Joe Rubinstein ‘04

This past year I received the Hal Tayloe Memorial Scholarship, which I used to help study music composition at Interlochen World Center for the Arts Summer Camp outside Traverse City, Michigan. The program was eight weeks long. This past summer was Interlochen’s 75th season, and its primary purpose has been to help young artists, musicians, actors, and writers develop their skills and delve further into their art. As a composition student, my day consisted of various classes related to composition, as well as time to compose. There was also ample opportunity for talking to friends or playing ping-pong, swimming and going to concerts. Five days out of the week I took classes in Jazz Composition, Orchestration, 20th Century Musical Styles and Music Theory. I also took private lessons from Zae Munn, a composer who teaches at St. Mary’s College in Indiana. Every week there was a composer’s colloquium, in which all the composition faculty and students would get together and either talk about issues affecting composers today, or have a presentation about some composition related topic. In the sixth week guest composer Don Freund from the University of Indiana came and gave lectures and lessons. I personally wrote three pieces which were performed and recorded. Interlochen was a truly amazing place where I learned more than I ever thought possible. I came back with more confidence and better sense for composing. It was also fun meeting kids from around the country and the globe. I would encourage any one who is interested in the arts to look into Interlochen, and most of all I would like to thank the Hal Tayloe Scholarship Committee for helping to make this summer possible.