Applications are still open for Arts Camp and Arts Academy. Programs fill quickly—submit your app today!

High-Performing Alumni

interlochen center for the arts high performing alumni

(Pictured: Anthony McGill, Ashley Park, and Anthony Rapp)

Interlochen alumni go on to prestigious and satisfying careers in the arts, business, cultural, science, service, and technology sectors. Many have made significant contributions to their fields and achieved exceptional success. Here is a sampling of Interlochen alumni and their achievements.

Alumni Accomplishments

  • 50 Presidential Scholars, the nation's highest award for outstanding achievement in the arts by high school students, more than any other high school in the country
  • 13 percent of the musicians in the nation's major orchestras are Interlochen alumni
  • 14 MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipients
  • 152 Grammy Awards, not including the multitude of Interlochen alumni who have performed in ensembles associated with Grammy Award-winning projects
  • 32 Tony Awards
  • 26 Emmy Awards
  • 4 Academy Awards (Oscars)
  • 4 alumni recognized with the Pulitzer Prize

Arts Administration 

  • Aaron Dworkin, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient; founder, Sphinx Organization; former Dean, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
  • Anna Glass, Executive Director, Dance Theatre of Harlem
  • Michael Greer, President and CEO, ArtsFund 
  • Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer, Carnegie Hall
  • Iris Moon, Assistant Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Deborah Moore, Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer, Chautauqua Institution
  • Vanessa Rose, President and CEO, American Composers Forum
  • Jonathan Slawson, Chief Development Officer, Kaufman Music Center
  • Phillip Wilder, President and General Director, Chanticleer 

Classical Music

  • Jeanne Baxtresser, former Principal Flute, New York Philharmonic
  • Andrés Cárdenes, Grammy-nominated violinist, soloist, recording artist, and conductor; Professor of Violin and Music Director of Orchestral Studies, Carnegie-Mellon University;  former Concertmaster, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
  • Whitney Crockett, Principal Bassoon, Los Angeles Philharmonic
  • Elaine Douvas, Principal Oboe, MET Orchestra
  • Matthew Duvall, Artistic Director and Grammy-winning percussionist, Eighth Blackbird 
  • Rafael Figueroa, Principal Cello, MET Orchestra
  • Brad Gemeinhardt, Principal Horn, MET Orchestra
  • Carol Jantsch, Principal Tuba, Philadelphia Orchestra
  • Kim Kashkashian, Grammy-winning violist
  • Rob Knopper, Percussion, MET Orchestra
  • Yolanda Kondonassis, Grammy-nominated solo harpist, recording artist, composer, and professor 
  • Aaron LaVere, Principal Trombone, Baltimore Symphony
  • Lorin Maazel, former Conductor, New York Philharmonic*
  • Timothy McAllister, Grammy-winning saxophone soloist and soprano chair of PRISM Quartet
  • Anthony McGill, Avery Fisher Prize-winner, Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic
  • Jessye Norman, Grammy-winning soprano*
  • Harold Robinson, former Principal Bass, Philadelphia Orchestra
  • Gerard Schwartz, former Conductor, Seattle Symphony
  • David Shifrin, Avery Fisher Prize-winning clarinet soloist and chamber musician
  • William Ver Meulen, Principal Horn, Houston Symphony
  • William Welter, Principal Oboe, Chicago Symphony Orchestra 
  • Jessica Zhou, Principal Harp, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Dance

  • Derek Brockington, Dancer, Dance Theatre of Harlem
  • Joanne Danto, community leader and educator; former principal dancer, Joffrey Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet
  • Janet Eilber, Artistic Director, Martha Graham Dance Company
  • Liz Lerman, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient; Founder, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
  • Peter Sparling, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan; former principal dancer, Martha Graham Dance Company

Design & Visual Art

  • Jerold S. Kayden, Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
  • Emmanuel Pratt, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, artist, Co-founder, Executive Director, The Sweetwater Foundation
  • Roger Thomas, Executive VP of Design, Wynn Design & Development
  • Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Painter
  • Kurt Weiser, acclaimed ceramicist and Professor, Arizona State University 
  • Bill Zheng, Chief Automotive Designer - Asia Pacific, Stellantis

Diplomacy & Public Policy

  • Natasha de Marcken, Director, Office of Education, U.S. Agency for International Development
  • Emily Horne, Spokesperson and Senior Director for Press, National Security Council, The White House
  • Paul Kruchoski, Director, Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources, U.S. Department of State 
  • Cecilia Muñoz, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient; public policy advisor, former Director of White House Domestic Policy Council
  • Gillian Sorensen, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations

Education

  • Danielle Allen, Professor of Government and Director, Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Anne Barrett, Senior Director, Campaign and Liason to the Executive Office of the President, University of Arizona
  • Eleanor Daugherty, VP for Student Affairs, Georgetown University
  • Dr. Susan Freeman, Provost and Senior Vice President, Rush University Medical Center
  • Jonathan Herbert, Director Of Enrollment, Manhattan School of Music
  • Jonathan Bailey Holland, Dean, Bienen School of Music, Northwestern
  • Susan Poser, President, Hofstra University

Film & Television

  • Vince Gilligan, Emmy-winning executive producer, Breaking Bad
  • Dan Goor, Golden Globe-winning writer and producer, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks & Recreation, The Daily Show
  • Ed Helms, actor, The OfficeThe Hangover
  • Tom Hulce, Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actor and producer, Amadeus
  • Linda Hunt, Oscar-winning actor, The Year of Living Dangerously; NCIS: Los Angeles 
  • Dr. Laura Karpman, Emmy-winning film, television, game, and concert music composer
  • Elizabeth Marvel, film, television, and stage actor; three-time Obie winner
  • F. Hudson Miller, Oscar-nominated sound editor 
  • Our Lady J, Emmy-winning writer and producer, Pose, Transparent
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers 

Healthcare

  • LaMont Barlow, M.D., Assistant Professor of Urology and Pathology, NYU School of Medicine
  • John Franklin, M.D., Chief of Addictions, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical Education and Surgery (Organ Transplantation), Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Support, Northwestern Medicine 
  • David A. Horwitz, M.D., internationally recognized for work in T cell biology/immune regulation; CEO, General Nanotherapeutics
  • Nicholette Kasman, M.D. Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Division of Cardiac Anesthesia at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
  • Christina Price, M.D., Assistant Professor, Clinical Chief of Allergy and Immunology, Yale University School of Medicine 
  • Timothy Samsel, Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Medtronic
  • Jeffery Yap, Research Professor, Director of the Center for Quantitative Cancer Imaging, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah

Jazz

  • Regina Carter, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient; violinist
  • Peter Erskine, Grammy-winning drummer
  • Bob Mintzer, Grammy-winning saxophonist
  • Byron Stripling, former lead trumpet, Count Basie Jazz Orchestra

Journalism

  • Jesse Green, Chief Theater Critic, The New York Times
  • Jennifer Hauser, Senior Newsdesk Editor, CNN International
  • Mary Kissel, Editorial Board Member, Foreign Edition podcast host, The Wall Street Journal 
  • Josh Lederman, Emmy-winning Correspondent, NBC News
  • Victoria McKenzie, Investigative Journalist, Pulitzer Center award winner
  • Mike Wallace, former Correspondent, 60 Minutes*

Law

  • Hillary Burchuk, Assistant Bureau Chief, FCC; Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Kathleen Frederick, Chief Administrative Law Judge, State of Alaska 
  • Brian Frosh, Maryland Attorney General 
  • Martha Minnow, Professor and former Dean, Harvard Law School 

Leadership 

  • Stephen Hayden, former Vice-Chair and Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Worldwide 
  • David Min, Vice President, Strategic Business Innovation, The Walt Disney Company
  • Andi Owen, President and CEO, MillerKnoll
  • Larry Page, Founder, Google Inc. 

Popular Music

  • Norah Jones, Grammy-winning singer
  • Josh Groban, Grammy-nominated singer
  • Jewel, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter
  • Damian Kulash, Grammy-winning lead singer, OK Go
  • Glen Phillips, singer-songwriter and guitarist, Toad the Wet Sprocket
  • Daya (Grace Martine Tandon), Grammy-winning singer

Theatre 

  • Michael Arden, actor and Tony-nominated director
  • Kristen Caskey, Tony-winning Broadway producer
  • Victoria Clark, Tony winner, Light in the Piazza
  • Barrett Foa, actor, singer, dancer, lead in Avenue Q; NCIS Los Angeles
  • Santino Fontana, Tony winner, Tootsie  
  • Sydney James Harcourt, Emmy and Grammy winner, principal roles in Hamilton, The Lion King
  • Ashley Park, lead in MEAN GIRLS; Emily in Paris 
  • Diane Paulus, Tony-award-winning director, Artistic Director, American Repertory Theater at Harvard University 
  • Anthony Rapp, lead in Rent, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Star Trek: Discovery
  • Sarah Ruhl, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, Tony-nominated playwright
  • Alexandra Silber, Grammy-nominated singer, actor, Masterclass, Fiddler on the Roof
  • Richard Winkler, Five-time Tony- and Olivier-winning producer; lighting designer

Science & Technology

  • Kate Alessi, Director, YouTube/Video Global Solutions, Google
  • Matthew Fischer, Vice President - App Store, Apple
  • Dr. Holly Gilbert, Director of High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research
  • Dr. Fred Hiebert, Archeologist-in-residence, National Geographic
  • Aaron Parness, Principal Research Scientist, Amazon Robotics and AI 
  • Dr. Joyce Wong, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University

Social Justice

  • Gwen Leaffe Carr, activist, Senior Consultant, Native Sourcing
  • Jill Habig, Attorney, Founder and President, Public Rights Project 
  • Julieanna Richardson, Attorney, Founder and Executive Director, The HistoryMakers

Writing

  • Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times bestselling author, Charlotte Holmes series
  • Garth Greenwell, author, What Belongs to You
  • Margo Jefferson, author, Negroland: A Memoir; Professor, Columbia University; Pulitzer Prize-winner for criticism
  • Angie Kim, author, Miracle Creek, Happiness Falls
  • Katie Kitamura, author, A Separation
  • Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet*
  • Doug Stanton, New York Times best-selling author

* Deceased