Interlochen Academy Embarks On Anniversary Tour

INTERLOCHEN (WWJ/AP) - Michigan's famous Interlochen Arts Academy is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a national concert tour.

The academy's orchestra, band and choir are set to play in Chicago Wednesday, followed by a stop at Detroit's Orchestra Hall on Thursday. The tour wraps up with shows in Washington on Saturday and New York on Monday.

Interlochen President Jeffrey Kimpton said this tour is a major undertaking.

"This is certainly a big one: 207 kids and 50 staff for 9 days on the road, 992 pieces of luggage ... So, it's a big event for us," Kimpton told WWJ Newsradio 950.

"This and an all-school reunion in May and a huge national symposium on the future of the arts in the fall, are all signature events celebrating this milestone for the nation's first boarding arts high school," he said.

Founded in 1962, the school has produced dozens of Grammy winners and Presidential Scholars.

In 2006, the Interlochen Arts Academy was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for an arts organization.

The school sits on a 1,200-acre campus in northwestern Michigan near Traverse City.

For more information, visit www.interlochen.org.

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