Oral History Interview with Anitra Haapa Mercer

This oral history is provided free by the Archives of the Interlochen Center for the Arts (ARTICA). It has been accepted for inclusion in Interlochen’s audio archive by an authorized administrator of Interlochen Center for the Arts. For more information, please contact archives@interlochen.org.

00:00:00    BRAD BAILEY
Today is July 3rd, 2024. This is an oral history interview with:

00:00:05    ANITRA MERCER
Anitra Haapa Mercer,

00:00:07    BRAD BAILEY
Conducted by Brad Bailey on the campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. So can you tell me your name and then spell your name as well for me?

00:00:14    ANITRA MERCER
Okay. Anitra Haapa Mercer. A n i t r a, Haapa is H a a p a, Mercer, M e r c e r.

00:00:26    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful. And so can you tell me where you were born? And what was your childhood like?

00:00:30    ANITRA MERCER
I was born in Detroit in 1943, and I lived in Pleasant Ridge, which is, probably are not familiar with Michigan, is between Ferndale and Royal Oak, off of Woodward Avenue. My father was a music teacher. We lived in a very nice, quiet neighborhood. Pretty much my two sisters and my life were all music. That was our main thing to do in growing up, but we went on family vacations. I loved my mother and father. They taught us a lot of things. They disciplined us, they sent us to Interlochen. They were really.. taught us a lot of morals. And growing up, I couldn't have asked for better parents.

00:01:09    BRAD BAILEY
And what years were these growing up near Detroit?

00:01:11    ANITRA MERCER
Well, it was- I was born in '43, and I lived in the same house until I went off to college in '62. I guess '62 or '63.

00:01:21    BRAD BAILEY
Okay, great. And so you mentioned that there was a lot of music in your childhood before Interlochen. So give me a little bit more details about that.

00:01:29    ANITRA MERCER
Well, I started violin when I was eight years old in public schools in Ferndale, they had a, they have a wonderful string program and band program and choir program there when we were there. And I started playing the violin through the school programs. And then Priscilla was playing the cello. And then I have- had an older sister, Kathe, who also played the violin. So there were three of us, and my father played the piano. And in the spring we all had private lessons, and as I recall, mine were all from the Detroit Symphony. I think my two sisters also took from Detroit Symphony members, so we would work on a solo every year. Plus we do a lot of string trio for two violins and the cello and the piano. And then my father and mother, they'd invite the neighbors over to our house. My mother was a wonderful cook and homemaker and baker. She would bake all this great stuff and have that ready, and they would come over. And we actually had professionally printed programs with our names and what we played. And those are treasures to have at this stage of my life. So we did that quite often, and we played in some women's symphony, and I don't know, we just played as much as we could. My father just saw to it that we just were busy with our music.

00:02:44    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful. And so how did you initially come to learn about Interlochen?

00:02:50    ANITRA MERCER
Probably through my father.

00:02:51    BRAD BAILEY
Tell me about that.

00:02:52    ANITRA MERCER
He was a teacher, and I don't remember. My first year here was 1957 for the All-State Intermediate Orchestra. And Priscilla came with me. She and I were in that orchestra together, as I recall.

00:03:06    BRAD BAILEY
How much younger is Priscilla?

00:03:08    ANITRA MERCER
14 months.

00:03:09    BRAD BAILEY
Do you have an older sister?

00:03:10    ANITRA MERCER
I did, Kathe. Yeah. She was older than I am. She was a violinist. She had been at Interlochen, too. She was at Michigan State majoring in music. When she was 20, she was killed in a car accident.

00:03:21    BRAD BAILEY
Oh, goodness.

00:03:22    ANITRA MERCER
And that was devastating to our family. And back then, my father and mother set up a scholarship fund through our high school orchestra for scholarships to come to Interlochen in her name, in her memory.

00:03:35    BRAD BAILEY
Oh, wow.

00:03:36    ANITRA MERCER
And that went on for quite a while.

00:03:38    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. And so go back with the timetable, though. So did Kathe come to Interlochen before?

00:03:43    ANITRA MERCER
She did. She and I were here for the All-State High School orchestra.

00:03:47    BRAD BAILEY
All right, so let's back up a little bit. So your father's interaction with Interlochen, what was his like?

00:03:52    ANITRA MERCER
I don't necessarily had interaction with it. My father graduated from the University of Michigan.

00:03:57    BRAD BAILEY
Got it.

00:03:57    ANITRA MERCER
And he probably knew about Joseph Maddy. Other than that, I don't have any clear memories. Maybe Priscilla does, but I just remember that we came up here.

00:04:07    BRAD BAILEY
Got it, got it. And that was, sorry you came up here your first summer with the All-State.

00:04:11    ANITRA MERCER
Right.

00:04:12    BRAD BAILEY
Okay, great. And talk to me about that summer.

00:04:14    ANITRA MERCER
Okay. Well, coming up, I was kind of the shy, probably the shyest of the three girls. And I was crying when they left. I did not want to come up here. I didn't know.

00:04:24    BRAD BAILEY
How old were you again?

00:04:25    ANITRA MERCER
I was probably maybe 11.

00:04:28    BRAD BAILEY
Okay.

00:04:28    ANITRA MERCER
11 or 12. I didn't want to come up here. I was crying, but then when I went home two weeks later, I was crying because I didn't want to leave. So I was crying on either end.

00:04:43    BRAD BAILEY
So you were here just two weeks after summer?

00:04:45    ANITRA MERCER
Yeah, the All-State program.

00:04:46    BRAD BAILEY
Okay, great. What was your first interaction or sort of thoughts about the place when you first came up here that first time?

00:04:51    ANITRA MERCER
Well, just we lived in these cabins on bunk beds and things were pretty rustic, but I remember I still have the pictures of the girls in the cabin. That part was fine. I don't remember a whole lot of details. That was 67 years ago.

00:05:07    BRAD BAILEY
Yes.

00:05:08    ANITRA MERCER
Yes, it was a long time ago. But I think what I, and maybe this is a question to ask me later, but Interlochen to me made me such a better player. The competition here, you know, I was good in my home orchestra, but you come here and it's like, whoa, there's a lot of kids who are even better than you are. And I think it really pushed me to become a better musician and better performer. And just all the skills you learned about being in a big orchestra. And it was wonderful.

00:05:37    BRAD BAILEY
What instrument do you play?

00:05:38    ANITRA MERCER
Violin.

00:05:39    BRAD BAILEY
Violin. You mentioned that. And so talk to me about the next summer you came to Interlochen.

00:05:42    ANITRA MERCER
Okay. Then we came in 1958. The next summer, then my sister, older sister Kathe, and I came for the high school orchestra for the two week program. All-State.

00:05:52    BRAD BAILEY
That was the third summer you came.

00:05:53    ANITRA MERCER
That was the second.

00:05:54    BRAD BAILEY
The second. Sorry. The second.

00:05:55    ANITRA MERCER
That was the second summer time that we came. I really don't remember that much about it. I look at the picture of our cabin. I can remember some of the girls, not all of their names.

00:06:05    BRAD BAILEY
Any names you do remember?

00:06:07    ANITRA MERCER
Well, yeah. Martha Meyer. She was in my high school orchestra at home, too. And Cynthia Rodgers, she was came from my home high school, too. So there were kids from our high school who came up here. So I think Mildred Batchelor, who was our director, knew about Interlochen, too.

00:06:25    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. And what high school was that in?

00:06:27    ANITRA MERCER
Ferndale High School?

00:06:28    BRAD BAILEY
Ferndale. You mentione that. And so Kathe, had Kathe been here before in the previous year before?

00:06:33    ANITRA MERCER
You know, I don't know.

00:06:34    BRAD BAILEY
No worries.

00:06:35    ANITRA MERCER
Possibly. I, we were just kids then. I don't really remember.

00:06:38    BRAD BAILEY
So the next summer you were probably like 12 years old or something.

00:06:41    ANITRA MERCER
I well, when I came to high school, I was a freshman. I had just finished my freshman year in high school.

00:06:47    BRAD BAILEY
Got it, got it.

00:06:48    ANITRA MERCER
And Kathe probably was a junior. I think she was two years ahead of me.

00:06:53    BRAD BAILEY
Okay. So tell me your next time that you came to Interlochen after that second summer?

00:06:57    ANITRA MERCER
1962.

00:06:58    BRAD BAILEY
Okay.

00:06:59    ANITRA MERCER
That's when I came for a university division.

00:07:01    BRAD BAILEY
Okay.

00:07:01    ANITRA MERCER
I was here for eight weeks.

00:07:03    BRAD BAILEY
And how old were you then?

00:07:04    ANITRA MERCER
I was 19.

00:07:05    BRAD BAILEY
19. Okay.

00:07:06    ANITRA MERCER
Mhm.

00:07:07    BRAD BAILEY
And had Kathe passed away at that time?

00:07:09    ANITRA MERCER
She did. What's interesting about that. She passed away. She was killed in a car accident on April 15th, 1962. And that summer, my parents.. well, Priscilla was here for eight weeks in the high school division. She can talk about that. My parents sent us here for the summer, and they went on a trip. They went back to Scandinavia, where my father's relatives, we have Finnish in our background. This took a trip around Europe while we were here. And I think it was this- it had just happened in April that my sister passed away. It was hard on all of us, and I think that was their way of coping. And it was probably good for me because my mind was on a lot of other things rather than on missing my sister.

00:07:55    BRAD BAILEY
Yeah. So how was that summer, musically and in other ways?

00:07:59    ANITRA MERCER
It was wonderful. I had a lot more freedom, I think. I took two theory classes through University of Michigan when I got credit for. I worked in the flower shop, which was down in the basement of the hotel, and Mrs. Wilson, whose husband was one of the big wigs here at Interlochen. She was kind of my boss. And as I recall, we had fresh flowers. Back then, they didn't have the cafeteria like they- it was a dining room. And I recall we had fresh like, wildflowers on each table every day, which I was doing that, and they were making big arrangements if they were having some big event going on. So that was my job, and it was really kind of a nice job to have. And it took money off of my fees to come here. So. Yeah.

00:08:44    BRAD BAILEY
You played the violin again that summer, correct?

00:08:46    ANITRA MERCER
Yes.

00:08:46    BRAD BAILEY
And so how did your sort of.. your musicianship, so to speak, how did that improve or how did that develop over that summer? Because now you're dealing with a lot that summer. And so how did your musicianship-

00:08:56    ANITRA MERCER
You know, again, I don't have a lot of memories. I played in the university orchestra, which included all the counselors and people who worked here who, university age. So it was a lot. It was a good orchestra. It was fun to play in. I really, I can't even tell you one piece we played, I just I knew I played in the orchestra, but I really don't have a lot of memory other than that.

00:09:18    BRAD BAILEY
No worries, no worries. And so after that summer, what happened next? Was that your last summer at Interlochen?

00:09:23    ANITRA MERCER
Yes. That was the last time I was at Interlochen then. Yeah. Then I went and finished college and became a music teacher.

00:09:29    BRAD BAILEY
Tell me about that.

00:09:31    ANITRA MERCER
I mean, it was really kind of a given. I mean, my whole life was music, and I loved teaching violin. I was hired down in Detroit suburbs, in Troy for a year, teaching vocal music, elementary vocal music. And then I went to Birmingham. I really wanted to teach strings, and I was in Birmingham.

00:09:50    BRAD BAILEY
Alabama?

00:09:51    ANITRA MERCER
No, no. Michigan.

00:09:51    BRAD BAILEY
Michigan. Michigan. Michigan.

00:09:53    ANITRA MERCER
Yeah. And I think the first year I taught vocal music, but then I got into strings, which I really liked. I taught beginning strings and it was a huge school system. I don't know how many schools, how many music teachers. It was a big place, but I really, I really enjoyed teaching. And then I was also teaching privately at that time too. So through the years, I left there in '71 because my husband, who was teaching in Detroit, got a job teaching up in Houghton Lake, which is the middle of the state here. I don't know if you know where Houghton Lake is. He got a job coaching basketball. He could never be a head coach, probably. He was in an all black school in Detroit. Actually, it was in the same area where the riots started in '67. But he got along really well with the kids there, especially the guys, because he was a good basketball player, he said they really watched my back. Anyway, so we moved up to Houghton Lake in '71. I had just had my first child. She was born in July. We moved up here at the end of August and we have been there now for 52 years.

00:10:51    BRAD BAILEY
Oh wow. And so where did you go to college again?

00:10:53    ANITRA MERCER
I went to Ottawa University in Kansas. It's a small private.. What is it called?

00:10:58    BRAD BAILEY
What? Liberal arts college.

00:11:00    ANITRA MERCER
Thank you. Liberal arts college. Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, I had to pass a division on every single of all the six things. So we really got a good rounded education with that.

00:11:10    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful.

00:11:11    ANITRA MERCER
It was a small school in that, it was better for me than going to a big school, because I'm more of a quiet, shy type. I'm a lot more open now. But back then, I mean, you stick me in the corner. I say, just don't look at me. Don't talk to me. I've grown up a lot since then.

00:11:26    BRAD BAILEY
Okay. And so did you do any music at Ottawa?

00:11:29    ANITRA MERCER
Yes. I took lessons there from a good teacher, and Suzuki was just starting to come in. I graduated in '66 from college, and Suzuki method was just starting to come in at that time. So I learned a little bit about it. But I never liked the idea of learning by rote. I liked to learn by note. So I never taught the Suzuki method, but I used his books because I think they were are wonderful solos in there. And I also teach piano too. And I taught viola. Cello too, if necessary.

00:11:59    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. Okay.

00:11:59    ANITRA MERCER
Privately. Mhm.

00:12:01    BRAD BAILEY
And so tell me about your sort of range of musical classes you've had over the past few years. Before we dive back into Interlochen, tell me about some of those experiences you've had as a music teacher in different ways.

00:12:13    ANITRA MERCER
Okay. Well, there were some funny times. Can I tell you about the funny times?

00:12:16    BRAD BAILEY
Anytime. Anything you wish.

00:12:18    ANITRA MERCER
I had this one little boy, Cody. He was about this tall. I think he was in third grade. He had red hair and freckles. The cutest little kid. He had gone to some country jamboree in the summer, and he wanted to play the fiddle really bad. So he had his little, I don't know, half size, maybe violin, three quarters size. And, you know Cody, he was never very good at it. But I can remember one lesson he just went *scratching violin noises*. He stops and looks at his boy and said, "My rosin ain't working". And I said, "There's a lot more than your rosin." But I also had students who were really good, excelled, and they were fun to work with. So I've just had a variety of students through the years.

00:13:01    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. Well, how did your experience at Interlochen shape your musical teaching career?

00:13:07    ANITRA MERCER
Well it, again, it taught me a lot to make me more professional. Just the idea of playing with other kids who were good musicians, learning to play together in an orchestra, that nice big orchestra. And just my love of music. You know, there's nothing nicer than being a really nice big- We had a big orchestra at my high school too, but nothing like we had here at Interlochen, and it was thrilling to be able to do that. I just, I don't know what else I can say. It certainly made my love of music stronger, for sure. I never took private lessons here, but my private teachers I did have taught me a lot, and a lot that I do as a teacher is how I was taught too.

00:13:53    BRAD BAILEY
Tell me more about that.

00:13:54    ANITRA MERCER
Oh, boy. Just learning about the different positions, I guess, and just different things they had me do. I can't tell you exactly. I mean, it was so long ago that was. I just don't remember exact details to that. But, I mean, they taught me a lot. My father made sure we had the best teachers and the best instruments. He was just a music teacher. And so he didn't make a lot of money. But eventually he also became a part time stockbroker. And that's what helped send us to college. We girls did not have to pay for our college at all. He paid for us to go to college. So, but getting back to Interlochen, it's just the whole experience. I mean, I can't narrow it down to one person. It's just everyone. There was nothing about Interlochen I disliked.

00:14:37    BRAD BAILEY
So you were here with Kathe..

00:14:39    ANITRA MERCER
'58.

00:14:40    BRAD BAILEY
Well, how many summers were you with? One summer?

00:14:42    ANITRA MERCER
One summer with her.

00:14:43    BRAD BAILEY
And Priscilla? How many summers?

00:14:44    ANITRA MERCER
I think just that one summer..

00:14:46    BRAD BAILEY
After Kathryn passed away?

00:14:47    ANITRA MERCER
Well, she. No, she was here in '62.

00:14:48    BRAD BAILEY
Okay, so.

00:14:49    ANITRA MERCER
That's when my parents. We both came to Interlochen for eight weeks.

00:14:52    BRAD BAILEY
So Priscilla was here two of those summers.

00:14:54    ANITRA MERCER
Well, she was here for the All-State. We were just here for the All-State.

00:14:57    BRAD BAILEY
That 1?

00:14:57    ANITRA MERCER
'57.

00:14:58    BRAD BAILEY
Okay.

00:14:58    ANITRA MERCER
For the two week program.

00:15:00    BRAD BAILEY
Sorry. Well, yeah. But then again, you were- she was here also in '62.

00:15:03    ANITRA MERCER
For eight weeks.

00:15:04    BRAD BAILEY
For eight weeks. Got it.

00:15:05    ANITRA MERCER
Correct.

00:15:05    BRAD BAILEY
And so tell me about your experiences with Kathe here. Any experiences that you can recall that really stick out with you, that you even think about today, that you had with your sister who's gone?

00:15:15    ANITRA MERCER
As far as Interlochen? You mean? I don't even remember her being here when I was there, so it was too long ago, I just can't. We're 50 years too late with this story.

00:15:24    BRAD BAILEY
No. It's fine. I think we're right on time. You mentioned that there was not one particular person that stuck out, but were there people who made impressions on you? Any particular people that you can probably recall today? No worries. If not.

00:15:38    ANITRA MERCER
Well, I mean, probably the conductors that I had, I think it was something Gunther for the middle school and then Marvin Rabin, I think did the high school orchestra, I mean, they were very good. I didn't know them personally. One thing about Interlochen that was, they didn't especially like, is what we had bloody Mondays.

00:15:58    BRAD BAILEY
What's a Bloody Monday?

00:15:59    ANITRA MERCER
You could challenge. Say I want to be up in fourth chair. I'm going to challenge that person. And you're always like, at least me. Because I was just so timid. I thought, please, no one call my name. But that's what we did. You know, if you wanted to be in a higher chair, that's how you got in a higher chair in the section.

00:16:17    BRAD BAILEY
Did you ever do a bloody Monday?

00:16:19    ANITRA MERCER
I think I probably was challenged, I don't remember, I just remember I didn't like bloody Mondays.

00:16:26    BRAD BAILEY
I can imagine. And so what's your favorite place on the campus?

00:16:31    ANITRA MERCER
Well back during that day it was a wishing well. That was where we all hung out together was at the wishing well.

00:16:37    BRAD BAILEY
And tell me about some of those, if you can.

00:16:39    ANITRA MERCER
I don't know, just being with my friends, and especially when I was here for the University Division, I had a lot more freedom. We didn't have hours. Not that I could go anywhere, but. Well, the one summer I was here, Van Cliburn was here. Now, that was very exciting to hear him play. And they took pictures of us that we could buy. They had a picture of his hands. They were unbelievable. Just unbelievable. I think he had just won the European Championship Piano Concerto.

00:17:09    BRAD BAILEY
Okay.

00:17:10    ANITRA MERCER
And since I was University Division, underneath the bottom part of Kresge on the lake side, there was a big room for those of us that University Division or probably counselors who were too, we could go there, hang out together and just enjoy being together. And he was down there one time, so I got to meet him. And that was kind of a highlight of Interlochen being able to meet him.

00:17:31    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. Was it just the experience of being around someone or what was it about it that really does stick out with you today?

00:17:37    ANITRA MERCER
I mean, with him?

00:17:38    BRAD BAILEY
Yes. With him. Yeah.

00:17:40    ANITRA MERCER
Well, he was a big celebrity at that time. It was like, wow, that was pretty exciting to be that close to someone who was so well known, a worldly, well-known person. And he played with, I think, the World Youth Symphony concert. I can't remember what he played, maybe the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, but it was just thrilling. I mean, the whole thing about Interlochen Sunday mornings we would have, they call it a worship service. It really wasn't because there were so many different religions here, but the music was fabulous, the college worship and the things we sang. It was just so wonderful. Sunday mornings were nice because Sunday was sort of a day off too, but that's how we started it. I just have to tell you this one story. I don't know if I should tell you the story or not, but I will. You can x it out.

00:18:22    BRAD BAILEY
You have the opportunity to take it out if you wish.

00:18:24    ANITRA MERCER
Or you can if you want. But when I was here in '62 for University Division, one of the girls here, we lived in the dorm which is behind the cafeteria now. That's where we lived. I had a roommate from New York, I remember, Gail. Anyway, one of the other girls there was Arthur Miller's daughter. I knew who she was. She was here for drama. I did not know her. I wasn't involved in anything.

00:18:47    BRAD BAILEY
What year is this?

00:18:48    ANITRA MERCER
'62.

00:18:49    BRAD BAILEY
Oh, wow.

00:18:49    ANITRA MERCER
I was not involved in any classes, or- I was an orchestra, she was in drama. But back in the day, we had this big wooden mailbox slot. So all the A letters were here, B, C and so on. Nothing was locked up. So you could really get into anyone's mail if you wanted to. Which I didn't do. But this one particular Sunday morning got up and everyone was talking about Marilyn Monroe had just died the night before. It was like she was a big icon back in the 50s.

00:19:19    BRAD BAILEY
She still is.

00:19:21    ANITRA MERCER
She still is. And Arthur Miller was married to her at one time.

00:19:26    BRAD BAILEY
That's true. He wasn't married to her at her death, but he was married.

00:19:28    ANITRA MERCER
He was married to her. Yeah. So his daughter was here in the University Division. So a couple friends and I, we thought, I know she's going to get a letter from her father. Everything was snail mail back then. We didn't have computers or anything, so we watched every day. Finally, a day came and there was a letter to her, handwritten, we didn't open it, from her father with the return address in his handwriting. We wanted to steam it open in the worst way and see what it said, but we didn't. We were good girls. But that was a part of history, which was quite interesting.

00:20:05    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. No, I can imagine it was. I can imagine it was. And so you don't know the name of his daughter? One of his daughters there.

00:20:11    ANITRA MERCER
I used to know her first name. I can't recall it right now, but she was here in '62 for the university too.

00:20:18    BRAD BAILEY
Okay. What was her reaction to her former stepmother's passing?

00:20:22    ANITRA MERCER
I don't know, I didn't know her personally. I just knew who she was. But I bet that letter was interesting that her father wrote her right after her- Marilyn's death.

00:20:31    BRAD BAILEY
Yeah. Her stepmother's death. Yeah, right. That was a story. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for that. And so have you come back to Interlochen in the intervening years?

00:20:39    ANITRA MERCER
Oh, yes. Many times.

00:20:40    BRAD BAILEY
Tell me about that.

00:20:41    ANITRA MERCER
Well, the DSO played here every summer, and my niece-

00:20:45    BRAD BAILEY
Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the record.

00:20:47    ANITRA MERCER
Detroit Symphony Orchestra played. Priscilla, I'm not going to go on to all of her family background, but you will find out from her. Always came up here to see the orchestra. See Shonda perform and spend some time with her. We also would come up sometimes to the World Youth Symphony concerts on Sunday afternoon because they were so good. And also my husband liked the jazz and percussion, sometimes would go to that. Been up here for some of the ballets at Corson through the years. their winter ballets. Been up here for other concerts through the years. Then I had four children. Three of them came to Interlochen also.

00:21:22    BRAD BAILEY
Oh, wow. Okay.

00:21:23    ANITRA MERCER
For the All-State program.

00:21:25    BRAD BAILEY
For All-State. Okay.

00:21:26    ANITRA MERCER
Yeah.

00:21:27    BRAD BAILEY
So in many ways, what keeps you sort of coming back to this place?

00:21:31    ANITRA MERCER
Like you said earlier, it's a magical place. There's a place no other like this place. You come back here and it's just, you know, smelling the clean air and the blue skies, and it's just wonderful memories. I don't have any bad memories of coming here at all. So everything is very positive. And when we come to concerts and they play the Interlochen theme, I always get tears in my eyes.

00:21:54    BRAD BAILEY
Wow.

00:21:55    ANITRA MERCER
It just there's something about that theme in my great nephew is playing in a concert tonight. Elliot, I'm not going to get into her side of the family. So they'll be playing the Interlochen theme tonight and I'll be tearing up. Oh, it's just something special. It's something that just binds us all together. All the generations who have been up here at Interlochen. Because that's one thing that has remained constant through all the years. They always play the Interlochen theme at the end of a concert.

00:22:21    BRAD BAILEY
Wow. Well, I'll try to come tonight to it for sure. And how would you describe Interlochen to someone who hasn't experienced it?

00:22:29    ANITRA MERCER
If you want to get better musically, if you want to play with a lot of people who love music, this is the place to be. Or drama. I mean, it offers so many things. So I don't know, I just can't say anything negative about it. It's just a wonderful place to grow as a musician. meet lots of people from different countries, different states. It's an amazing place and I got to meet Dr. Maddy when I was here and Mrs. Maddy. And at the time I- well, I knew he was a president, but no big deal. But as I get older, I think, oh my gosh, I shook hands with royalty. You know, really, when you realize who he was and I can remember, I don't know where this stupid- it came from a Tchaikovsky symphony.. We used to sing "Everybody loves Mrs. Maddy, Everybody loves Mrs. Maddy." I remember singing that.

00:23:25    BRAD BAILEY
When did you meet Joe Maddy and his wife?

00:23:27    ANITRA MERCER
I don't remember which year it was. When I was here. I really don't remember. But there was a reception and we just went through a line and got to shake hands with them and meet both of them. It was very quick, but that was, like I said at the time, I didn't realize this was really historic to be able to meet him, because people today can't do that. And he was the one who came up here with the dream with all the pines and made this happen. I mean, it's amazing vision he had.

00:23:54    BRAD BAILEY
And what do you mean by that? Explain with that the amazing vision he had. What did you think that vision was?

00:23:58    ANITRA MERCER
Well, he had to be up here, away from the city, I think. Having music. Having a place to play music and enjoy music up in Northern Michigan. I think one of the songs, Priscilla probably knows it.. "Sound The Call to dear old Interlochen, oh, Sound The Call to dear old Interlochen, land of the Stately Pines", something like that. One of the songs. Then there was another Interlochen song we used to sing, and they don't sing it anymore. I don't know what, why not.

00:24:29    BRAD BAILEY
That's okay, that's okay. And so what is your hope for Interlochen's future?

00:24:34    ANITRA MERCER
Well, I hope it just continues on and offers the same quality which they are. I don't see any. I'm not involved that much with it anymore. Just occasionally come up here, but you come back here. The practice cabins all look the same, the cabins all look the same. They haven't changed in 62 years. So, you know, it is what it is. It's a lot of it's the same. And I know some of the stuff they do is different now. Like they don't have challenges anymore I guess, which I was kind of disappointed to hear that because if you're sitting in the back of a section, this goes back to Bloody Monday and the back of a section, and you've practiced and you want to move up a desk or two, you have no way to do that now, which I think is too bad. I'm sorry to see that they don't have that for kids who are in the back, because I think it somehow is like, well, why do I have to get any better? I'm going to be back here anyway. You know, maybe that attitude about that is missing, which I think should they should be doing, but I'm not in charge.

00:25:38    BRAD BAILEY
So what is your advice then, for future Interlochen students?

00:25:42    ANITRA MERCER
Prepare to learn a lot. You'll have a place in your heart when you leave, that will never leave you. Interlochen will always be a part of you. The whole experience. I mean everything about it. The scenery, the smells in the air of the lake and the pine trees, the music. Walk through the campus. You hear different people practicing. You hear orchestras and bands, choirs practicing. It's just a wonderful place to be.

00:26:09    BRAD BAILEY
Before I get to my last question, I'm curious now that you've gotten to, you know, to 80, how do you look at your life with regard to music and Interlochen and the trajectory that your life took?

00:26:19    ANITRA MERCER
Well, first of all, I have to thank my parents because they're the ones that made us. There were times we wanted to quit. I wanted to go outside and play after school, but we had to practice. And one of like, Kathe was up on the third floor or the second floor of the house, maybe Priscilla, I in the main area of the house and the other one in the basement. We were all practicing. We had to practice before we could go out and play or do anything, And at the time didn't always like it. But I thank my parents every day for the discipline they gave us in music, in the opportunities they gave us. And one is coming to Interlochen, being able to come here and become better musicians and see more of a whole wide world of music, of what's out there.

00:27:01    BRAD BAILEY
And how do you think this place has shaped your life over the past eight decades?

00:27:05    ANITRA MERCER
I don't know, someone else would have to say that, I guess. I don't know, I'm just- it's just me. It's a big part of the fabric of my life. It will always be when I ever hear someone talk about Interlochen. Oh, going have- were you at Interlochen? You know, kind of have that little camaraderie there. I don't know how to put it in words other than it has made my life the way it is. I mean, it has helped me as a musician, as a teacher, as someone who just appreciates music and appreciates what people can do.

00:27:36    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful, wonderful. And so, last question why does art matter in the world today to you?

00:27:42    ANITRA MERCER
Oh my gosh. It is so important. And unfortunately in schools sometimes the first things to go are music programs. Used to be that way, I don't know so much anymore, but back in my day, music was one of the first things to be cut if they didn't have the budget. And music is so important for children who may or may not go into it full time. I used to have a poster, a big poster about this big on the wall by my piano, which the piano that I teach on and play on is kind of a smaller grand, but it's the one that my father gave me lessons on growing up. So I still have that piano. And I had this poster and it was a poster of two little kids, a little girl, a little boy sitting on a piano bench. Their back is to the picture. And then all around the grand piano are adults with different uniforms, like doctors, like lawyers, like pilots. And the caption says, "Success in music. Success in life. It's no coincidence." I love that.

00:28:45    BRAD BAILEY
That is beautiful.

00:28:46    ANITRA MERCER
I love for my students to see that because music, you know, doctors do- a lot of them are musicians. It's just interesting. And it is, I think it if you start music when you're young, it gives you a discipline. You have to practice. If you're going to get better. No one else can practice for you. It just gives you certain disciplines that other, maybe other things can't.

00:29:04    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful. Well, well, thank you so much for your conversation. Is there anything you think we missed or that you'd like to add?

00:29:10    ANITRA MERCER
I can't think of anything except I love Interlochen, and every time I come back it looks so much the same. And it's wonderful. I'm just so happy for all the other kids who are here now and are able to be a part of this wonderful Camp experience.

00:29:24    BRAD BAILEY
Wonderful, wonderful. Well, thank you so much for your conversation today. Today is July 3rd, 2024. This concludes an oral history interview with.

00:29:34    ANITRA MERCER
Anitra Haapa Mercer.

00:29:35    BRAD BAILEY
Conducted by Brad Bailey on the campus of Interlochen Center for the Arts. Anitra, thank you so much for your time today. It was wonderful.

00:29:41    ANITRA MERCER
Thank you very much.