Upcoming senior singer Sharon Mays tells about her summer working at Interlochen, Michigan…
After the choir’s recent tour, I drove to Interlochen, Michigan, to begin my summer job as Program Office Staff. I work in an office with several others and it is our responsibility to collect information for, type, and format all concert programs for Interlochen Arts Camp. There are over a thousand campers here at any given time and more than a dozen large ensembles, not to mention hundreds of faculty and staff who also perform. Some weeks we handle about thirty programs, but on busier weeks, more than sixty. Over the course of the summer we will create over three-hundred programs!
When I’m not in the office, I have a lot of time to make the best of the musical environment provided by Interlochen. There are hundreds of practice rooms throughout campus and an impressive music library of scores and recordings. Besides the facilities, there are a wonderful group of teachers on campus for summer camp and as year-round faculty for the boarding high school. I’ve been taking weekly voice lessons with Scott Piper, an opera singer and professor from University of Michigan, which I’ve greatly enjoyed. I have continued my organ studies with Tom Bara, who organizes the organ program at the Interlochen Arts Academy (boarding high-school). He holds a daily organ seminar for campers that I attend and gives me organ lessons each week. I’ve been able to observe rehearsals of the high schools choirs and an adult choir camp, which was directed by Jerry Blackstone of University of Michigan. The largest musical endeavor I’ve been a part of here is the Festival Choir and Interlochen Philharmonic performance of Mozart’s Requiem. We performed in Kresge, Interlochen’s main outdoor venue which faces the lake. I had a lot of fun getting to sing my first large work with full orchestra!
On Sundays and Mondays, the Interlochen weekend, I get to explore the surrounding area. The closest normal-sized city is Traverse City, home of the National Cherry Festival. It in on one of the bays of Lake Michigan and has a vibrant downtown area with delicious food and local establishments. Sleeping Bear Dunes is less than an hour away and has beaches on Lake Michigan. Here the weather is normally in the 70s and sunny, with occasional days in the 60s. This makes for a great environment to sit on the lake at Interlochen and read.
While I’ve enjoyed my time at Interlochen, I can’t wait to get back and begin my senior year in the A Cappella Choir. The other seniors and I have already begun planning the social aspects of choir camp. It is going to be a great year!
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