 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mandy's Mom
Date: 2004-12-29 02:34
Hi everyone, I'm new here and I thought you guys might be able to help me figure out if Interlochen would be a good summer camp for my child.
TIA.
Post Edited (2005-02-04 16:28)
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Author: mystery science dieter
Date: 2004-12-29 03:41
It is hard to comment on the place because it has changed drastically in the last year or so. The format has changed. There are no more chair challenges. Also, most of the faculty have been fired and not yet replaced, as far as I know. This includes at least some of the clarinet faculty.
But it can't be all bad. I am sure the experience would be a very positive one and she will meet a lot of very interesting people.
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Author: stebinus
Date: 2004-12-29 11:14
Although some great players go to Interlochen there are also many middle of the road and lesser musicians there. I wouldn't worry about her being crushed at all.
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2004-12-29 12:10
Sounds like Mandy has talent, and desire.
Most of the "fish" will have come from their individual small ponds.
If she wants to do it, go for it.
It's better for her to get a realistic assessment of her abilities now, than to sit back 20 years from now saying "I wish Mom had sent me to Interlochen. I could have been a contender."
I hope it turns out to be a wonderful experience, complete with new friends, and new insights into "making music".
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-12-29 13:36
As for being crushed, if you decide to go for it, make sure you talk to her beforehand that this is just for fun and to learn from it. Not to take it TOO seriously should she not be the best (since it seems that she is used to being 'top dawg' in her local area).
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: earlthomas
Date: 2004-12-29 14:28
She should go, especially if what the first post here wrote is true - that chair challenges are no longer being done. They were harmful, creating cliques and unfairness. I don't know who the clarinet faculty will be this coming summer, and perhaps that information won't be available until early spring - but, you should try to find out. I taught clarinet there several years ago (1970-71) and it was great. So many good players from all over. I'm sure a lot has changed since then, but I am sure it will be great experience for your daughter. I would not worry too much about her being accepted; for, she sounds like a very dedicated young player. If she treats it as a learning experience and not so much a "competition", all the better! Good luck.
All the best,
E.Thomas
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2004-12-30 00:43
I have had no personal experience with Interlochen, but it does have a certain reputation for excellence. I would like to suggest another summer music camp (with which I have no first-hand experience either)...Kinhaven (in Vermont). While in college (at Oberlin) I knew several excellent musicians who had attended Kinhaven. My ex-husband (a tubist) also went there and he's a fine player.
The website is at: http://www.kinhaven.org
Not to discourage you from Interlochen, but just to encourage you to look into other options as well....
Katrina
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Author: gdubac
Date: 2004-12-30 02:50
Dear Mandy's Mom - My advice to you is to be very cautious about Interlochen this year. Interlochen has failed to renew the contracts of roughly 1/3 of their former staff and is undergoing major changes. Before sending them any money, I advise you to find out who will be teaching clarinet, conducting the orchestras and bands, etc. If they hire distinguished teachers/performers/conductors, make sure that these are the personnel who will be teaching your daughter.
My older son spent 4 summers there (1996-2000) - it was a life-changing experience for him. But my information sources tell me that it is not what it was. I suggest that you explore all other available options.
I have recommended Interlochen very highly in the past, and you may have read some of my old posts. Many high school woodwind players from our area applied and attended based on my recommendation. But whatever I said in the past may not apply anymore. Feel free to contact me privately at gdubac@comcast.net
Another Clarinet Mom
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Author: steve s
Date: 2004-12-31 00:37
As of today, this is the clarinet faculty at Interlochen for this summer.
Karen Benda, D.M.A.
Deborah Chodacki, M.M.
Daniel S. Silver, M.M.
Chodacki and Silver both teach at major universities and have excellent credentials. I am not familiar with Benda; she is listed as formerly with the Cincinnati College Conservatory preparatory Department. That being said, I am sorry to see that longtime instructor Sydney Forest is not listed.
I attended the national music camp during the summers of 1969 to 1971. Among the excellent instructors that were there were Sydney Forest, Earl Thomas, Fred Ormand.
I found that the challenge system was particularly counterproductive with respect to instilling a love of music in young people, as well as fostering an understanding that the combined, cooperative performance of all members of a section is critical to obtain the desired musical output. I feel strongly that subjecting young students to extreme competition is detrimental to their development as both musicians and people.
Tradition was a major influence upon how things were done at Interlochen; everything from dating behavior, uniforms, recreation programs, post concert ritual (the concertmaster conducts the Theme), more than I can remember… perhaps somebody has decided that Interlochen was stuck in the past and had to update.
It seems that there are massive changes occurring. I wonder what the outcome will be?
Some of the new advertising mentioned something called the "Interlochen Edge". This strikes me as unsettling. I went to Interlochen to learn more about music, myself, and other people. The concept of sending kids somewhere to "get an edge" with respect to future endeavors I think is anathema to being a young gifted musician, something you experience only once in your life if you're lucky.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-01-03 16:44
When I was at Interlochen, the structure was very rigid. If you fit in, it was wonderful. If you marched to your own drummer, it could be problematic. I assume there is still a strict no-smoking rule. In the old days, if you got caught smoking, you were gone by the end of the day.
They have recently reduced the summer camp from 8 weeks to 6. I don't think it will make a lot of difference. Also, any turmoil in the faculty and staff will barely be noticed by the campers, who will still have the bands, orchestras and chamber groups to play in.
One way to increase the chances of getting in is to find a member of the Interlochen faculty to accompany the audition tape. If you can't find one, look at the alumni association list to find a professional player near where you live to act as a quasi-sponsor -- perhaps to play piano, or a duet, or write a note saying this is a gifted kid.
I was a big fish in my small high school pond, and it was a real wake-up call to run into people who were a LOT better. (Larry Combs was just as far ahead of everyone when he was in high school as he is now.)
Even without the "Bloody Friday" challenges, the competitive urges will run high.
I had the time of my life there. From your description, Mandy will too.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Mandy's Mom
Date: 2005-01-05 18:42
It's very interesting to read the NYTimes article .
Post Edited (2005-02-04 16:29)
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Author: Biased R13 Guy
Date: 2005-01-07 01:33
Dr. Karen Benda is a wonderful clarinet teacher and i hope someday she will be a great pedagogue like Sidney Forrest. I am in eighth grade and i am an Interlochen Alumni. I think that the changes being made are good (except bloody friday) and President Kimpton will continue the Interlochen tradition with strong leadership qualitites and vivacity. I was 1st charin in symphonic band last year at camp and studied with Dr. Benda.
Cheers, Aaron Johnson
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Author: kal
Date: 2005-01-07 03:40
Anyone have a public NYT login to read the article? I've forgotten the one I used to use...
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-01-07 03:43
kal wrote:
> Anyone have a public NYT login to read the article? I've
> forgotten the one I used to use...
You don't need to use a real email address to join ...
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Author: kal
Date: 2005-01-07 04:24
True. I guess I just feel like I'm stickin' it to The Man when I'm one of the hundreds of people per day who use the same bogus login :]
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Author: clarispark
Date: 2005-01-07 18:40
A different camp I'd like to suggest is a bit south of Interlochen. It's called Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and it's in the area around Muskegon, Michigan. I'm an alumni, went there about five years ago, and it's a quality summer camp: twelve days of rehearsal, sectional, and technique classes. Last I checked the cost was less than Interlochen's camp, but it's a very quality camp. The faculty is outstanding. I learned a lot there, enough to rise from middle of the clarinet section five years ago to being section leader of the symphonic band at my class-A high school and the 27-member clarinet section in the marching band. Yes, Interlochen is exclusive, but Blue Lake is still quality. They've also kept things pretty much the same there since the camp began in the mid-1960s.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2005-01-07 20:33
I was a camper at Blue Lake their first year 1964, and my wife taught JH band there for 4 years. I think the staff there is pretty good. Both of my kids have been there as faculty brats, and then later as campers, and they had good experiences (mind you they are not on a track to become professionals.) The faculty food was better than the camper stuff, but nothing to write home about. One thing it had in '64 that it don't have now is smallness - it has gotten pretty big.
I have also been a camper at Interlochen as an adult. I prefer to stay off-camp so I can eat real food. My kids didn't complain any, though.
Both camps, off by themselves up in the woods, can develop their own cultures and ethics, which was definitely true of Interlochen. If things are in turmoil for a while, they might seek a level of stability. Likewise, if things have been stable for a long, long while, they may crash and burn in a hurry. I suspect that what we are seeing is a microcosm of what is happening in the rest of the country. Watching my own local school system over the last couple of decades, I can say that just about anything can and will happen when mediocre people assume they are right and everybody else is wrong, be they educators or politicians. All it takes is a few noisy letters, sent to some gutless administrators, and it all hits the fan. All of the babies and all of the bathwater may get caught up in the same bad tide. The pines of northern Michigan are not immune to national trends.
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-01-07 20:57
My youth symphony director told us about something going on at the kennedy center and it sounded really good. I'm sure anyone coould get some info by a simple google search. Its open to to even people who have just graduated 12th grade, just incase you thought it was too late.
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Author: clarispark
Date: 2005-01-08 00:52
Mr. Katz, are you from Michigan? Just wondering because I live here in Michigan. Blue Lake is less than four hours from my home town, and I could get to Interlochen in an hour and fifteen minutes. It's kind of neat that I can talk to people who know about places near me.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2005-01-09 02:01
Let us say that someone has worked for the All-State at Interlochen program for a number of years. In the best of all worlds, their employer would take them aside, and talk to them, saying something like "Ms. X, our policy is to hire people closely associated with the University of Michigan. Since you have been out of school for 5 years, and you no longer fit that profile, we need to put someone else on your spot. But we like your work, and will give you an excellent recommendation if asked." Someone who is fired like this will be unhappy, but loyal. Someone who is mailed a form-letter that does not state this reason will be unhappy and not have any reason for loyalty.
Sending impersonal letters to fire people apparently has been a long-standing policy at Interlochen. I would sure like to ask any recently-fired, long-standing employees, whether they have been aware of this policy over the last few decades, and if so what they did about it.
This is the sort of treatment that major, world-class orchestras, and world-class university faculty for that mater, engage in protracted strikes to set to rights. The faculty up there in the pines has apparently not challenged up to this level yet.
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Author: Orlando Natty
Date: 2013-03-26 13:54
I spent a summer as a counselor at Blue Lake and it was a very nice place. This was in the mid-90s so I can't vouch for the current staff or anything, but it was a wonderful experience for me as a college student.
Each day was very much structured for the kids, but I got the feeling from other counselors that Blue Lake was not quite as competitive as Interlochen. The quality of the nightly concert programming was excellent. I got to experience so many different things that I wouldn't have otherwise and I was just a counselor, not a camper.
The family that founded the camp is still very much involved and they ensure that a good experience is had by the students.
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