Miami-Interlochen Partnership continues legacy of opportunity, collaboration, and transformation
Since its founding in 2018, the partnership has enabled more than 360 south Florida students to attend Interlochen, sparked educational exchanges, and revolutionized the creative youth development movement.
Dan Lewis and Interlochen Campers from the Miami Music Project
Dan Lewis (right) with Malik J. (left), an Arts Academy Popular Music Performance major from Homestead, Florida and a recipient of the Interlochen Miami Academy Scholarship.
Last summer, high school trumpet student Gabriel P. experienced the holistic personal and artistic transformation that takes place at Interlochen Arts Camp.
“From every Kresge concert to each chamber performance in Fine Arts to each trip to Melody Freeze, Interlochen has changed my life for the better,” Gabriel wrote in a thank you letter. “So from the bottom of my Floridian heart, I thank you.”
Gabriel is one of the 55 young artists from the Miami area who attended Interlochen Arts Camp 2024 through the Miami-Interlochen Partnership. Established seven years ago through the generous and visionary philanthropic support of Dan Lewis and Valerie Dillon, the partnership has enabled more than 360 south Florida students to attend Interlochen’s world-class educational programs on full-tuition scholarships—transforming students’ lives, sparking meaningful educational exchanges, and revolutionizing the creative youth development movement in the process.
“The Miami-Interlochen Partnership has had a tremendous impact on bringing talented young artists to Camp, opening doors of opportunity for their own creative journeys while building a vibrant, collaborative community between Interlochen and our Miami partners,” said Interlochen Provost Camille Colatosti.
With summer on the horizon—and a new cohort of Miami students poised to attend Camp 2025—we look back at the remarkable and continuing triumphs of the Miami-Interlochen Partnership.
Early successes
The Miami-Interlochen Partnership first launched in 2018 after philanthropist Lewis approached Interlochen with a bold idea: a collaboration between Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Miami Music Project. Initially, 44 young musicians from the Miami Music Project attended Interlochen Arts Camp 2018 on full-tuition scholarships. By the end of the Camp season, the Miami-Interlochen Partnership had proven an extraordinary success.
“We had hoped the Miami Music Project students would help enrich the global community that gathers at Interlochen Arts Camp, but we could not have imagined the impact they made,” Interlochen President Trey Devey wrote in a Fall 2018 letter to the Interlochen community. “Their artistic abilities, hard work, and passion propelled their success, which inspired their peers, their faculty, and me.”
Several standout Miami Music Project students enrolled at Interlochen Arts Academy following the summer 2018 Camp season—paving the way for future Miami-Interlochen Partnership students to continue their studies at the Academy. In total, 13 partnership participants have attended the Academy on full-tuition scholarships funded by Lewis and Dillon.
Regardless of whether students attend the Academy or return to Miami, the lasting impact of their time at Interlochen is undeniable. Miami students who enroll at the Academy are more likely to graduate from high school and to continue on to college than their peers, have matriculated to top colleges, and receive 39% more in college scholarships when compared to other Academy students. Other Miami-Interlochen Partnership participants have also been inspired to pursue advanced training in music.
“It’s inspiring to see how participation in the Interlochen programs propels our students forward, encouraging them to dream bigger,” said Liber Cuervos, Director of Education and Programs at the Miami Music Project. “Due to their participation, our students have developed socially and musically, with some choosing to continue their music education afterward. We take pride in seeing them graduate from renowned institutions like Berklee College of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and DePaul University.”
Anna Klimala, president and CEO of the Miami Music Project, notes that the partnership’s ripple effect extends far beyond individual participants.
“Since 2018, 288 students from the Miami Music Project have directly benefited from participating in Interlochen Arts Camp and Academy, returning with new skills and experiences that have not only shaped their lives, but also inspired and impacted hundreds of their peers,” Klimala said. “This is what true transformation looks like—this is real impact, possible only thanks to the power of a strong partnership. And it doesn’t stop here. The model we've built together holds immense potential for replication across the country, offering thousands of young people the opportunity to change their lives.”
Continuing impact
Today, the Miami-Interlochen Partnership has expanded to include Young Musicians Unite, Guitars Over Guns, and Arts Access Miami—through which students from Miami Children’s Voice Chorus, Norland Senior High School, and Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School were able to attend Camp in summer 2024.
“This partnership has meant everything to us,” said Sammy Gonzalez Zeira, CEO and founder of Young Musicians Unite. “It has opened the door for hundreds of young musicians to grow, find their voice, and discover new creative paths. Just as importantly, it created space for us as leaders to think big, build trust, and help shape what’s now become Arts Access Miami—a collective vision rooted in equity, creativity, and community.”
Beyond Camp scholarships for students from these organizations, the partnership has fostered educational exchanges between the Interlochen and Miami communities. Interlochen faculty annually visit Miami to serve as guest artists at partner organizations and local schools and to hold on-site Camp auditions. In fall 2024, 30 representatives from these organizations spent four days at Interlochen Arts Academy.
Perhaps the most visible exchange was the March 2020 Miami ONE tour, which featured opportunities for Arts Academy students to collaborate with students from the Miami Music Project, Guitars Over Guns, and Young Musicians Unite. The tour culminated in the performance of an original multidisciplinary program at Miami’s New World Center. Students from all three Miami partner organizations performed in the event; the Academy’s 122-student cohort included six young musicians who had enrolled at the Academy after attending Camp through the Miami-Interlochen Partnership.
Most importantly, as Klimala noted, the Miami-Interlochen Partnership has inspired the creation of similar partnerships in other metropolitan areas across the country. Thanks to generous donor support, new partnerships have been established with youth arts organizations in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and several other cities—enriching the Interlochen community with passionate and diverse youth voices.
While its broader influence on the creative youth development movement is exciting, the heartbeat of the Miami-Interlochen Partnership remains the same: Bringing gifted young artists to Interlochen for a summer that will transform their lives. To date, 369 students from the greater Miami area have attended Interlochen through the partnership—many of whom have returned for multiple summers.
This summer, more than 50 students will attend Interlochen Arts Camp through the Miami-Interlochen Partnership, embarking on the incredible educational journey that has shaped the lives of dozens of young musicians—such as popular music student Nathan R. and violist Natalia B.
“The jam sessions that I have every day help me connect with other musicians and communicate with them, and they’ve helped my ears and my groove,” Nathan said. “Thank you for allowing me to experience this wonderful camp.”
“At Camp, I learned how to be unapologetically myself and how to connect with others from around the world, which I will be taking with me to USC and beyond,” Natalia said. “Without your generous support and dedication towards the youth, I would not be the social and driven person I am today.”
Thanks to enduring philanthropic support from Lewis and Dillon, the Miami-Interlochen Partnership continues to shine as a model of opportunity, collaboration, and artistic growth.
Want to learn how you can support partnership programs like the Miami-Interlochen Partnership? Contact the Office of Philanthropy at philanthropy@interlochen.org or 231.276.7623.
