A 30-Year Expansion Complete, Interlochen Turns Its Focus To People

Today marks the biggest turning point for Interlochen Center for the Arts since 1991. That year, then President Dean Boal kicked off the Sasaki Master Plan, an ambitious roadmap to expand the arts organization’s facilities. Thirty years, five presidents, $90 million and 17 buildings later, the plan is complete: Current President Trey Devey will host dignitaries, past Interlochen presidents, alumni, and donors at a ceremony today (Friday) to commemorate the achievement. But today also marks an entirely new chapter, moving away from facilities and intentionally toward people. With an eye toward its 2028 centennial anniversary, Devey’s new plan aims to expand excellence, but also improve student access and diversity — and he’s off to an audacious start: Devey will announce in the coming days the largest single outright gift in Interlochen’s 93-year history. 

He gave The Ticker a preview inside many of the newest buildings on campus — including the awe-inspiring new dance building on the shores of Green Lake — while discussing which new venture could be more meaningful than the creation of the academy itself, whether he’ll be around for the anniversary in seven years, and if concertgoers might be able to enjoy a glass of wine from their seats at some point soon. 

Ticker: So many of these newest buildings are impressive, and locals who only visit campus for concerts probably have no idea all the work and changes that have happened, especially in recent years. This is probably the most important point of your five-year tenure. 
Devey: I think so, and it’s obviously not just me. Several of my predecessors, and really everybody’s made a partial contribution to this much larger success. And coming out of COVID restrictions, we’re excited to again open up our performances for a chance for people to see what’s happening here. But you know, it’s also a community accomplishment. It’s a big deal for the Traverse City region.

Ticker: And these facilities are now enough to handle your ongoing growth?
Devey: I think they will stand the test of time. We’ve certainly built the music and dance buildings with a future-proof perspective. And you know, if the facilities can handle the [summer] camp, they can easily handle any academy [academic year] needs. So we’ve sort of built the church for Easter, if you will.

Ticker: And which programs are doing really well here right now?
Devey: It’s difficult to look at an area that’s not thriving. The academy has been doing well with enrollment, we have waiting lists. And you can sort of track the development of arts alongside our master plan. Because when we started talking about a motion picture department [now called film & new media] in 1991, it was to have one room in the creative writing building. But today that’s the DeRoy Center for Film Studies. And the same for contemporary music, and other developments. But you know, we spent 30 years with an outsized emphasis on place. And now we’re ready for a deep emphasis on people, which is really the heart and soul of Interlochen.

Ticker: You’ve spent a year or two asking some big questions about the future, and it sounds like you’re now locked into a new vision.
Devey: Yes, typically when you finish a master plan, you launch another. But we went through several conversations and asked, 'how do we want to accelerate into our next century?’ And what came out of it were two ideas that are typically at odds with each other. We want higher levels of excellence, like investing in our faculty, filling these new Dow House visiting artist suites with talent coming to visit, and even special projects and touring more often.

Ticker: Let me ask about student touring performances. Before COVID, your students performed at Carnegie Hall and also in Miami. I assume that gives students a bigger spotlight, and then introduces you to more parents, donors, partners…?
Devey: Yes, that and more. It’s taking the show on the road, and there’s just a level of intensity when you’re mobilizing something like that. The faculty was energized. And then when you travel, for those who aren’t familiar with the cultural riches of our region, we explain we’ve got the natural beauty of the area, the recreation opportunities, and then consistently an arts and culture scene that is second to none. 

Ticker: So you were saying the tension between excellence and…
Devey: Between excellence and access. That’s the other part. You know, in business, when you’re really succeeding, you can typically charge more for your product. We actually want to take that in the opposite direction. We want to give more students access to Interlochen. We’d love to meet the full demonstrated financial need of every camp and academy student.

Ticker: I know 80 percent of your students already get some form of financial aid. But getting to the point you’re talking about would be a big reach…
Devey: Yes. We’re providing more financial aid than our peers — $19 million every year between camp and academy — but the cost to meet every financial need for just academy students alone would be a $48 million endowment. That’s the equivalent of two new music centers. But we’d like to be like the Ivy League schools, where money is never a barrier for a student. 

Ticker: And then higher goals for diversity and inclusion as well?
Devey: We feel really good about the work we’ve done to create more access. Domestic diversity has grown for the academy from 21 percent to 28 percent from 2015-2021, and for the camp from 22 percent to 28 percent from 2016-2019. But there’s a lot more we can do there still.

Ticker: Let me ask you about people. The institution has always had a reputation as a great place to work, but with low pay. Is that something you’ve been or will be working on? 
Devey: It’s a challenge right now for all institutions: how to move faster without creating institutional pressures that can’t be sustained. In our long-range framework, we have three areas of investment: excellence and access as I mentioned. And then also competitive wages. It’s probably the biggest burning issue for us right now, particularly for the student-facing faculty. Fortunately we have a wonderful team, but we have to keep them. 

Ticker: Let me ask you two questions I hear locally from people who attend your summer concerts: First, what are the chances of allowing alcohol at some events or shows?
Devey: We just have to manage the risk around it. But it’s part of a broader issue. How do we support our growth if we’re not raising funds for building a stronger endowment? What are other sources of revenue we could develop? For instance, we have 1,200 acres here. We’re using 400, there are 400 that can’t be developed, and then 400 that can be. So we’re looking at that. Interlochen Online, which we started and is really now our sixth business unit, has a really limitless market. It could be as significant a moment for us as the start of the academy in 1962. 

Ticker: And then the musical acts. People ask if you consider aiming for bigger names or how those decisions are made.
Devey: The main thing with every act is we have to look at it and say, ‘is this [artist’s] price reasonable in this market?’ So we have to do that math. 

Ticker: So not a lot of risks are being taken there. 
Devey: I wouldn’t say that. Sometimes there are concerts that are successful, and sometimes one will end at a loss. We’re just always trying to come up with a balance. 

Ticker: You’re kicking off a new era focused on excellence and access instead of new buildings, and you’re already raising money for those efforts now…
Devey: Yes, and we have a very exciting announcement coming soon about the largest single outright gift in Interlochen’s history toward those goals. 

Ticker: All aiming toward that big centennial in 2028. You and I first met almost exactly five years ago before you even started this job. What are the chances you will still be here in 2028 for the anniversary?
Devey: I certainly hope so. You’ll recall when I came here I said I wanted Interlochen to be my last job, so I certainly hope so.