A day in the life at a music summer camp: What to expect
Wondering what it’s like to be a student at Interlochen Arts Camp? Here’s a glimpse into both the high school and junior Camp experience.
Interlochen Arts Camp students pose in the Interlochen Bowl after “Les Préludes.”
Daily ensemble rehearsals, enriching classes, natural beauty, ice cream runs with friends—a summer at a music camp sounds almost too good to be true.
You’ve probably flipped through glossy viewbooks, scoured websites, and imagined what you’ll look like in your favorite camp’s uniform. The one piece that’s missing? An insider’s look at what it’s really like to be a student at a summer arts camp.
To give you a glimpse of what to expect, we’ve put together a sample ‘day in the life’ of two students—one high schooler and one junior—at one of the nation’s best summer music programs: Interlochen Arts Camp.
A day in the life of a high school student
At Interlochen, every day opens with music. You’ll be woken at 6:30 a.m. by the classic bugle tune First Call. Five minutes later, Reveille will summon you to line-up—an all-division gathering where you’ll greet the morning with daily announcements and light stretches.
By 6:50, you’ll be back at your cabin for the daily cabin clean-up (known affectionately as ‘capers’). Once your chores are finished, you’ll get dressed, get ready for your day, and head to Stone Cafeteria for breakfast.
High school students pose for a picture in Interlochen’s Stone Cafeteria.
Depending on your program, your class day will begin at 8 or 9 a.m. Many music students who do not have an 8 a.m. class choose to spend this extra hour running through scales, long tones, bowing exercises, or other fundamental techniques to warm up for a full day of rehearsals and lessons.
Students enrolled in Interlochen’s flagship program—the Orchestra and Wind Symphony Program—start their day with an 80-minute rehearsal with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen Philharmonic, or World Youth Wind Symphony. After rehearsal, you’ll split into instrument-specific groups for sectionals. The remainder of your morning is reserved for chamber music rehearsals or musicianship classes.
Two World Youth Symphony Orchestra horn players share a high five during rehearsal.
For singer-songwriter students like Taya, the day begins at 9 a.m. with Singer-Songwriter Seminar. Taya and her classmates like to gather 15 minutes before class begins to wrap up yesterday’s assignments and talk about their evening. After Seminar, Taya heads to her second class, which explores the emotions of songwriting through analysis of sensory details, imagery, and instrumentation. Her final class of the morning examines the practice of creativity—including potential sources of inspiration.
Stone Cafeteria reopens for lunch at 11:15 a.m. Your lunch hour is a chance to connect with peers, enjoy informal chats with faculty, and recharge before your afternoon classes. When the weather is nice, you’re welcome to take your meal to Corson Park—a scenic, lakeside patio and green space located just outside Stone Cafeteria.
After lunch, you’ll either head to your next class or enjoy a free hour. Arts Camp students utilize free afternoon periods in myriad ways. You might choose to get in some independent practice, take a quick nap, write a letter to your parents, or get ice cream from the Melody Freeze with your friends. Oboe and bassoon students can even make reeds in the designated reed-making studio.
Your afternoon classes will likely include a musicianship class—such as music theory, Dalcroze Eurythmics, or the Alexander Technique—chamber music rehearsals, or private lessons. Orchestra and Wind Symphony students wrap up their day with one final rehearsal with their large ensemble.
A student string quartet rehearses in Dendrinos Chapel & Recital Hall.
Once the class day concludes, you’ll head to Stone Cafeteria for dinner. This is a great chance to meet up with friends and cabin-mates to plan your evening activities. High school students are free to spend their evening however they like—and there are lots of options. You can attend one of the 200-plus performances that take place each summer, go swimming in the lake, play sports, visit the Craft Cabin, attend a mixer, or just hang out with your friends on Osterlin Mall.
High School Bluffs residents roast marshmallows for s’mores on the Sundecker.
At 9:30, the bugler is back to play Call to Quarters—a tune that signals high school students to return to their cabins. Once everyone is in bed, it’s time for bunk talk. This light-hearted late-night icebreaker invites students to discuss a “question of the day” such as “Who would play you in a movie about your life?” or “If you were an animal, what would you be?”
The day concludes with one last bugle call: Taps. As counselors turn off the lights and the division goes quiet, students drift off for a well-deserved rest.
A day in the life of a junior student
A junior student’s day is similar to a high school student’s—but with more structure and opportunities for rest and recreation.
Don’t tell the high schoolers: Junior campers get an extra 20 minutes of sleep with Reveille at 6:50 a.m. Junior students also complete their cabin clean-up and get ready for the day before heading to line-up at 7:20 a.m.
At 7:30 a.m., juniors head to the cafeteria—Pinecrest for students in the Lakeside division, Lochhaven for students on the Pines side. Younger students eat all meals with their cabin-mates under the supervision of their counselors, who ensure each student drinks a glass of water and eats a fruit or vegetable with each meal.
After a leisurely, hour-long breakfast, counselors escort junior students to their 9 a.m. class. Junior classes are generally shorter—around 45 minutes in length—with extra time in between to allow littler legs to make their way to their next destination.
Junior students look for Petoskey stones during Environmental Exploration class.
Like their high school counterparts, junior music students also enjoy a mixture of rehearsals, sectionals, and musicianship classes such as class piano or Dalcroze Eurythmics. Other morning activities may include a supervised practice hour or the popular Environmental Exploration class.
A day in the life of a music student at Interlochen Arts Camp.
LAt 11:45 a.m., students regroup with their counselors and cabin-mates for an hour-long lunch break. After lunch, all junior campers return to their cabin for a mandatory rest hour—a peaceful time to take a nap, read quietly in their bunk, or write letters.
The final two classes of the day begin at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. At 4 p.m., it’s time for recreation. The recreation hour offers a wide variety of activities for students to enjoy—sports, outdoor games, crafts, swimming, and more—all under the supervision of counselors and members of the Camp’s recreation staff.
As the recreation hour draws to a close, students line up for dinner with the rest of their cabin. After dinner, students have several hours of counselor-supervised free time. During this period, students might practice, attend a performance, or participate in more recreational activities.
The fun concludes at 8:45 p.m. with Call to Quarters. At 9 p.m., Taps summons students to bed for Bunk Talk. The day officially ends with “Lights Out” at 9:30 p.m.
A perfect balance
Ultimately, a day at Interlochen Arts Camp follows a thoughtfully designed schedule that strikes the perfect balance of world-class arts training, recreational activities, and relaxation. No matter what age you are, you’ll find a fun and fulfilling experience that will leave you inspired and energized for another year of art-making.
Dive deeper into Interlochen Arts Camp with a free digital viewbook
