Interlochen Announces Partnership With New York Philharmonic

The Interlochen Arts Academy and New York Philharmonic are launching a new partnership in January.

As part of the program, four New York Philharmonic musicians - all Interlochen alumni - will travel to Interlochen for "two intensive weeks of educational activities," according to the organizations. The Philharmonic musicians will join Interlochen Arts Academy music students January 17-20 for lessons, master classes, mock auditions, rehearsals, and a chamber concert. Nineteen Interlochen students will also travel to New York to attend a Philharmonic rehearsal and concert, and give a chamber concert at Lincoln Center’s Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse on January 28.

The New York Philharmonic musicians participating in the collaboration are violinist Kuan Cheng Lu, bassoonist Roger Nye, horn player R. Allen Spanjer, and trumpet player Ethan Bensdorf. "Interlochen changed my life," said Bensdorf in a statement. "Summers there were filled with incredible musical growth and long-lasting friendships; it was a safe place for creativity to thrive. My journey as a musician really began there, and I am excited to go back and hopefully help encourage and inspire others at the beginning of their own creative transformations.”

Interlochen is the only high school outside New York City to work with the New York Philharmonic.