Motifs: July 2025
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Carl Ellenberger’s (IAC/NMC 54-57; IAC St 60-62, 73-75) new book Mozart in the Woods: Gretna Music’s 50 Years tells how Interlochen inspired a classical music and jazz festival with artists like Dave Brubeck, Emanuel Ax, Sonny Rollins, Hilary Hahn, Stephanie Blythe, Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Stéphane Grappelli, Telegraph Quartet, Lionel Hampton, Conrad Tao, Cleo Lane, Orpheus, Apollo’s Fire, and Interlochen alumni.
Richard Lalli (IAC/NMC 67-68, IAA 68-70) recently retired after a 47-year career at Yale University. In addition to teaching courses on the performance of art songs, Lalli led the Yale Collegium Musicum, helped form and lead the Opera Theater of Yale College, and co-founded the Yale Baroque Opera Project, among numerous other accomplishments.
Gina Tabachki (IAC/NMC 73-74, IAA 75-79, IAC/NMC St 82-83, IAA St 84-86) still lives in Alaska and is pursuing graduate studies in ecological restoration at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She writes, "Interlochen shaped my approach to learning and living. Although I wasn't his student, Mr. Chamberlin's place-based ecology approach caught my attention and became a model for homeschooling our children on our farm in Alaska, focusing their learning on Alaska's remarkable land and people. Beyond Mr. Chamberlin, countless Academy teachers shaped my enduring love of art, education, and nature, which continues to influence me to this day."
Andrea Lentz (IAC St 74-76) was the choreographer for the Camp high school musical in 1974 and 1975, then worked in tickets and information. She met her husband at Camp in 1974; they married in Traverse City in 1975.
Tubist Carol Jantsch (IAC 94-96, 98-99; IAA 99-02; IAC St 02; IAC Fac 05, 21, 24) was recently selected by Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin as the winner of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2025 C. Hartman Kuhn Award. Awarded annually since 1941, the award recognizes an orchestra member who enhances “the standards and reputation of the ensemble.”
Tove Danovich (IAA 04-08) recently launched a new Q&A series titled Revisionary. Every two weeks, Danovich posts an interview with an artist that explores how they approach their work and the process of improving it. The most recent interview features Dance Theatre of Harlem company member and Interlochen alumnus Derek Brockington (IAA 13-15); an interview with visual artist Rae Swon (IAA 04-07) is scheduled for this fall.
Anna Thorup (IAC 09) was selected as one of the Inevitable Foundation’s five 2025 Accelerate Fellows. The six-month fellowship awards differently abled film and television writers $40,000 grants and bespoke mentorships to help them develop a film or television spec script. Co-founded by Interlochen alumnus Richie Siegel (IAA 10-12), the Inevitable Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that invests in disabled writers and filmmakers—empowering them to achieve artistic and financial freedom.
Conor Dailey (IAC 15, 17-18; IAA 15-19; IAC St 19-25) was recently awarded the Fulbright/Lancaster University Award in Faculty of Science and Technology to complete a Masters of Science in Environmental Management during the 2025-2026 academic year. Upon returning to the United States, he will begin doctoral studies in Environmental Science at Ball State University.
Emily Dawn Amos (IAA 17-19) competed in and was named one of the Rising Stars of the Regional Competition for Young Organists (RCYO) of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Each Rising Star received a monetary award and will perform next year at the 2026 National AGO Convention in St. Louis.
Carolyn Hoff (IAC 17, 19; IAA 20-22; IAA St 23) was one of four young organists from across the country named an "AGO Rising Star" in the Regional Competitions for Young Organists (RCYO) at the American Guild of Organists summer conventions. A rising senior at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she has been invited to perform at the AGO's 2026 National Convention in St. Louis.
Trombonist Chris González (IAC 18-19, IAA 18-20, IAC St 21-24) performed with Puerto Rican Reggaeton artist, Yandel, on his 2025 SINFÓNICO USA Tour, at the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico; The Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, Florida; The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida; The SummerStage in Central Park in New York City; and The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
During the American Prize’s annual Independence Day Honors, composer and six-time American Prize winner Martin Hebel (IAC Fac 24-25) was recognized as a member of the 2025 class of Honored Artists of the American Prize. Honored Artists are individuals (or ensembles) who have demonstrated sustained excellence over a number of seasons as laureates of The American Prize competitions.
