EXCELLENCE | THE FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE
PROGRAM ENDOWMENTS AND ANNUAL PROGRAM FUNDS
David and Bernardine Wu Perpetuate Conducting Excellence
We are grateful to the donors who have given generously to establish the program endowments and named annual program funds listed below. Their gifts enable Interlochen to expand its commitments to faculty, visiting artists, educational programming, and every element of the young artist’s experience. A program endowment can be established with a minimum gift of $50,000 or $100,000, based on the area. A minimum gift of $10,000, recurring for at least three years, can form a named annual program fund.
conductors who, each summer, lead our World Youth Symphony Orchestra (WYSO). Among the luminaries to hold the WYSO baton in recent years have been Delyana Lazarova, winner of the 2020 James Conlon Conducting Prize; JoAnn Falletta, the groundbreaking leader of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; and Jader Bignamini, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). The Wu endowment will support the typical one-week tenure of a conductor, with a preference for the conductor of the DSO (currently held by Jader Bignamini) or, if unavailable, a resident, associate, or guest conductor of the DSO. During the Academy year, the Wu endowment will also support a multi-day residency of a guest conductor for the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra, preferably the DSO conductor or associates. This adds to our vibrant slate of visiting artists—a strategic focus of our Vision 2028 excellence initiative.
A recent major gift from Interlochen trustee Dr. David Wu (IAC/NMC 76-79) and his wife Dr. Bernadine Wu establishes an endowment supporting symphony conductors at both Camp and Academy.
PROGRAM ENDOWMENTS
Sengupta and Brooks Family Endowment Singer-Songwriter Program Endowment Linda VanSickle Smith Horn Chair Endowment The Stern Family Film & New Media Faculty Endowment Fund Talbot/Hoagland Endowment
RB Annis Endowment Ball Creative Writing Endowment Randy Bank Theatre Endowment
Breibart Family Health and Wellness Endowment Gordon Brunner Family Visual Art Endowment Carolyn A. Chormann Visiting Artists Endowment for Visual Arts Corson Auditorium Endowment Corson Park Endowment Corson Skinner Musical Theatre Visiting Artist Endowment Corson Skinner Dance Visiting Artist Endowment Allen B. Cutting John Manuel Camp Percussion Chair Dance Building Endowment DeRoy Testamentary Foundation Teaching Excellence Endowment Dow House Operating Endowment Barbara C. Dow Endowment Marjorie Wood Drackett Piano Chair
Theatre Leadership Discretionary Endowment Theatre Production Excellence Endowment
Trees for Interlochen PK Endowment Gerilyn K. (Twink) Turner Endowment Unrestricted Designated Endowment Valade Master Teacher Endowment Morris Family Visiting Artist Endowment Visual Arts Teaching Excellence Endowment L.C. and Margaret Walker Foundation Endowment Williams Family Endowment for Program Support in Music-Saxophone and Jazz
The new Wu Family Conductor Endowment provides funding in perpetuity for one of the rotating roster of
Visiting Artist Cultural Equity Endowment Generations Fund - Master Residency Goldstein Family Musical Theatre Endowment
“Bernadine and I value the long-term artistic and musical synergy between the DSO and Interlochen. Our conductor endowment hopes to support the amazing leadership of visiting conductors such as Jader Bignamini from the DSO with residency during Camp and the Academy Orchestra.” — Dr. David Wu (IAC/NMC 76-79)
Roberta Dee Gordon Endowment Guest Artist Residency Endowment
Hamann Family Jazz Piano Chair Hammes Counselors Endowment Byron Hanson Guest Teaching Endowment The Harding Ouweleen Teaching Excellence Endowment Howard Hintze Teaching Endowment Robert T. & Ruth Haidt Hughes Memorial Acquisitions Endowment IAA Operating Endowment IAC Operating Endowment IPR Endowment Stephen John Theatre Design and Production Endowment Fund Kearns Family Counseling Endowment Lambert Family Excellence in Teaching Endowment Bob Luby Endowment for Student Emergencies Lochlan MacLean Theatre Stuff Endowment Math Computer Program Nancy and Phillip Meek WYSO Conductor Endowment The Bonnie Mills and Douglas Eicher IPR Endowment Ruth Mott Creative Writing Endowment Ron Munson Academy Low Brass Guest Artist Endowment Music Building Endowment Musical Theatre Voice Chair Endowment Nelson Family Harp Chair Endowment Mary Ellen Newport Experiences in Ecology Endowment Oberlin Collaborative Initiative Endowment Omaha Steaks Visiting Artist Endowment Rev. Dr. Linda Patrick and Rebecca Phelps WYSO Chair Endowment SuSu Ramsay Professional Growth
Dara and Jarett Levan Support the Complete Artist for Generations Interlochen is a unique oasis in part because of our purposeful emphasis on holistic youth development. Our approach extends beyond artistic and educational growth to the mindset and confidence that will equip students for fulfilling, joyful lives in any field they pursue. This requires robust support for mental health services. The Dara K. and Jarett Levan Mental Health and Well-Being Fund will also expand professional development opportunities for our counseling and health services staff who directly support students’ mental health needs.
Generous support from the Foster Family Foundation is taking Interlochen dance and theatre productions to unprecedented heights. This year, the Foster Family Costume and Set Production Fund supported a new lighting system and projection screen, a remote-control platform for moving scenery, and an array of dazzling costume acquisitions or upgrades (such as Odette’s tutu from Swan Lake , pictured). The Foster Family Fund has added an extra sparkle—literally!—to our performances, from The Nutcracker to Carousel , helping embody the “only at Interlochen” excellence that inspires our students and audiences alike. Reaching New Heights on Interlochen Stages “Many universities don’t have the sort of capabilities that our new costumes, scenery movement, lighting, and projection systems provide. Students, visiting artists, and audience members all benefit.” — Brent Wrobel, Executive Director, Interlochen Presents
The Levans further supported Vision 2028 (see pages 17–19) by establishing the Dara K. and Jarett Levan Scholarship Endowment. Through immediate gifts and pledges both to their new scholarship
Interlochen Trustee Dara Levan (IAC/ NMC 83-90, IAC St 94) and her husband Jarett were moved by our Vision 2028 excellence initiative to establish a fund to enrich our mental health services and student wellness through support for visiting community speakers.
fund and its endowment, the Levans ensured that the scholarship would begin supporting young artists right away—and endure for generations to come.
“Interlochen shaped so much of who I am, first as a camper, then as an Academy parent. Creating this mental health and well-being fund is a way to give back to a place that gave me so much. I believe in nurturing the whole artist, not just their craft. Art opens us, stirs us, sometimes breaks us wide open, and in those moments, we need to know we’re not alone. This fund is my love letter to every student who needs a safe space to land, to be heard, to heal.” — Dara Levan (IAC/NMC 83-90, IAC St 94)
Richardson-Spica Fellowship Endowment Schamis Camp Dance Program Endowment Rudolf RA Schramm Endowment
WWW.INTERLOCHEN.ORG
15
14
2025 ANNUAL REPORT OF GIFTS
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs