When the University of Michigan decided to discontinue their role with the All-State band, orchestra and choir in 2006, Interlochen made a commitment to continue those ensembles at Interlochen. Over the past four years we have committed significant new resources: we strengthened the faculty with some of the best instructors in Michigan schools and universities, found great new conductors, and increased marketing and recruiting efforts, all while reducing tuition to attract more students. We achieved our primary goal: over the last three summers the All-State organizations returned to a level of musical excellence that far exceeded previous years.
Our hope was that renewed commitment to the program - and stronger musical achievement - would generate increased enrollments to cover this larger investment and a high quality program. Although Michigan enrollments to Interlochen Arts Camp have increased 20% in the last year, All-State enrollments have fallen, perhaps from the economy or from the competition of so many other "all Michigan" select ensemble experiences throughout the year. Faced with a considerable deficit in this program, something that no private non-profit organization can afford in these challenging economic times, research showed that the prospect of increasing tuition to meet our costs would only further reduce enrollments. Our efforts to secure corporate or foundation sponsorship were futile: the times are not good to find a willing corporate partner in the state of Michigan.
Thus, it is with regret that we announce that the 2009 season of the All-State band, orchestra and choir program will be the last. We are grateful to the All-State faculty and staff members for their support and professional commitment to this program. We wish that we could have found a way to continue this time-honored tradition. We leave the All-State program on a "high note" musically, while recognizing that great programs require commensurate resources. If anything has been learned from these challenging economic times, it is that these are indeed hard choices to make. Change, however, is a constant, and we must deal with the reality that has been presented to us.
Interlochen will continue to offer a full range of programs each year that Michigan students may attend, and in fact are attending at numbers far higher than we have ever experienced. We are grateful for the faculty and staff who have contributed to the All-State program at Interlochen and hope their support of our endeavors to bring great arts education experiences to deserving Michigan youth through our Arts Camp programs will continue.
Jeffrey S. Kimpton
President
Interlochen Center for the Arts
