Interlochen Magic

There is a magic here at Interlochen that is indescribable to anyone who hasn't visited this place.  I must admit that I sometimes wondered if it was a unique feeling for our family, but this week I discovered that it's not just us.

Anna is here with us.  I've been trying to get her to visit Interlochen for the past two summers, but it was only this summer that she had some time.  She's only here for five days, but she felt the "magic" the moment she stepped out of the car.

If I had to describe the feeling, I would use the word beauty.  Physical beauty with the camp nestled between two lakes and sitting among the pines.  Musical beauty with the sounds of every instrument coming from every corner of the camp.  Youthful beauty because all that music is created by children.  I think I would be hard pressed to find another place like this in the world.  My idea of heaven is pretty close to what I experience here at Interlochen.

For us this year, there was another kind of magic.  A really happy, joyful kind of magic.

Both Johannah and Glo were entering new divisions this year.  Hannah was entering the high school division, and Glo was entering the intermediate division.  Because it's their first years in these divisions, they are generally the youngest kids in them.  Add to the fact that they are categorized in their divisions by grade, and both of the girls should technically be one grade lower in school--they are definitely the youngest in their divisions with other kids having taken lessons for several more years.

Hannah decided that she was just happy to have been accepted to the program in the first place, and she imagined sitting last chair viola in the lowest orchestra.  She was good with it.  Really, she felt such gratitude at just being able to attend.

Auditions were scheduled, and we all headed over to support Hannie.

Waiting....

Anna was TOTALLY scoping out the competition.
 It sure is nice to have a pro around to help us know where we stand.

Walking in.
The judges were running 20 minutes early, so Hannie totally wasn't prepared to walk in.

Johannah not only didn't get last chair viola, but she made it into the premier orchestra on campus (WYSO).  She was over the moon about her placement, and needless to say, there was a lot of screaming after she saw the audition results!

In her heart, Glo wishes she was still in the junior division.  The kids there look like her, and they still have kid mentalities.  The kids against which she is competing look like high school kids.  Glo was hoping to be concert master of the lower orchestra.

Low and behold, those three hour a day practicing sessions have paid off!  Great teachers?  Instrumental in success.

Not to be outdone by Hannah, Glo made it into the top orchestra for her division also.  On violin, the MOST competitive instrument in an orchestra.  In fact, she's sitting at the back of the first violin section which means only 12 kids beat her in her auditions.  She's sitting higher than kids who look like tenth graders!  And she still has two more years in this division!

Wow!  What amazing Interlochen magic, and we're only two days in!!

"The Gathering"--the opening ceremonies.
Wouldn't it figure that they would play Richard Strauss when Mark isn't here?!