Interlochen Online High School (grades 9-12) Programs

Connect with other artists from around the world and hone your skills in creative writing, dance, film, music, theatre, or visual arts.

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Program dates:

January 11, 2020 to February 6, 2021

Age range: Students currently in grades 9-12

Early bird tuition: $995

Tuition: $1,200

Early deadline: Dec. 31, 2020

Deadline: Jan. 6, 2020

Capacity: Space is limited. Registrations are on a first come, first serve basis.

Interlochen Online allows you to explore the arts from wherever you are. Choose your course of study from 13 different virtual offerings in music, theatre, dance, creative writing, visual arts, and film.

For four weeks, you will hone your skills in lessons led by acclaimed artist-educators. The biweekly format fits easily into your busy schedule, and small class sizes ensure you will receive personalized feedback from our world-class instructors.

All programs run Jan. 11 through Feb. 6. Weekly schedules will be one of the following:

Mondays and Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. EST
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST
Students will present an individual showcase/recital on the final Saturday afternoon

Each class session includes instruction, discussion, and hands-on activities. Supplemental materials and assignments allow you to expand your experience outside the classroom. Programs include weekly 50-minute private lessons or personal coaching sessions.

During your session, you will forge friendships with other passionate young artists from across the country and around the world. Your classmates will become your collaborators as you learn and create in an immersive, supportive environment.

Discover our courses below.

Looking for Interlochen Online programs during the spring and summer? Check back soon for dates and details.

Creative Writing

High School Offering: Hybrid Forms

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Explore a variety of innovative literary styles at play in contemporary creative writing. How can stylistic elements like punctuation, diction, white space, and allusion culminate in unpredictable and dynamic forms of expression? Hybrid forms, at play in both poetry and prose, promise a unique kind of freedom for writers to draw from and ultimately subvert past literary traditions, developing frameworks suited to their own literary voices.

Through various close reading and imitation-based exercises, we will gain first-hand understanding on how these hybrid forms—by authors including Alice Notley, Harryette Mullen, Christian Hawkey, and Monica Youn—have altered the literary landscape. How do hybrid forms draw from literary traditions? How might hybrid forms be countercultural? The course will culminate in students devising their own hybrid forms and presenting their new writing for workshop.

Faculty:

AM Ringwalt

University of Notre Dame

Dance

High School Offering: Classical Ballet Technique

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: This course will explore the various manifestations of classical ballet techniques through barre and center work. Students will immerse themselves in a variety of approaches to their classical ballet learning skills while having the opportunity to take their already established technique to the next level of polishment and refinement.

Faculty:

Rachel James

Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp

Jurijs Safonovs

Interlochen Arts Academy

Film

High School Offering: Filmmaking

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Develop your love for film into becoming a filmmaker by examining the essential aspects of visual stories/filmmaking and film theory in order to put them into practice. Each week, the skillsets learned will allow students to develop a short visual story by following guided steps to translate your imagination onto the screen. The course focuses on four key areas: writing, filming, editing, and post-production.

Sessions are hosted by experienced independent filmmakers who will answer your questions and provide insight and personal feedback on short exercises. At the conclusion of the session, each student will have an opportunity to share a sample of their exercises in a showcase of creative work completed during the course.

Faculty:

Cameron Harris

Filmmaker

Music: Classical Performance

High School Offering: Conducting 101, Score Study, Musician Wellness, Performance Practices

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Whether you are looking to learn new techniques and repertoire, prepare for upcoming auditions, or simply join a vibrant community of music making, this program provides instruction and inspiration. Students will enjoy a variety of topics including conducting, performance practices, general musicianship, and musician wellness. Faculty will work with students on individual development and enrichment, with a special focus on helping students build healthy practice habits, improve performance skills, gain confidence in their musicianship, and more.

Faculty:

Thomas Riccobono

Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Interlochen College of Creative Arts

Music: Composition

High School Offering: Theory for Composers

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description:This immersive course is designed to provide students with valuable information related to the field of music composition. Course participants will learn about the fundamental aspects of musical creativity, including a study of Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, Growth, and Notation, while examining a diverse array of musical selections from the literature of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Faculty:

Andrew Smith

Fredonia School of Music

Music: Jazz

High School Offering: Jazz Improvisation Forum

Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: The focus of the program will be in helping the students develop their jazz skills as improvisers and stylists, and developing a greater understanding of the history of the music through the guided study of recordings and videos of the leading trend setters in the music. Students will hear one another perform and constructive feedback will be provided by faculty and fellow students. This course will help the developing jazz musician learn the tools that are necessary for becoming an expressive, informed, and accomplished improviser and stylist.

Faculty:

Andrew Bishop

University of Michigan

Music: Production & Engineering

High School Offering: Music Production Techniques

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Beginning with the basics of how music production has evolved over its history to how current musicians are leveraging some of the most powerful tools in the industry, students learn to create and record tracks that make an impact and support their unique musical voice. They will learn the process of music production as it relates to the entire life of a song: sketching, demos, and finished tracks, while also learning invaluable skills that are transferable to leadership positions within creative work.

Faculty:

Jeanine Cowen

Berklee College of Music

Music: Singer-Songwriter

High School Offering: Song and Lyrical Form

Schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description:In songwriting techniques, you will learn the craft of songwriting—how lyrics, melody, and harmony can combine to convey emotion, tell a story, and move an audience. Through self-evaluation, peer feedback, and teacher guidance, we will dig into what challenges and strengths you have in your ability to write. Through this course, you will be generating new material and receive feedback from both experienced songwriting faculty and peers. Taking this course will enable you to write stronger songs and create a consistent practice of songwriting that you will feel proud of.

Faculty:

Joshua Davis

Interlochen Arts Academy

Theatre: Acting

High School Offering: Contemporary Scene Study

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: In this four-week intensive, students will be immersed in the foundational terminology, necessary skills, and practical application of scene work. Actors will participate in exercises that increase spontaneity, urgency, authenticity, responsiveness, and the quality of listening necessary to foster authentic connection with a scene partner. Once assigned hand-selected scenes from contemporary playwrights, students will apply the guidelines of text work to their individual pieces, rehearse virtually with their scene partner, and present the scene for classmates and visitors on the final day.

Faculty:

Shelby Lewis

Actress

Theatre: Design & Production

High School Offering: Costume Design

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Using learned play analysis techniques, students will design costumes for the characters of said play appropriate to the given circumstance provided by the playwright. Students will focus on the elements of design, costume history, and will learn the different ways of design presentation.

Faculty:

Cory John

Costume Designer

Theatre: Musical Theatre

High School Offering: Acting a Song

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: Acting a Song will help young musical theatre performers identify the tools that will bring their characters to life. Through an emphasis on proven acting techniques, students will deepen their connection to their songs while discovering greater range in their performances. With both individual and group sessions, students will work in a positive environment with equally talented peers.

Faculty:

Peggy Trecker White

Actress

Visual Arts

High School Offering: Drawing

Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. EST

Description: This course will explore a number of techniques and approaches to drawing. Topics will include observational drawing, abstract and conceptual approaches to art-making, as well personal explorations of material and ideas. Throughout the course, studio work will be supplemented by readings, slideshows, and videos pertaining to drawing.

Faculty:

Conor Fagan

Visual Artist