Oral History Interview with Brenna Lantz-Lewis

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 BRADFORD BAILEY  
Today is July 7, 2024 this is an oral history interview with,

00:00:05    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Brenna Lantz-Lewis

00:00:06    BRADFORD BAILEY  
conducted by Brad Bailey of the campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Nice to meet you today, Brenna.

00:00:12    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Good to speak to you.

00:00:13    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so can you tell me where you were born and what your childhood was like?

00:00:16    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I was born in Lansing, Michigan, and I grew up with four older siblings, playing music, going to schools. I went to Okemos Public Schools for most of my time, and then I came up in the summers to Interlochen.

00:00:31    BRADFORD BAILEY  
What years did you first start coming up to Interlochen?

00:00:34    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
My very first year at Interlochen was 2011, when my parents started working here. I was enrolled as a camper for the first time in 2012.

00:00:43    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay, so we'll get to that, um, talk to me about your siblings and your parents relations to music and to Interlochen.

00:00:49    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Okay, so my dad is a musician. He's a band director in the Lansing area, and he's a percussionist, that's how I got into playing percussion. He he's an alumni of Interlochen as well. He did the all state program, and then he worked here right out of high school. And then my mom was kind of just brought into all of that, just marrying my dad. And then my siblings, my oldest sister, she's, she's a visual artist, so she went here for that. And then one of my brothers also went for visual arts, but he didn't really continue that. And then another brother, he went for cello.

00:01:32    BRADFORD BAILEY  
What year did your father come here as a as a student, right? Correct?

00:01:37    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes as a student. It must have been in the 80s, early 80s.

00:01:41    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So what kind of stories did you hear about Interlochen before actually, physically coming here?

00:01:46    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I don't, I don't think I did hear anything about it just being so young. I mean, the first time I was on campus, I was six years old, so I honestly don't remember before that.

00:01:57    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So what were your earliest impressions at six years old of Interlochen?

00:02:00    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I remember kind of thinking of it as my playground, because it's just kind of where I grew up in the summers. So I would just run around and climb the trees and go by the lakefront and just do whatever on Pine side, because that's where I was living with my parents.

00:02:17    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay great. So they started after they were, your father was a student here. What years did he come back to teach?

00:02:23    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
He came back, so he was, he was a faculty in the early 2000s but he came back as a director of Intermediate boys in 2011, so that was my first time here.

00:02:35    BRADFORD BAILEY  
The first time here. Great, and you spent the whole summer?

00:02:38    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Might have been half the summer.

00:02:40    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay, would you spend the summer?

00:02:46    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes.

00:02:46    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Part of the summer.

00:02:46    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes.

00:02:46    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so you were six years old, so tell me about the next few experiences you had coming back to Interlochen.

00:02:47    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So then my next year, I went back as a day camper. So I was living with my parents, but going to all my classes during the day. So I was a general art student. I think I took mostly visual arts classes, dance classes, and I think I took one creative writing class.

00:03:05    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So this was summer or the year?

00:03:09    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS  
This was summer,

00:03:09    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Got it got it.

00:03:09    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
summer, 2012

00:03:09    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay, good, good.

00:03:10    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yeah. So my first, my first two years, were just general arts, just floating around different classes. I think I did music exploration and environmental exploration. A lot of the classic Junior courses.

00:03:24    BRADFORD BAILEY
Well, so tell me about the next few years.

00:03:26    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Then the my third year, I was a piano major. So I was still in, you know, the choir and taking some electives, but my main classes were piano. So I was taking piano private lessons and all of that. And then I came back a couple years later as an Intermediate and I studied percussion for-

00:03:47    BRADFORD BAILEY  
2015 at this time?

00:03:48    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
This would have been 2018.

00:03:50    BRADFORD BAILEY  
18. Okay.

00:03:51    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yeah, so 2018 and 2019 I was a percussionist in the Intermediate division. And then I came back again in 2021, and did the percussion intensives program.

00:04:04    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay. And then tell me about after that, your relation to Interlochen after that.

00:04:08    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So after that, I came back again, fall of 2021 and began studying at the Academy,

00:04:16    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay.

00:04:16    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
And then I kept studying, and I graduated in 2023.

00:04:20    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Congratulations. Congratulations. So then this year, you're back as-

00:04:24    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Now I'm back as an alumni and parent engagement intern.

00:04:28    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Wonderful. And so talk to me then about, so that's a relationship with Interlochen for almost like, you know, 13 or 14 years, correct?

00:04:37    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Right, yes.

00:04:38    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so over all these times, what's what keeps you connected back to Interlochen? What keeps you coming back?

00:04:47    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think I enjoy the balance of things. How you have the arts and nature, which are my two favorite things, and that's balance. So I can have my places of solitude on the campus in nature, and then I can go to a rehearsal and go make music right after.

00:05:05    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Wow, and so and what else? What else personally makes you feel connected to this place?

00:05:11    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think I have a lot of friends here, and a lot of just stories that date back from so long ago. I mean, I walk around campus, and I remember a tree that I climbed when I was six years old, and I remember throwing rocks somewhere when I was seven years old. So I think I just have a lot to look back on that's really enjoyable for me.

00:05:32    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Well, let's dive a little bit deeper into that. What are some of the most outstanding memories you have of this place as you contemplate your time here?

00:05:41    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think my favorite memories are probably once I got older and I was a percussionist, and my interactions with the other percussionists. So as an Intermediate, I remember I had a really good group of friends with the other percussionists. We would all hang around after ensembles and go to melody freeze, and we just had a great camaraderie between us all. Yeah, I think that was, I think that was probably my favorite part, just going to rehearsals with them and doing whatever in the back of the ensemble and just spending time with them.

00:06:15    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Wow, nice. And so tell me about a person, who are some of your most memorable people that you remember here, whether it be counselors or students or mentors, and why?

00:06:26    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think my most memorable person is my friend Deqi Mu who I'm still friends with. So I went, I met her in 2018 as an Intermediate percussionist, and then spent 2019, the summer of 2019 with her as well, and then I eventually went to Academy with her. She's just, for one, she's an incredible musician. Just watching her play, she's always been inspirational to me. She's always had something that I've always aimed for, just in the way she performs and and then just as a person, the way she carries herself and the way she interacts with other people. She comes off as very confident, but it's never abrasive, and she was just a great person to spend time with. And she was kind of my comfort person for a lot of Academy and for camp, just my favorite person to go back to and to spend time with.

00:07:19    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Wow. And how what do you spend time with her now? Do you know see her now?

00:07:22    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes. So we go to different colleges, so we don't see each other often.

00:07:27    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Where does she go?

00:07:27    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
She goes to Peabody Conservatory.

00:07:29    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay.

00:07:30    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So I call her when I can, every once in a while, and we try to stay up to date with each other.

00:07:36    BRADFORD BAILEY  
That's cool. And so what's your favorite place on campus, and why?

00:07:42    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
My favorite place is probably the lakefront of Pine side. I think that's where my very first memories were. So I have the most history with that from when I was living on that side of campus when I was six years old, and then I loved going there during Academy, when I would go on runs in the winter, and it was just no one was there, and it was just the perfect place to kind of unwind and enjoy nature.

00:08:09    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so who did you study with while you were here?

00:08:13    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I studied with Keith Aleo.

00:08:14    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Tell me about that experience.

00:08:16    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
It was a good experience. He was very energetic, and I think he made me get out of my shell a lot, because I tend to be a percussionist who doesn't want to cross any boundaries in playing. So I think he really encouraged me to open up and to challenge myself and to be bolder with my choices.

00:08:39    BRADFORD BAILEY  
How have you used that or taking that experiences into your other life, especially at University of Michigan?

00:08:45    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I've used it to try new things that I hadn't thought to try before. Like I joined the ballroom dance club at University of Michigan, which that was me thinking, trying to expand my art form and just trying to grow as a musician, but also as an artist.

00:09:03    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And more anything, anything else could sort of expound on that?

00:09:07    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yeah, I think that's just trying to keep my mind open. And I think it helped me, just helped me see more sides of music by experiencing it with my body as an artist.

00:09:19    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so how does that manifest in your personal life outside of Interlochen, in terms of what your dreams may be later, in terms of how you interact and sort of move through the world today?

00:09:29    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think it makes me more intentional, because I've when I learned dance in the efforts to become a better musician, I'm really thinking intentionally of my movements in dance and how that relates to my movements in music. So I think it's just me practicing how to be an intentional person and make intentional decisions.

00:09:52    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And and your other classes? How does that manifest in your other classes outside of music?

00:09:58    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
With the dance and?

00:09:59    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Yeah.

00:10:00    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I'm not sure. I don't I don't know if I've made any connections so far with that. I guess just learning how to be a more diverse person and gain more diverse skills.

00:10:12    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so can you share, like, a humorous moment or surprising moment that you've had here at Interlochen that you'd like to share.

00:10:19    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think one of my, one of my favorite moments was when I was rehearsing in Intermediate Wind Ensemble, and we had a bass drum that I'm not sure what was wrong with it, but the frame just wasn't holding up, so in the middle of the rehearsal, it just broke, and the bass drum started spinning on its own, out of control. And that actually happened twice that summer. So it was not only was it hilarious the first time, but having it happen a second time with the same group of people there to witness it, it was pretty funny.

00:10:52    BRADFORD BAILEY
So who else did you study with that really sticks out to you during your time here?

00:10:57    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I studied with one of my favorite teachers, academic teachers at the Academy was Mary Ellen (Newport), and she was just, she teaches ecology, and her as a teacher, she really tries to get students involved. So we were always going on walks and just always being outside no matter the weather. And I think she was inspirational to me because of how much she really loved what she did, like she loved the environment and nature, and she really just wanted us to love it too.

00:11:33    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So is there a lesson here that you learned at Interlochen that became significant later in your life?

00:11:40    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS   
I'm not sure. Yeah.

00:11:43    BRADFORD BAILEY  
No worries, we can come back to that.

00:11:45    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Okay, okay.

00:11:45    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Yeah. So what is what would be like one solid takeaway from your time here?

00:11:52    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think talk to new people that you wouldn't typically think to associate yourself with. I think I really learned that during the academy, when we have, you know, 570 students all put together, and you live on the same campus through the winter, and you're really stuck in the same group, I think I learned how to spend time with people that I wouldn't have chosen otherwise if I had, you know, access to the outside world in a way. So I think I really learned just, yeah, just try, try to be around new people.

00:12:29    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay, and so how would you describe Interlochen as someone who has not been here or experienced it?

00:12:36    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I think I would describe it first as a place where there's always something happening. There's always someone somewhere with a goal in a practice room or in a rehearsal space, and there's always people running around, hanging out with their friends, like in every nook and cranny of the campus, there's something going on, even if you can't see it. So I think I would describe it as a bustling environment where art lives in every corner.

00:13:03    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Oh, that's a great way to put it, where art lives in every corner. It's almost a great catch phrase,

00:13:07    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yeah.

00:13:08    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Actually.

00:13:09    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Because I guess their catch phrase is, art lives here, so it also lives everywhere here.

00:13:15    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Yeah. I mean, you could also make the sort of a similar analogy for many different parts of the the outside world,

00:13:21    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Right.

00:13:21    BRADFORD BAILEY  
In place, especially in places where you don't expect it.

00:13:24    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes.

00:13:24    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So what is your hope for Interlochen's future?

00:13:27    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I hope that it continues branching out and having a bigger reach just around the country, especially. I know when I was at Academy, we we went to New York and performed our multi interdisciplinary performance. And I think just if Interlochen continue doing that, just sending students around the world, I think that's very beneficial to the organization, to Interlochen itself, and also to the students.

00:13:56    BRADFORD BAILEY  
What was that experience like? It was that your first time in New York?

00:13:59    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Yes, that was my first time in New York. It was a lot of fun. We got to play with the New York Philharmonic, or members of the New York Philharmonic. So I met people that I looked up to, that I just thought I would never meet them, you know, and then to get a chance to play with them, it was pretty amazing. And playing in David Geffen Hall, that was just an incredible experience.

00:14:22    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so what is your hope for Interlochen future?

00:14:25    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I hope they just keep reaching out and expanding the people that know about it. I think that's the biggest thing. Because I think anyone that interacts with Interlochen loves it, so I think it's important that everyone knows about it.

00:14:41    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so what advice would you give for future Interlochen students?

00:14:45    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS  
I would say, try to talk to new people. Be friends with the person who is sitting alone. I know that's very classic advice, but at Interlochen, it's that person who's sitting alone tends to be a very, very cool, interesting person. Yeah, just don't, don't take yourself too seriously. Know how to make your art and be an artist without going into a spiral over it.

0015:11    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so I asked a lot of people this question, I want to get your thoughts about it. Why does art matter in the world today? Why does art matter in our world today?

00:15:19    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Our world. I think art is humanness. So I think it matters because art draws our attention to our humanness and the humanness of those around us. Because I think, you know, you see a lot of stuff with AI taking over songwriting or journalism, and I just think it's important that through art, we're conveying our own narratives. And, yeah, just showing what it is to be a person, and just talking about that, especially with technology some ways bleeding into that, just making sure we hold our ground and just like, keep making art and just keep showing we're human.

00:16:04    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And so as you you look to your future, what kind of future do you envision for yourself?

00:16:09    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So I'm studying percussion performance, but I'm not sure what role I want that to play in my life yet. So I think, I think at the moment, I envision myself working for an orchestra or working for an arts organization, while also playing and gigging on the side, so doing kind of a joint, joint operation where I get to perform, but then I also get to serve my community in an arts organization.

00:16:37    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Do this here in Michigan, or do you want to sort of expand outward somewhere else?

00:16:41    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
I really love Michigan, but I think, I think I might have to go to New York or something like that, some larger city, just to experience it.

00:16:49    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Perfect. And the last question, how has sort of music impacted your life outside of Interlochen? And how are you, how did it manifest in your high school and college career.

00:17:01    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So as a high schooler, I didn't know I wanted to do music until my senior year, so music was kind of just my thing I did on the side, and it was also a way I made friends. A lot of my friends were in the drum line and in the marching band. And I think that's even true now in college, the percussion studio at Michigan is a great community, so I've really found my community through being a percussionist. I think that's the biggest thing, is just finding my community and my friends and the like mindedness of other musicians.

00:17:35    BRADFORD BAILEY  
So did it - I mean, so how much classwork or coursework? What's your major at Michigan again?

00:17:40    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Percussion performance.

00:17:41    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Okay got it. So in your class work, how has Interlochen impacted? Do you feel like you have a bit of an advantage compared to other students from other places with regard to music having come here?

00:18:21    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS  1  
I think so. I think I-

00:18:24    BRADFORD BAILEY  
And why?

00:18:54    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
So certain things just an ensemble experience working with many different conductors at Interlochen, getting that diversity, I think, allows me to adjust quicker in an ensemble now that I'm at University of Michigan. And just the private instruction that I got here was also just a step above. Keith Aleo is just a great teacher, and he has so much knowledge of the music industry and of percussion itself. So I think I went in to University of Michigan with just a lot of knowledge that other people might not have had access to.

00:19:31    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Great. All right, wonderful. Well, thank you so much. So is there anything else you'd like to share about your experiences that you think we haven't covered today?

00:19:40    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
No nothing else.

00:19:41    BRADFORD BAILEY  
Wonderful. Well, I want to thank you so much for your interview. It was a pleasure. Today is July 7, 2024. This concludes an oral history interview with,

00:19:51    BRENNA LANTZ-LEWIS    
Brenna Lantz-Lewis

00:19:52    BRADFORD BAILEY  
conducted by Brad Bailey on the campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts.