<p>Hi, I was accepted into the Interlochen Summer Camp for the Vocal Arts and Operetta. However, I have some questions since neither my teacher, or I know someone that has been there for the summer. </p>
<p>I know that uniform is required to be worn most of the day,and I am trying to limit what I bring with my because I am taking a plane there, I wanted to know if anyone knows how much time there is for "casual clothing", or how often I would ever be wearing casual clothes?</p>
<p>Do I need to bring any standard concert attire (dress shoes, slacks, dress shirt, vest, etc.)?</p>
<p>How much money do I really need to bring with me, because they recommend about $50 a week?</p>
<p>Is there free time where I can exercise/work out?</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about cell phone use exactly?</p>
<p>They tell me that I need to bring accompaniment.. does that mean the sheet music accompaniment part, or the CD? </p>
<p>Anything else that I should know, advice, comments, would be greatly appreciated.. </p>
<p>Hi vvpstudent, I’m going to Interlochen too, (for orchestra) so hopefully we’ll meet there.
Interlochen sent me a big info packet about two weeks ago that was really helpful. If you got one as well, it may answer some of your questions.
As for limiting what you bring, they actually let you mail some stuff, if you send it by 11 June. That may give you some more freedom. As I understand it, we’re to wear the uniform with a red sweater/sweatshirt for concerts (but this could be different for vocalists–better check). A friend of mine who went said that there are definitely opportunities to wear normal clothing. good luck!</p>
<p>hey phrygian, thats cool, we will definitely meet there, although I don’t think we’ll know who each other are. Yeah, I did receive the info packet, but it still left me with some uncertainty, so I wanted to know from a first hand experience what it was like.</p>
<p>First, get on the Facebook pages that relate to Interlochen. All questions are answered there. There are a number of unofficial pages,</p>
<p>Your questions:</p>
<p>
You will find yourself in your uniform most of the time. Many but not all students will change into a t-shirt in their cabins. You won’t feel out of place if you don’t change.</p>
<p>Many students traveling by plane ship a box in advance. I highly recommend this approach. Ship a box there and ship it home - best money you will spend all summer.
No. You wear the Interlochen red sweatshirt for concerts. Buy it (when you get there) at the outdoor clothing sale/exchange. Don’t worry, you will find this easily.
There’s not much to spend money on. Your cabin will occasionally order pizza or Chinese food and if you want some, you can chip in. Also Mo-fro (ice cream) will drain your finances a little, but the $50 estimate is pretty solid. There aren’t a lot of spending opportunities. I would caution that the $50 estimate does not include any clothing you might need there (like the red sweatshirt or a belt) or any music you might decide to purchase.
Some students swim and run. There are some ultimate frisbee games and the like but it’s not a sports crowd.
Good luck with reception, it’s spotty. You can get access to your mobile phone at night (they’re locked up during the day.)
</p>
<h2>Yes, but that would also include anything else you might be singing. </h2>
<p>My child is attending for the fourth year. Great place, great experience, great instruction. Soak it all up!</p>
<p>You can buy your uniforms and have them waiting for you when you get there. That’s what my D did. Your packet should have all the info you need. Cell phone: my D had no access to hers ever. She called from a phone there–long lines. We talked 4 or 5 times. You will love your experience there. Have fun!</p>
<p>Hi all! Thanks for answering my questions, it was definitely helpful! I am definitely looking forward to this summer, however I’m not going to like my phone being in jail…haha. Well again, thanks everyone for your answers!</p>
<p>vvpstudent –
I won’t repeat the responses given already but will add a couple of tips. To my knowledge (I have a son), the girls tend to wear more non-uniform clothing than the boys. With the exception of one or two social events, uniforms must be worn at all times on main camp so your other stuff is only worn in the girls’ (or boys’, as the case may be) cabin area. Thus, if you’re out of uniform, it will be only with other members of your own gender. Bring a nice (but casual) social outfit, or two.</p>
<p>Concert attire is your camp uniform shirt, corduroy pants (boys) or knickers (girls) – which are camp provided and, weather permitting, a red sweatshirt or red sweater. No dress shoes. </p>
<p>Re spending money – Your parents should open an account at camp for you. You can withdraw cash as needed and, if you fall short, your parents can deposit more (by credit card) and you can get it at the camp office. The only thing you really need money for is snacks. (You can charge purchases at the bookstore to your camp account. The bookstore has packaged snacks and soft drinks, too.) That said, there are many, many socials at a nearby hamburger/ice cream shop; you’ll need cash for that.</p>
<p>There is some free time during which you can work out, but no one does!!! Indeed, the school’s gym is closed to campers! My son swore he would run, but never did. The boys play a lot of frisbee, ping pong and basketball on boys’ camp. Some tennis and some football, too. There is a lot of walking at Interlochen, though.</p>
<p>The cell phone situation is a major problem. Most high school kids try to keep their cell phones secretly. They text friends to decide on meeting up places and times; no chatting, though, or the phone will be confiscated. </p>
<p>Have a wonderful summer! Interlochen is great!!</p>
<p>By all means DO NOT give your cell phone to your counselor. The whole thing is very wink wink nudge nudge, and most of the kids who turn their phones in are the first time campers who don’t know any better.</p>
<p>Also, there are coed non-uniform dances once a week, and you’ll want some semi-nice clothes for that (best chance for summer romance–LAWL). If you’re a girl, jeans and a nice top should be fine. You might also want some sweatpants and t-shirts for lounging around your cabin.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about tornadoes at Interlochen? I know that there are tornadoes in Michigan and they occur mostly during June and July… and my parents are worried. So does anyone know anything about tornado policy at Interlochen?</p>
<p>In my 3 summers, and 3 years at IAC and IAA we never once had a tornado. But we did have tornado drills ALL THE TIME! that should put them at ease:)</p>
<p>I want to warn people that Interlochen is not all it’s hyped up to be. My daughter is currently there in the intermediate camp for music and is miserable. She is not allowed to go anywhere without the group and she feels like she is in prison. Also, she is very disappointed with the level of music being performed in the wind ensemble–very basic. She attended the Tanglewood Institute earlier in the summer (workshop) and had a wonderful time there. Perhaps the high school experience is better, but I feel competely ripped off. No sailing lessons, despite the website stating that they do have them, no chamber music. Every hour is controlled and she is so bored, as well as concerned that she is not allowed to practice enough. I wished someone had warned us about how bad this camp is! Apparently it was reorganized about 5 years ago–clearly for the worse.</p>
<p>woodwinds, I’m sorry your D is disappointed. We also have no experience with the intermediate program, but I do suggest that you contact the directors and ask some questions. Is your D’s playing more advanced than the other kids her age? Is she quiet and doesn’t speak up to ask questions about sailing, or practice times, or??? Maybe something happened with her peers and she’s uncomfortable with them? She doesn’t connect with her private teacher? Could be anything, and there may be some adjustments that can be made in the remaining time. If it were my D, I would contact the directors of her program and ask them, in a nice way, to help meet her needs a bit better. It’s worth a try.</p>
<p>Sopranomom, I have tried calling the directors. Both times I only received a call back from the counselor, an 18-year old with no power to change anything. My daughter is advanced, but I’m sure others are as well. The music is just too basic, something a 6th grade band would play. She has no problem with the music instructors and seems to like all of them. It’s the structure of Interlochen that’s the problem. She gets along better with older musicians–at Tanglewood her quartets were with the 18-year olds–but at Interlochen she is forced to stay with her own age group of girls, who were a pretty immature group (my observation when we dropped her off). And having every hour pre-scheduled makes her feel imprisoned.</p>
<p>woodwinds, you must be really unhappy about Interlochen. I replied to you in the other thread. Here I’ll just clarify that campers at Interlochen are not immature. Some are but not most. These are highly developed kids socially. My daughter was in the intermediate division for a few years. She made many friends and still keeps in touch. BTW there’s a Interlochen parent group at yahoo that may help.</p>
<p>Woodwinds-
I too replied on another thread. I will also back up Igloo’s comment that the kids at Interlochen are not ‘immature’. I am very sorry that you are unhappy with Interlochen. However; when my daughter went we knew that she would not be allowed off the grounds and that the day is very structured with very few activities. The summer she was there it was so cold that you did not want to do any water activities! Most of the girls in her cabin chose to take any extra time to use for practice. She is still in touch with the girls from her cabin, now attending colleges all around the US. She caught up with them at college auditions…just a really great group. We went out to visit her twice, both times we bearly saw her due to her schedule, but we truly enjoyed the visit and the beauty of the area. We really fell in love with it.<br>
Daughter still has her polos, (doesn’t wear them, but won’t give them up), and occasionally we pull out a pair of light blue socks that have her name written on the bottom.<br>
…and…daughter fell in love with her instructor at Interlochen. She followed her to college.</p>
<p>One other thought, which isn’t about interlochen per se, but about music programs in general, and it has to do with age and musical ability. A number of programs, and interlochen is one of them it seems, do things by someone’s age, rather then by for example looking at someone’s ability and level of seriousness, and that can cause problems. It also depends on the program and its philosophy, at a program that is supposed to be both about music and a ‘shared camp experience’ that might make sense, since kids the same age often are a better fit then mixing let’s say middle school kids with high school kids. </p>
<p>The problem with that is someone who is very seriously into music, or as with woodwinds daughter, is on the cusp of being in the high school program but is put into the middle school program. Rules like that don’t differentiate, and a 14 year old can be a lot more mature then other kids in that age band, plus can be performing at a level well above their age peers because they got serious earlier. Put a serious 14 year old violin student in an orchestra composed of middle school kids, and they could be very put out, because at middle school age large chunks of the orchestra may still be near beginner level, while they are working at a much higher level then that and end up frustrated and bored (and sorry, the old line about having to learn to play with all levels and such works better for those who are the lower level then those at the high, and is also an excuse to keep rigid rules). Likewise, many 14 year olds may be much more comfortable in interacting with older kids, there is often a world of difference between 11 year olds and 14 year olds, and that can cause conflict.</p>
<p>I think that is an important point. I am not saying interlochen or the other programs are wrong in their philosophy, I am saying that before sending a kid to a program you need to try and look at the culture and figure out if it is a fit. We had people tell us to look into Interlochen, that it would be great for our child, but when we looked at how it is run, we realized it wouldn’t be a fit, for many of the same reasons that Woodwinds D isn’t fitting in. Other kids can thrive there, have a great experience, and that is cool, same as many of those kids wouldn’t like the program out child loved. Woodwinds D might have been more happy in the high school program, but fell into the cracks, and that is the problem with programs with inflexible rules.</p>
<p>I am a parent of Interlochen grads. I can state it is unusual for a musician at HS level to be bored - there is always something more to do and most students are highly competitive and hardworking at Interlochen. It truly is an inspiring environment.
Our family has 4 summers’ Interlochen Camp experience and 3 years’ experience with Interlochen Arts Academy HS (two musicians, both are Music Performance majors at major institutions). I can assure readers that the High School Camp and Academy experiences are outstanding in a multiple of ways.
For Intermediate Camp, which we did not experience, I ask the following questions: does Woodwinds’ daughter re-audition for chair seating every two weeks? -That should provide some motivation for practice, a look at new rep, potential solos, etc. Do they change conductors every two weeks? (Some conductors may be more challenging than others) Is there a chance to move up or down in ensembles in Intermediate? I am surprised there is no chamber - there certainly is at HS level though not the main emphasis for those in WYSO or something. In our experience students sometimes formed their own chamber groups, got ahold of music and worked on that after finding a coach.
In our experience, Interlochen provided excellent preparation for the pre-screened CDs that need to be made in fall before applying to top conservatories or music schools (for those on a competitive, pre-screened instrument or voice). The reason was the very great playing time each day, often challening rep, private lessons, interaction with some key guest conductors.
I have stated “in our experience” an awful lot, but we have made so many positive connections (music, professional, personal) through Interlochen, that I am sure many share my opinions.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for responding. Some good points regarding differences in ability at age 14. It is hard to gauge where these students rank in the country at this age, which is why in some part they go to the top camps. My daughter continues to get 1st chair in sax wherever she goes, including Tanglewood and Interlochen, so I suppose that puts her at the top in ability at this age. She plays all the woodwinds and is very serious about practicing–about 4 hours a day at home. So there probably is a great deal of difference in the seriousness of students at age 14.</p>
<p>There are no chair challenges at Interlochen any more, at least that is what she was told. So for three weeks, she has to play the 2nd part (she is at Interlochen on oboe) behind others she feels are below her ability. Plus, she says, even the 1st chair parts are very boring. She describes the wind symphony music as being at Grade level 1 or 2–which I find shocking for a camp such as Interlochen. I expected they would play works such as Holst’s “The Planets”, not “YMCA”.</p>
<p>I did reach one of the directors today (after one week of calling!) and suggested they have some chamber music in the evenings for those students who dislike the cabin activities. They thought it was a “great idea”. Why haven’t they been doing this all along?</p>
<p>And while many 14-year old girls may appear “socially developed” and mature, if their need for conformity is so strong that they disparage others who are not like them, they are indeed very immature. But if the controls were not so tight, my daughter wouldn’t care about staying with them because she would be off playing music with others at her ability.</p>
<p>I wish I had explored more the tight controls over the intermediate students, but I could never have imagined it would be so bad. I only have a few music camp experiences–Tanglewood and a few of my own–and none of them put anywhere near these types of restrictions on students. I was aware that the students were grouped by age and that my daughter wouldn’t be able to play with the high schoolers, but again I assumed that music at both intermediate and high school would be at a higher level.</p>
