Many things have changed during the Academy’s first 50 years in existence, but one scene would be familiar to anyone who ever spent time at Interlochen: a young musician performing a song of their own creation for their friends in a residence hall lounge, on the mall or in a coffeehouse.
While Interlochen is widely recognized as a starting point for musicians like Jewel, Norah Jones, Rufus Wainwright or Sufjan Stevens, for years it didn’t offer coursework for musicians who want to write and perform their own music and lyrics. That changed in 2010 when a new singer-songwriter program was added to Camp, and starting in the 2012-13 academic year the Academy will welcome aspiring singer-songwriters with their own curriculum as well.
“The Arts Academy has always been a wonderful place for composers, performers and writers, but we have never reached out to students who wanted combine these disciplines as singer-songwriters,” said Kedrik Merwin, director of the music program at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
“Creating a new program or major isn’t something we take lightly,” said Merwin. “But the caliber of students and faculty and the artistic quality of their work was beyond question. After two positive years of the program at Camp, we decided that this was something we needed to bring to the Academy.”
While the new program is groundbreaking at the high school level, it is not without precedent among top-tier music schools. Similar programs have been established at the Berklee School of Music and the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, among others. “We are a school that trains professional musicians,” said Merwin. “This new program will help singer-songwriters prepare for college and beyond.”
Merwin expects the major will also create new avenues for collaboration. In particular, the songwriters will work closely with the creative writing faculty to develop lyrics. Sound engineering and recording techniques will also be an important part of the curriculum and will draw on the resources of Interlochen Public Radio.
As of December 2011, the Academy is already accepting student applications and an international search is under way to find the lead instructor. (See the complete job posting here.)
