Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as ICA or Interlochen and previously known as the National Music Camp) is an American non-profit corporation which operates arts education programs and performance venues. Established in 1928 by Joseph E. Maddy, Interlochen Center for the Arts is located on a campus in Green Lake Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan, immediately south of the eponymous community of Interlochen and about southwest of Traverse City.

History

thumb|[[Sheet music|Score sheets at Interlochen's Music Library in the 1940s]]

In 1925, Music Supervisors National Conference President Edgar B. Gordon asked conductor and educator Joseph E. Maddy to assemble talented high school musicians from around the US to perform at the conference's 1926 gathering in Detroit, Michigan. The resulting ensemble, the National High School Orchestra, performed at Detroit's Orchestra Hall on April 16, 1926. The orchestra was asked to reconvene in 1927 and 1928.

In 1927, Maddy incorporated the National High School Orchestra Camp, and began searching for ideal locations, eventually narrowing it down to sites in Maine and Michigan. He was invited by Interlochen businessman Willis Pennington to tour his hotel and summer camp properties, adjacent to Interlochen State Park (Camp Interlochen and Camp Penn Loch, for boys and girls, respectively). Maddy chose the site, and, in 1928, the first season of the National High School Orchestra Camp convened. In 1932, the Camp changed its name to the National Music Camp; despite the addition of other artistic disciplines, the name remained until 1991, when it was updated to Interlochen Arts Camp.

In 1944, Maddy purchased Camps Interlochen and Penn Loch, absorbing them into the National Music Camp.

Interlochen Arts Academy, a year-round arts boarding school affiliated with the Camp and housed on the same campus, opened in 1962. The school, which combines college-preparatory academics with conservatory-caliber arts training, was the first of its kind in the United States.

In 1963, Interlochen Public Radio (WIAA) started to broadcast. Originally broadcasting eight hours per day, it grew enough within a decade to become a charter member of National Public Radio. Interlochen Public Radio became a network in 1989 with the addition of WICV. Interlochen bought contemporary Christian station WDQV in 2005 and converted it into a third satellite for the eastern portion of the market, WIAB.

Interlochen Public Radio

thumb|Dancers rehearsing at Interlochen, 1969

Interlochen Center for the Arts is home to Interlochen Public Radio (or IPR), a National Public Radio member station that broadcasts a signal to most of the lower peninsula of Northern Michigan as well as parts of eastern Wisconsin. Two listener-supported stations broadcast to northwest Michigan: Classical Music 88.7, 88.5, 94.7 and 100.9 FM; and News Radio 91.5, 90.1 and 89.7 FM. Broadcasts include arts programming, news and culture from around the world, as well as local and regional news. IPR was a charter member of National Public Radio.

Founded in 1963, Interlochen Public Radio or WIAA was envisioned as an extension of the Music From Interlochen program which ran on the NBC radio network. The Music From Interlochen program informed a wider audience about the activities at the then-named National Music Camp and the nascent Interlochen Arts Academy. The station was slow to catch on in its early years and some considered shutting down the operation. Interlochen Public Radio went on to establish itself with two service channels: one for music and one for news.

In 1993, Interlochen Public Radio reportedly had one of the highest rates of per capita contributions of any public radio station in the United States. The station's classical music service is broadcast from their main tower at WIAA 88.7 FM in Interlochen, along with WIAB 88.5 FM in Mackinaw City, and W234BU 94.7 FM in Traverse City. In 2000, IPR began offering a separate news service on WICA 91.5 FM in Traverse City, and later added WLMN 89.7 FM in Manistee and WHBP 90.1 FM in Harbor Springs.

Programs

Interlochen Center for the Arts is the umbrella organization that encompasses summer program Interlochen Arts Camp, arts boarding high school Interlochen Arts Academy, National Public Radio (NPR) charter station Interlochen Public Radio, performance series Interlochen Presents, adult arts program Interlochen College of Creative Arts, online arts program Interlochen Online, and lodging and dining provider Interlochen Hospitality.

Artistic majors at Interlochen Arts Academy include music, dance, theatre, visual arts, creative writing, film and new media, and interdisciplinary arts.

Sustainability

In 2019, Interlochen Center for the Arts was recognized by the US Department of Education as a Green Ribbon School, making progress in the areas of sustainability, environmental impact reduction, and the health and well-being of its staff and students. Interlochen is committed to creating and enacting a Climate Action Plan that places emphasis on learning and engagement, sustainable operations, and buildings and operations. Interlochen uses green solar energy, and has charging stations for vehicles on campus, water-bottle filling stations, and uses local and regional foods.

Interlochen has a botanical lab and community garden, with permaculture, an orchard, native plants, mushrooms, poly tunnels and raised beds, chickens, aquaponics and a honeybee apiary.

Interlochen has industrial compost facilities built in 2019. The compost facility processes tons of food waste in combination with dried leaves and woodchips that are collected each year on campus during fall leaf pickup and chipped, downed branches and trees. The compost is used on campus.

Awards and accolades

National Medal of Arts: In 2006, Interlochen Center for the Arts was named recipient of the National Medal of Arts from then-president George W. Bush.

American Classical Music Hall of Fame: In 2021, Interlochen Center for the Arts became the 14th musical organization inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

Each year, a remarkable number of Interlochen alum are awarded with some of the most prestigious arts industry awards in the world, including 29 Emmy Awards, 158 Grammy Awards, 36 Tony Awards, and Jimmy Awards. More than 50 Interlochen students have been recognized as Presidential Scholars in the Arts, more than 700 YoungArts Winners, as well as several other prestigious competitions and programs. Interlochen alumni Mary Oliver, Tom Kitt, George Crumb, Beverly Gage, and Margo Jefferson, have received the Pulitzer Prize, as well as over a dozen finalists.

Interlochen Public Radio's podcast Points North earned prestigious recognition with the national Edward R. Murrow Award recognizing their excellence in journalism. IPR has received many awards over the years, recognizing their contributions to journalism.

In 2025, Niche recognized Interlochen as the #1 best high school for the arts in the nation.

Interlochen's Sustainability Department has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including Michigan Green Schools, US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, and holds certificates with Certified Naturally Grown, USDA People's Garden, Michigan Agricultural Environmental Program, and more.

<gallery widths="150">

File:The Commons at Interlochen Fine Arts School.jpg|The Osterlin Mall

File:Stone Hotel.jpg|The Stone Hotel overlooking Green Lake

File:Interlochen Administration Building.jpg|The Maddy Administration Building

File:Fine Arts Building -Interlochen.jpg|The Fine Arts Building in 2018

File:Kresge Auditorium-Interlochen.jpg|Interlochen's Kresge Auditorium, an open-air amphitheater, named for S. S. Kresge

File:Interlochen Historical Marker.jpg|Interlochen historical marker

File:Heralds-at-Interlochen (4619554270).jpg|United States Army Herald Trumpets at Interlochen in 2010

</gallery>

Controversies

Sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell used the summer camp to find underage girls according to the United States Department of Justice. Epstein had attended Interlochen summer camp in 1967, when he was a teenaged bassoon player.

  • Maude Apatow – actress
  • Michael Arden – singer, actor, and director
  • Meredith Baxter – actress
  • Nadia Bjorlin – actress, model and singer
  • Ron Blake – saxophonist, band leader, and composer
  • Stuart Bogie – clarinetist
  • Garrett Borns – musician
  • Caleb Burhans – composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist
  • Kira Bursky – filmmaker
  • David Burtka – actor and chef
  • Bruno Campos – actor
  • Charlie Carver – actor
  • Angelin Chang – pianist
  • Victoria Clark – singer and actress
  • Kat Coiro – writer and director
  • Terry Crews – actor and pro football player
  • George Crumb - composer
  • John Dalley – violinist
  • Zach Dean – screenwriter, film producer
  • Michael Delp – writer
  • Aaron Diehl – pianist
  • Eldar Djangirov – pianist
  • Elaine Douvas – musician
  • Aaron Dworkin – violinist and music educator
  • Doriot Anthony Dwyer – flutist
  • Peter Erskine – drummer
  • Damon Evans – actor
  • Tovah Feldshuh – actress
  • Jack Ferver – dancer, choreographer, and actor
  • Anna Fidler – artist
  • Barrett Foa – actor
  • Lora Lee Gayer – actress
  • Delta David Gier – conductor
  • Marshall Gilkes – trombonist
  • Vince Gilligan – producer and screenwriter
  • Kimiko Glenn – actress and singer
  • Jesse Green – theatre critic
  • Garth Greenwell – novelist
  • Josh Groban – singer-songwriter and record producer
  • Wendell B. Harris Jr. – filmmaker
  • David Hattner – clarinetist and conductor
  • Bob Havens – big band and jazz musician
  • Steve Hayden – advertising executive
  • Christie Hefner – publishing executive
  • Anne Hills – singer-songwriter
  • Marya Hornbacher – author
  • Ema Horvath – actress
  • Felicity Huffman – actress
  • Tom Hulce – actor
  • Aaron M. Johnson – saxophonist and bandleader
  • Bruce Johnston – singer-songwriter
  • Scott Joiner – singer and composer
  • Norah Jones – singer-songwriter
  • Kim Kashkashian – violist
  • Ani Kavafian – violinist
  • Ida Kavafian – violinist
  • Celia Keenan-Bolger – actress
  • Elizabeth Koch – oboist
  • Yolanda Kondonassis – harpist
  • Norman Korpi – filmmaker
  • Damian Kulash – musician
  • Dane Laffrey – scenic designer
  • Naomi Lang – ice dancer
  • Soyeon Kate Lee – pianist
  • Vella Lovell – actress
  • Michael Lowenstern – musician and composer
  • Jennifer Chambers Lynch – director
  • Elizabeth Marvel – actress
  • Dmitri Matheny – musician
  • Reed Mathis – bassist
  • Noel Maxam – director
  • Timothy McAllister – saxophonist and educator
  • Anthony McGill – clarinetist
  • Ava Mendoza – guitarist
  • Alexander J. Michaels – drag queen
  • Mia Michaels – choreographer
  • Eric Millegan – actor
  • Ross Mintzer – musician, singer‑songwriter, and bandleader
  • Dermot Mulroney – actor
  • Conlon Nancarrow – composer
  • John Newsom – painter
  • Tim Nordwind – musician
  • Mary Oliver – author and poet
  • Larry Page – businessman
  • Ashley Park – actress
  • Donovan Patton – actor
  • Samuel Pilafian – tubist
  • Susan Poser – academic administrator
  • William Preucil – violinist
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph – actress
  • Nelson Rangell – musician
  • Anthony Rapp – actor
  • Julieanna Richardson – lawyer and historian
  • Chappell Roan – singer-songwriter
  • Hadley Robinson – actress
  • Victor Salvi – harpist
  • Lois Schaefer – piccolo soloist
  • Tom Sharpe – drummer
  • Bill Sherwood – musician, screenwriter and film director
  • David Shifrin – clarinetist
  • Trish Sie – director
  • Alexandra Silber – actress
  • Jessica Sklar – mathematician
  • Steven Skybell – actor
  • Peter Sparling – dancer, choreographer, writer, video artist and painter
  • Doug Stanton – author
  • Sufjan Stevens – singer-songwriter
  • Byron Stripling – trumpeter
  • Cheryl Studer – dramatic soprano
  • Francie Swift – actress
  • Jamii Szmadzinski – electric violinist
  • Kenneth Tarver – operatic tenor
  • Christopher Taylor – Mayor of Ann Arbor (2014–present)
  • Vanessa Taylor – screenwriter
  • Roger Thomas – interior designer
  • Michael Thurber – composer
  • Randal Turner – operatic baritone
  • Stoll Vaughan – singer-songwriter
  • Rufus Wainwright – singer-songwriter
  • Benjamin Walker – actor
  • Mike Wallace – television journalist
  • Betty Who – musician
  • Kit Williamson – actor and filmmaker
  • Rumer Willis – actress
  • Jill Winternitz – actress
  • Peter Yarrow – singer
  • Allen Britton - educator
  • Van Cliburn – pianist, 1961–2007
  • Roderick Cox - conductor
  • George Crumb - composer, 1957, 1958, and 1961
  • Albert Austin Harding - director of bands
  • Leslie B. Dunner - director of academy orchestras
  • Richard Ellsasser - organist and composer
  • Percy Grainger – composer and pianist, on faculty 1930–44
  • Louis Langrée - conductor
  • Cecil Leeson - saxophonist
  • Howard Hanson – composer and conductor, visiting conductor 1928–31; composed the "Interlochen Theme", which was later used in his Symphony No.2
  • Marie Hartwig - camp counselor
  • John S. Hilliard - composer
  • Milt Jackson - jazz vibraphonist
  • Jerry Junkin - conductor
  • Dennis Kim - violinist
  • Homer Keller - composer
  • Casey Kriechbaum - composer
  • Yo Yo Ma - cellist who embarked on national tour with orchestra
  • Joseph E. Maddy – conductor and music educator, founder of the academy
  • Gary Lee Nelson - composer
  • William Chapman Nyaho – pianist, current faculty
  • Jung-Ho Pak – conductor, director of orchestras since 2003
  • Itzhak Perlman - violinist, 1989-95
  • Vincent Pezzi - bassoonist
  • Susan Poser - administrator
  • John Philip Sousa - conductor and composer
  • Chris Thile - singer-songwriter
  • Carolyn Watson – conductor, director of orchestras since 2013
  • Paul W. Whear - composer
  • Jerome Wiesner - electrical engineer

References

Further reading

  • Official website
  • "I Found Myself at Band Camp" photo essay on the Interlochen Arts Camp, New York Times, 2021
  • The Association of Boarding Schools profile for the Interlochen Arts Academy
  • Pine Nuts book website