Edward C. Farraday
Vice President, Education Programs
I am Ted Farraday, Vice President for Education Programs, and it is my pleasure to welcome all of you: students, faculty and staff, parents, administration, members of the board of trustees and guests, to the formal opening of the 48th year of the Interlochen Arts Academy. This is a very special evening because in addition to those of you present in Corson auditorium tonight, we have an audience at home watching the first ever streaming broadcast of an Interlochen Arts Academy Opening Convocation ceremony. So my welcome tonight goes beyond the walls of Corson auditorium and out to those of you who are viewing from home. Needless to say, there are many more details involved in preparing a program that is streamed live as opposed to one that is not, and one of those details, a very important one, is obtaining the rights to broadcast all of the artistic interludes that are part of tonight’s program. I must beg the indulgence of our home audience because there are a few cases where we were not able to obtain those rights, and thus, those of you viewing from home will enjoy some interludes that are different from the ones the audience here in Corson auditorium will hear. In a way, it is very appropriate that we are breaking this new technological ground with this program tonight because, as I will explain in just a minute, tonight’s program is "revolutionary" in multiple ways!
If you look at the program for tonight, it has the same structure as those from past years- opening remarks, closing remarks, interludes provided by some of our arts departments, a message from our president, remarks from a faculty member, a greeting from a member of the student body, and the annual introduction of our faculty and our residence life staff. What is different this year is that the content of the program is designed to launch our theme for the year which is "ARTIST AS REVOLUTIONARY". Over the past months, many people have been involved in planning different events and projects related to this theme including certain performances, special community meetings, visits from guest artists, classroom activities and a special blog set up by the staff in our library. This is a community effort which I hope will provide numerous opportunities for thought provoking conversation and debate as well as significant learning for all of us. Together, as an educational community of developing artist and academicians, we will explore this topic, which is always fascinating, sometimes surprising, definitely controversial and ultimately rich in historical and social implications.
Starting tonight, the pace of this Academy year will begin to accelerate, imperceptibly at first, but very noticeably as we approach the end of the year. Activities will proliferate and demands on our time will grow. We will all become busy, and as that "bus-y-ness" overtakes our lives, we too easily forget three very important things: that we are, first and foremost, a community where the work of each individual effects the work of the whole, that learning takes time and benefits from both quiet reflection as well as passionate discussion, and that we are all united in a belief that the arts provide a valuable vehicle through which we better understand the meaning of truth, beauty and the human condition. It is my hope that our theme of "Artist as Revolutionary" will lead us to share learning experiences and to consider how the works of revolutionary artists effect who we are, how we think and what we do each and every day. So, I invite you to listen carefully to the program ahead and to all that it suggests for this year and beyond. I hope it is just "revolutionary" enough itself to pique your curiosity and to launch an exciting and fulfilling year for the Academy.
Thank you.