Interlochen School

August 25, 2008 at 01:10 AM · Yup-I got my diploma there (2 years there).

It's an arts intensive environment with high-power academics (most folks are AP track). Everyone is motivated (students, faculty, and staff), and it is a very good learning environment. In 2 years there-I covered more orchestral repertoire than in my 4 years of undergrad (the orchestra was also better, I must say).

The cafeteria food stinks, andlike many schools-there tend to not be enough practice rooms at prime time hours.. The admins also tend to be rather overbearing, but the faculty are all fantastic....there also tends to be a great deal of seasonal affective disorder. Rooms are double, with shared bathroom--ots of shelf space--nice all things considered.

The bar for admission is quite high. There also tends to be a very high-turnaround in student population (weighted due to large %s of juniors and seniors and very small #s of freshman/sophomores)

August 25, 2008 at 03:37 AM · It lies between two beautiful lakes with lots of natural forest, although in the winter it is probably too cold to enjoy them. The facilities are great. There is an awesome new music library.

August 25, 2008 at 05:25 AM · Too cold to enjoy the forest in the winter? Nonsense! :)

August 26, 2008 at 02:55 AM · Just a practical question about Interlochen. My son's teacher went to Aspen but he doesn't recommend Aspen for my son (who's totally not ready for it anyway and may never be!) but did say that Interlochen would be good for him. However, the price is outrageous! Unless my son could get almost full scholarship somehow, we could never go there. So, how do others pay for something that's over $6000??? Yikes, a UPS driver just can't fund that sort of thing. Are scholarships to Interlochen saved for only the best of the best?

August 26, 2008 at 04:16 AM · You can do a work study, where you actually work for the camp and earn the majority of your tuition. They offer these types of programs at most summer music camps. You usually will work the ticket booth at a concert, help clean up the cafeteria, or do something of the sort that they would normally hire someone to do.

August 26, 2008 at 04:20 AM · Oh that is so good to know! What a great idea! My son's never been to a camp away from our city so we don't really know what's out there and how it all works. I know he needs to spend some time on the camp section of violinist.com this year.

August 26, 2008 at 04:21 AM · I have been doing more research into these schools, and with help from Jennifer. And the price of Interlochen ended up being about $50,000... And the other two schools I'm looking into are Walnut Hill in Boston, and Idyllwild in California. Both look great, but Idyllwild seems more comfortable in a way, and it seems like they do much more to make students as comfortable as possible.

I was also looking at their master class teachers, and Hilary Hahn is one of them.

Seems like an amazing school. I think I'll focus all my goals to being accepted into Idyllwild.

The website is Idyllwildarts.org

August 26, 2008 at 12:09 PM · Paul, as far as money goes....

Most students st IAA that I knew, ended up with at least 50% of their tuition covered by scholarship, sometimes more (depending on ability).

August 26, 2008 at 06:00 PM · I've looked at Idyllwild, too. It's about 2 hours from us so that would save on plane fare. :-) Hey Paul, how did you come up with $50,000 for the price of Interlochen? I thought the tuition was around $6,500.

August 26, 2008 at 06:38 PM · Paul is talking about the top three boarding schools, which are each roughly 50,000 dollars a year, when you include transportation, food, etc. Rebecca, you are talking about the Interlochen summer program. 'Hope I was of some help!

August 26, 2008 at 07:09 PM · Hey Rebecca, I think you have this Paul confused with me! This Paul is from Utah. So he will have to fly either way. Haha.

August 26, 2008 at 08:02 PM · Oh, I can easily get confused, Paul Grant. :-) However, I did know that the original poster was Paul G., the aspiring violinist, not Paul Grant, the beloved viola teacher for the coolest Suzuki Strings ensemble in San Diego. :-) When I said "us", I was speaking of my son and I being close to Idyllwild (since I didn't know where Paul G. is from).

I *was* confused about the price of the boarding school vs. the summer camp. (Light goes on!) I guess I'm really grateful for the wonderful music opportunities here in San Diego. I would miss my son terribly if he went off to boarding school but I might be willing to give him up for a summer.:-)

August 26, 2008 at 10:34 PM · Rebecca,

Yeah, I was talking about boarding. It would be tough to be away from home that long, but I know that I would be able to cope with it through music! Thats what I do:)

But I think I would like being at a highschool that's all about music. And their dormrooms look pretty cool!

I'm considering going to their summer academy this year, before making the commitment to go there full time.

I'll have to see where life takes me!

Good luck with your son and his choices:)

September 23, 2008 at 12:40 PM · I am a somewhat fossilized (1978) graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy. I know it would sound trite to say it's the most wonderful place on earth, but to me, it is. I still talk to my teacher (viola) David Holland on a regular basis even though I graduated 30 years ago. Many of my teachers are still there. Winter is pretty intense, but you can learn to cross country ski! I am not the worlds greatest player, but they had room for me. I think the figure of $50,000 is a bit high - check www.intelochen.org

There are lots of scholarships and they do not expect you to arrive as a fully formed virtuoso. When I was there we had 2 hours of orchestra 6 days a week and a concert every 2weeks. David holland is the conductor of the string orchestra, and they have hired a new main conductor, but I do not know who it is. There are other schools, and other places, but IAA is special to me and many others. Please feel free to contact me off list and I will try to answer any questions, or find out for you.

Dwight