Susan Kindall is Professor of Music at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and a summer staff member at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Winner of the OMTA Graduate Piano Competition and a recipient of the Gail Boyd deStwolinski Award for outstanding service to the University of Oklahoma School of Music, Dr. Kindall is a performing member of two duo piano teams and is in frequent demand as guest clinician and recitalist. In addition to coordinating arts events, she works with composers Richard Cumming and Andrzej Dutkiewicz.
Susan Kindall
Bob Jones University
PO Box 34444
Greenville, SC 29614
864.242.5100 x 2788
skindall@bju.edu
Amid the whispering pines, weathered oaks, and shining lakes of northern Michigan lies a place that is magical and timeless. Dreams are made here each day. The haunting cry of the loon, the fluttering of wild turkeys and the tender silence of deer which forage in the twilight of dusk only augment the ephemeral hues of sunrise and sunset. Situated between beautiful Green and Duck Lakes, the Interlochen Arts Camp (IAC) has been in the business of dreams since 1928.
Over the years some 67,000 students and campers have experienced the magic of Interlochen. For eight weeks each summer approximately 1,000 faculty and staff members provide instruction and services for over 2,000 campers from across the globe. Indeed, Interlochen is recognized as a world center for arts education, offering young artists opportunities in music, dance, theatre arts, visual arts and creative writing.
In the fall of 1962, the Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) began as the nation's first independent high school for the arts. A nine-month boarding school, the IAA holds the national school record for the number of Presidential Scholars in the Arts - over 29 awards since 1980, the first year of the program. IAA continues to pepper major music conservatories with graduates. In fact, the IAA sends more students to study at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Eastman School of Music than does any other high school in the United States.
Since its inception, Interlochen has enjoyed the privilege of being the largest youth center for arts in the United States. Not only the biggest, but also the oldest, the camp was founded in 1928 as the National Music Camp by music educator Dr. Joseph Maddy. American composer Howard Hanson, a longtime Interlochen affiliate, said, "Joe Maddy É dreamed of bringing the most talented of the young musicians of the country together to study under real artists."
That dream lives on today. Van Cliburn, Itzak Perlman, Eugene Ormandy, Aaron Copland, Zoltan Kodaly, Dmitri Kabalevsky, and Norman Dello Joio, among others, have all contributed to the Interlochen legacy. Every four years, the gold medallist of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, is a featured soloist with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra (WYSO). Instrumental, voice and chamber music seminars, workshops and master classes give campers the opportunity to study with world-class artists and performers. The Interlochen Arts Festival remains one of the largest of its kind in the country.
Interlochen alumni embrace a colorful melange: actors Meredith Baxter, Richard Brooks, Tom Hulce and Linda Hunt; dancers Peter Sparling and Janet Eilber; musicians William Preucil, Peter Yarrow, Jessye Norman, Peter Erskine, Gerard Schwarz, and Lorin Maazel; educators Philip Jameson, Melvin Larimer, Ann Schein, and Larry Livingston; writers Pamela White Hadas and Cathy Guisewite; broadcaster Mike Wallace; and visual artists Wendy Midener and Keane Paradiso. More than 10 percent of the musicians in America's major symphonies have had the Interlochen experience. In addition, former IAC campers in various professions remain active supporters of the arts in their communities.
Traditions weave the fabric of IAC. WYSO still gives eight Sunday evening orchestral concerts in eight weeks that are broadcast live on WIAA, Interlochen's award-winning classical public radio station. Every IAC concert is closed with the playing of the "Interlochen Theme," thirty seconds of music from Howard Hanson's Romantic Symphony. The camp uniform is perhaps the most visible piece of distinguishing Interlochen tradition. To achieve impartiality in a competitive environment, an ideal of equality is the goal. Thus, every administrator, instructor, conductor and student wear traditional powder blue shirts with navy blue corduroy knickers for women and girls, and pants for men and boys. Navy shorts have been permitted since the 1980s for hot weather non-performance events. Traditional red sweaters are worn during cooler weather. As author Dean Boal says, "The icons remain the same - the uniforms for leveling the playing field, the theme to remind students of their obligation to perform, the lakes and woods to give them space to ponder."
In an ever-changing world, Interlochen remains a Brigadoon that comes to life each summer with the onset of camp. As camp alumnus Peter Yarrow says, "Interlochen has a certain immutable continuity." Dormant unheated cabins hibernating during winter months awaken with a flurry of activity each summer. Wooden and natural stone practice cabins and teaching studios are sprinkled gingerly among peaceful sandy soil stands of pine and oak. Outdoor performance venues flourish. Kresge Auditorium and the Interlochen Bowl are the sites for numerous orchestral, band, and operetta performances. A final performance of Franz Liszt's Les Preludes in the Interlochen Bowl culminates each camp season serving as a reminder of the greater artistic journey that lies ahead for each participant of IAC.
Nostalgia reigns supreme among those who have caught the Interlochen spirit. This essence endures in the hearts of IAC campers, staff, faculty and alumni. Working for a summer at Interlochen is more than just a job - it is a mission. The creative vision and work started by Joe Maddy is a living presence on the 1,200-acre campus. The care for the institution itself shared by administration and summer staff and faculty is reflected not only in longevity of service, but also in the quality of instruction available to every IAC camper.
As Maddy believed, our country's finest natural resources are the arts and young people. Interlochen's success today is a testimony to Maddy's perseverance. He said, "Interlochen is the dream city of youth É where beauty reigns and where talented young people gather for inspiration, specialized training, and self-appraisal."
The natural surroundings, artistic excellence and IAC camaraderie combine creating an indelibly unforgettable experience. Lifelong friendships are made daily. Artistic challenges instill life disciplines. Discovery blossoms. The land between the lakes throbs with the heartbeat of the fine arts. As long as classical music, Shakespearean plays, painting, sculpture, poetry and ballet exist, the magic of Interlochen will continue to inspire young artists of today and tomorrow.
For further reading:
Joe Maddy of Interlochen: Profile of a Legend by Norma Lee Browning, Contemporary Books, Interlochen Center for the Arts, 1992.
A Home for the Arts by Dean Boal, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1998.
For more information:
Interlochen Arts Camp P. O. Box 199 Interlochen, MI 49643 231.276.7200 www.interlochen.k12.mi.us/ica.html
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