern looking clamshell-type roof it was, in my memory, the first attempt at weather-proofing the performance spaces.

As a 14-year-old camper, I remember being moved by the exciting concerts presented there. The back wall of the stage had a huge window displaying a lovely view of Green Lake, above which was emblazoned with the phrase: Dedicated to the Promotion of World Friendship Through the Universal Language of the Arts. Kresge, (3,964 seats) was built in 1948 and the top was erected in 1964. The interior as I described remains unchanged.

I also remember watching Interlochen alum and popular singer Norah Jones performing a concert there in the early 2000s. In addition to Jones, Tony award winning actress Victoria Clark and singing superstar Josh Groban also attended Interlochen.

On my way to the Dance Center for the opening ceremony this fall, I passed the Kresge and peeked over the wall to see what was happening. A choral group was warming up with vocal exercises.  The acoustics were wonderful and the voices were stunning. This is the Interlochen I remember. Great music played in casual clothes, outside.

Back when I attended camp everyone laughed at, but dearly loved, the uniform we all wore. This was not designer garb. The outfit was baggy, dark blue corduroy pants and a light blue camp shirt. The girls wore knickers (also dark blue corduroy) with knee high socks whose color designated the unit they were in. If you wanted to wear a sweater or sweatshirt, the only colors allowed were blue or red. They’ve relaxed that tradition by ditching the ancient looking knickers for shorts during the day.  Knickers are still required for concerts.

Although Interlochen sits in the north woods of Michigan, its scope goes way beyond the Great Lake state. 2,755 youngers attend the arts camp from 53 U.S. states and territories and 40 countries. The Academy has 552 students from 45 states and 25 countries.

Also under the Interlochen umbrella is Interlochen Public Radio which boasts 69,000 listeners.

Many people speak of the magic qualities of Interlochen – talented children making music together among the pine trees and lakes and sitting next to other talented kids who would later become world renown artists. Many of Interlochen’s 250,000 visitors and 500 volunteers are those who were once those talented kids. They just can’t stay away.

Numbers tell the story. Its graduates have won 127 Grammy Awards, 29 Tony Awards 21 Emmy Awards, 14 MacArthur Fellowships, 3 Academy Awards and 3 Pulitzer Prizes. Quite a legacy!

And because the institution is run so professionally, large foundations and organizations (Dow Chemical, for one) continue to support it. Today Interlochen works on a $48 million budget and has a $90 million endowment.

Walking around the Interlochen campus today is an affirmation of the importance of the arts. And even though my memories remember the shabby charm of the old days, I was thrilled to see the growth that has occurred.

And I was elated when I contacted the Public Relations Director there to arrange to have a cup of coffee. She responded. “Sure, I’ll meet you at the Melody Freeze at 4PM”. Wow, some things never change. The Melody Freeze. That phrase took me back to that impressionable kid, 60 years ago, from Cleveland wearing corduroy pants.