Around the world, Interlochen Arts Academy is recognized as one of the finest pre-professional boarding schools for young musicians. Music students benefit from personal attention, classes in music theory, numerous performance opportunities and an exceptional peer group. A combination of private lessons, studio classes and ensemble experience prepares students for future study in music.
Faculty
The music faculty includes more than 30 accomplished musician-instructors who are dedicated to teaching on a specific instrument or small group of instruments. Equally skilled as performers and teachers, their sole responsibility is to help students develop their technical and musical skills. The faculty also includes dedicated music theory and composition teachers.
Ensembles
Percussion, wind and orchestral string musicians participate in either the Academy Orchestra or Wind Ensemble. Students may also audition for other ensembles including: jazz band, jazz combos, brass ensemble, percussion ensemble or chamber groups.
Voice students participate in the Academy choir and may also audition for the opera workshop and chamber singers.
Piano, organ, harp and guitar students participate in studio classes and small ensembles. Students may also perform with other ensembles as needed.
View details about the music ensembles.
Resources and Facilities
Corson Auditorium is the largest performance venue on campus and is used in all major performances by large ensembles. Designed by Alden Dow, it seats nearly 1,000 and is an attractive space with excellent acoustics.
Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall is used for smaller or more intimate performances, such as student, faculty and guest artist recitals. It is also home to Interlochen's 50-rank Reuter pipe organ.
The Frederick & Elizabeth Ludwig Fennell Music Library contains one of the largest collections of performance materials in the United States with more than 17,000 scores, 57,000 performing sets, 10,000 CDs and LPs.
Frohlich Piano and Percussion Building is climate-controlled and has teaching space, practice rooms and a piano technician's studio.
Interlochen Public Radio provides expertise and resources to create quality recordings of student performances. Students can also record audition CDs in a state-of-the-art studio staffed by talented recording technicians.
Practice rooms are conveniently located in the lower levels of the residence halls. Dedicated practice space and a variety of other facilities ensure that students do not need to waste time waiting for practice space to open.
Recent Guest Artists
Interlochen regularly welcomes guest artists to campus. They include performers and faculty from top music schools and conservatories including Indiana University, Peabody, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin, New England Conservatory and many others. Recent guests have included:
- Leonard Slatkin, conductor and music director of the Detroit Symphony
- Samuel Adler, composer
- Kalevi Aho, composer
- Peter Erskine, jazz drummer
Recent Awards and Honors (2008-2009)
- Three National Merit Finalists
- Two Presidential Scholar Candidates
- Irineo Cabreros (flute) and Ha-eun Ryu (violin) received Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Awards and were featured on the "From the Top" television program.
- Yi An Pan (piano) was chosen to perform concertos with the Singapore Symphony
- BriAnna Dewar (voice) won first prize in the Barry Alexander Competition and will perform a recital in Carnegie Hall.
- The jazz combo was selected as a finalist in the Next Generation Jazz competition, part of the Monterey Jazz Festival.
- Samuel Johnson (composition student) completed a symphony and the first movement will be performed by the Kalamazoo Symphony.
Notable Alumni
Thousands of alumni have gone on to become successful professional musicians, working in all genres from classical to jazz to pop music. Academy alumni can be found in major orchestras around the world. A very small sampling of high-performing alumni includes:
- Liz Koch '04 - principal oboe with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- Carol Jantsch '02 - principal tuba with Philadelphia Orchestra
- Anthony McGill '96 - principal clarinet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (performed at the Presidential Inauguration in January 2009 alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.)
- Lance Horne '96 - Emmy Award-winning composer
- Jewel '92 - singer-songwriter
- Aaron Dworkin '88 - founder of Sphinx Organization and MacArthur Genius
- Peter Erskine '71 - jazz drummer and recording artist
College Success
An Academy education provides excellent preparation for continued studies at top universities and conservatories. Academy students regularly enroll in top music programs including:
- The Juilliard School
- Eastman School of Music
- Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
- Curtis Institute of Music
- Cleveland Institute of Music
- Oberlin Conservatory
- Peabody Conservatory
- Northwestern University School of Music
- Berklee College of Music
- Mannes College The New School for Music
- Manhattan School of Music
- New England Conservatory of Music
