SELECT A PROGRAM

(7/2006) - The arts have always been the focus of Interlochen Arts Academy. From its very beginning, the school’s reputation in arts training has drawn students with exceptional talent in dance, music, theatre arts, visual arts, and creative writing to its doors. But what continually amazes and excites me is how much the creative energy that defines the place extends to all aspects of the learning process here. That performing Swan Lake, with its symmetrical choreography, allows a more complete understanding of trigonometry and that the constructive aspects of creating sculpture has inspired careers in engineering, are just a couple of ways that arts and academics interface and support each other here.

Connections between seemingly disparate disciplines or fields are constantly being drawn, and the inspiration to extend oneself or explore in different directions in class, studio or outside is ever present. It’s hard to put my finger on why or how it is that the educational experience here is so charged and full. Why do our students tend to reach for something more - more knowledge, more understanding - and what’s at the core of their determination to stretch themselves both intellectually and emotionally in the expression of their ideas and visions? One of my colleagues says that the extraordinary way people learn and grow and discover and relate to one another at Interlochen is just “ingrained”. It’s simply the way the Academy works. I agree. I think part of the school’s success in encouraging full knowledge is and will probably remain elusive. But another very big part of the inner workings of Interlochen is by design and can be explained.

That the arts and academics are effectively wedded in the educational experience at Interlochen is a function of several factors. Certainly, the kind of students the Academy attracts help to make the institution what it is. Bring imaginative, gifted people together, whether or not they are artists, and they’re bound to stimulate and encourage each other’s growth and creativity. In class, students constantly draw from their knowledge or experience in one subject and apply this understanding to another subject. The student who perceived and pointed out parallels between a poem and a masterpiece painting is an example. With the recognition that everyone at Interlochen possesses some special talent or gift comes an immediate respect for and expectation from peers. Here, students not only tolerate differences among themselves, they also encourage and celebrate each other’s individuality. They also often provide to one another, and by their own examples, the motivation to rise to both intellectual and creative challenges. This can be illustrated by the number of concerts, from string quartets to jazz ensembles, both impromptu and planned, that take place continually throughout the year. Despite a very full study load and class schedule, students make time to work with other students to tap and give voice to their creativity, often in their own time and on their own initiative. These performances, in turn, inspire all members, artists and nonartists, of the Interlochen community and contribute to the excitement and energy of the school.

The individual approaches and styles of the teachers also enable Interlochen to be successful in challenging and engaging capable students. I think a common thread to all Interlochen faculty members is the interest in finding ties between and among subject areas. Further, the curriculum is fluid and flexible, and the syllabus in each course is ever evolving, depending on the students and the ideas that surface and demand further investigation.

I think the effectiveness of the Interlochen program rests primarily on two principles: 1) Teaching methods and specific study topics are open, rather than rigid and 2) The teachers are supported in designing and trying out new programs and strategies. The interdisciplinary nature of study certainly lends itself to innovation, probing discussion, and original work. The examples are endless. Shakespeare’s plays are brought to life with guest performances by the theatre faculty; foreign language courses are enlivened by skits, songs, and poetry written and presented by students in the language being studied. And the educational connections often extend beyond art – research on medical ethics stemming from a discussion in a history class, for example.

Finally, I believe Interlochen’s setting among the forests and lakes in northern Michigan encourages reflection and engenders an appreciation of art in the physical world. In thinking about our location, I am reminded of an alumnus who recently came to campus to participate in the 30^th anniversary of Earth Day. Steve Goodman, who graduated from Interlochen in 1975, is now a renowned field biologist. When he returned to campus this spring, Goodman talked about his research and how it relates to what he learned at Interlochen, where he majored in Visual Arts. He told students, “At Interlochen, you don’t forfeit an arts education for an academic education. They reinterpret each other in the different forums.”

Interlochen graduates have gone on to find professional success in just about all areas of the arts industry, but in a way, Steve Goodman’s story exemplifies best the power and potential of what happens at the Academy. Here is someone who came to the school with a passion for sculpture and who now speaks seven languages, has over 240 publications to his credit, has collected tens of thousands of specimens for major museums, and has organized expeditions that have discovered and named hundreds of new species. Steve Goodman probably could have made his mark in the arts. Yet, at Interlochen he developed a love for science and experienced the thrill of discovery. Every day, as part of his biology class, Goodman (along with a classmate, now a fishery biologist) arose before sunrise to track the migration of waterfowl on an Interlochen lagoon. I’m not sure anyone, including Goodman himself, imagined then that the beauty he discovered during that experience would have started him on the journey to his current occupation. But that really is what Interlochen is all about and, I think, is the key to why it works. Education here is realizing connections among math, music, literature, theatre, science and history, and being challenged by students and teachers who are passionate about ideas and the creative spirit. Then again, maybe it’s like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a bit of magic and mischief that’s out of our hands.