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Friend Of Interlochen Dies

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Date: 
February 28, 2013
Joe Maddy, left, and Van Cliburn in 1965.

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By Peter Payette

A friend of Interlochen died this week. Concert pianist Van Cliburn became an international star at age 23 when he won the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. Not long after that he became a regular visitor to what was then the National Music Camp. Cliburn’s support for the vision of Interlochen’s founder Joe Maddy endured through his life. We'll talk with ICA archivist Byron Hanson about Cliburn's legacy at Interlochen.

 

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See More: arts education, Joe Maddy, national music camp, van cliburn

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Van Cliburn 1961

Submitted by Jim Bauschke (not verified) on March 7, 2013 - 6:24pm.
Van Cliburn’s presence at Interlochen in 1961 was inspiring beyond imagination. I was a 10th grader at the time and I remember it now like it was just yesterday. At the end of the first movement of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1 I could have jumped right out of my seat it was so moving. And that from a camper who grew up in a home filled with classical piano music. Van Cliburn’s age was part of it; as campers we could easily identify with him. Put that together with his talent and zeal and it was like magic. Last summer, on a business trip to Traverse City, I stayed at Interlochen, in McWhorter Hall. One night late in the evening I sat alone in Kresge Auditorium and listened to Van Cliburn play it again—on iTunes, of course. It was a thrill once again. And that thrill is not entirely Van Cliburn, it’s Interlochen, too. Like Van Cliburn in 1961, Interlochen Arts Camp is magical, no question about it.

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