Idyllwild Arts Foundation
Encyclopedia
Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: the Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program. The institution was formerly known as Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA).
Idyllwild Arts is in the mountains above Palm Springs, California
in the San Bernardino National Forest
, at an elevation of 5300 feet (1,615.4 m), 2 hours from Los Angeles, 2 hours from San Diego and 1 hour from Palm Springs.
Over the years, summer activities have continued to grow, expanding to include programs for children of all ages, a Family Camp, and the Distinguished Artist Residency series. Classes in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, writing and Native American arts are offered to students from age 5 to 85. Each year over 1800 adults and children attend Idyllwild Arts Summer Program courses. Courses were offered in classical music, folk music, visual arts, ceramics, sculpture, dance and theater. Twyla Tharp, Mark Wilke, Herbert Zipper, Marguerite N. Clapp, and other luminaries taught courses there in the summer.
In 1964, the school was given to the University of Southern California
under the terms of an agreement with the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. In 1983, the Foundation exercised its option to resume independent management and resumed sole ownership of the school. In 1985, the first independent boarding high school for the arts in the western United States, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, was established.
IAA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC).
The majority of students matriculate to a broad variety of programs including Juilliard, University of Southern California
, New York University
(Tisch
), The Boston Conservatory, University of Michigan
, San Francisco Art Institute
, Curtis Institute, New England Conservatory, Rhode Island School of Design
, Eastman
, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
, CalArts and Stanford University
.
, choreographer Bella Lewitzky
, folk singer Pete Seeger
, composer Meredith Willson
, folk artists Josef Marais
and Miranda, painter Francoise Gilot, Native American artists Fritz Scholder and Maria Martinez
and photographer Ansel Adams
are just a few of the artists who have taught at Idyllwild Arts and helped set the standard for arts education in the Summer Program.
Each year, during an eight-week season, the Summer Program enrolls approximately 2000 students ages five to adult in more than 95 workshops, taught by professional artist-teachers, in dance, music theatre, visual arts, creative writing, poetry, filmmaking, and Native Arts.
The program for young people features a Children's Center whose participants range in age from 5 to 12 and who select classes and workshops in a variety of arts including multi-arts, dance, piano, theatre, visual arts, poetry and journal writing.
Junior Artist's Center (ages 11–13) and Youth Arts Center (ages 13–18) offer courses to accommodate a broad range of skill levels and a wide variety of art experiences. Music opportunities include musical theatre, piano classes, jazz workshop, two bands, two orchestras and chamber music. Visual artists can select courses from introductory art exploration to ceramics, advanced painting and drawing, jewelry, photography, computer animation, mixed media, and video production. Writers can take poetry, fiction and playwriting workshops. Dancers participate in ballet, jazz and modern. Actors may take up to six weeks of Theatre Festival workshops, which includes a major performance.
Each year, Idyllwild Arts provides financial aid for young people with limited financial resources to allow them the opportunity to explore the arts—25% of young people who participate in an arts workshop are awarded financial aid totaling approximately $200,000.
Part of the program involves theme-related workshops, seminars and performances featuring renowned artists, poets and musicians. Programs include: Painting's Edge, Native American Arts, Summer Poetry in Idyllwild, Chamber Music in Idyllwild and the Idyllwild Music Festival.
The culmination of the Summer Program is celebrated with a concert by the Festival Choir, Festival Wind Ensemble and the Festival Orchestra. In previous years this concert ended with a performance of Meredith Willson
's "In Idyllwild" by the combined ensembles. Since 2004 this concert has been given at Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Los Angeles, CA.
Idyllwild Arts is in the mountains above Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
in the San Bernardino National Forest
San Bernardino National Forest
San Bernardino National Forest is a federally-managed forest covering more than 800,000 acres . There are two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular...
, at an elevation of 5300 feet (1,615.4 m), 2 hours from Los Angeles, 2 hours from San Diego and 1 hour from Palm Springs.
History
Idyllwild Arts (formerly Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts or ISOMATA) was founded by Dr. Max Krone and his wife, Beatrice. Envisioning a remote place where people of all backgrounds could come together to experience the arts, they established the Idyllwild Arts Foundation in 1946 and purchased acreage in the San Jacinto Mountains on which to build. In 1950, approximately one hundred adult students began attending summer classes in the arts.Over the years, summer activities have continued to grow, expanding to include programs for children of all ages, a Family Camp, and the Distinguished Artist Residency series. Classes in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, writing and Native American arts are offered to students from age 5 to 85. Each year over 1800 adults and children attend Idyllwild Arts Summer Program courses. Courses were offered in classical music, folk music, visual arts, ceramics, sculpture, dance and theater. Twyla Tharp, Mark Wilke, Herbert Zipper, Marguerite N. Clapp, and other luminaries taught courses there in the summer.
In 1964, the school was given to the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
under the terms of an agreement with the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. In 1983, the Foundation exercised its option to resume independent management and resumed sole ownership of the school. In 1985, the first independent boarding high school for the arts in the western United States, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, was established.
Idyllwild Arts Academy
Idyllwild Arts Academy, the boarding school, specializes in pre-professional training, offering a college preparatory program for grades 9–12 and post-graduates, with training in music, theatre, dance, visual art, creative writing, moving pictures and interdisciplinary arts. An audition or portfolio is required for admission. Academic classes are held from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm Monday–Saturday and arts classes are held Monday–Friday afternoons, asides from some Theatre classes held on Saturday afternoons, with rehearsals in the evenings.IAA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
(WASC).
The majority of students matriculate to a broad variety of programs including Juilliard, University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(Tisch
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
), The Boston Conservatory, University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
, Curtis Institute, New England Conservatory, Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, Eastman
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Educational Association, it is the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland...
, CalArts and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Idyllwild Arts Summer Program
The Idyllwild Arts Summer Program (aka ISOMATA) began in the summer of 1950. Writer Norman CorwinNorman Corwin
Norman Lewis Corwin was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing...
, choreographer Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky was a modern dance choreographer and noted teacher....
, folk singer Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, composer Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
, folk artists Josef Marais
Josef Marais
Josef Marais was a popular singer from South Africa.In 1945 he met Rosa de Miranda and they teamed up, performing for more than 30 years as "Marais and Miranda", recording many South African traditional folk ballads and original songs such as Zulu Warrior.-Marais & Miranda:#Josef Marais and his...
and Miranda, painter Francoise Gilot, Native American artists Fritz Scholder and Maria Martinez
Maria Martinez
Maria Montoya Martinez was a Native American artist who created internationally known pottery...
and photographer Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
are just a few of the artists who have taught at Idyllwild Arts and helped set the standard for arts education in the Summer Program.
Each year, during an eight-week season, the Summer Program enrolls approximately 2000 students ages five to adult in more than 95 workshops, taught by professional artist-teachers, in dance, music theatre, visual arts, creative writing, poetry, filmmaking, and Native Arts.
The program for young people features a Children's Center whose participants range in age from 5 to 12 and who select classes and workshops in a variety of arts including multi-arts, dance, piano, theatre, visual arts, poetry and journal writing.
Junior Artist's Center (ages 11–13) and Youth Arts Center (ages 13–18) offer courses to accommodate a broad range of skill levels and a wide variety of art experiences. Music opportunities include musical theatre, piano classes, jazz workshop, two bands, two orchestras and chamber music. Visual artists can select courses from introductory art exploration to ceramics, advanced painting and drawing, jewelry, photography, computer animation, mixed media, and video production. Writers can take poetry, fiction and playwriting workshops. Dancers participate in ballet, jazz and modern. Actors may take up to six weeks of Theatre Festival workshops, which includes a major performance.
Each year, Idyllwild Arts provides financial aid for young people with limited financial resources to allow them the opportunity to explore the arts—25% of young people who participate in an arts workshop are awarded financial aid totaling approximately $200,000.
Part of the program involves theme-related workshops, seminars and performances featuring renowned artists, poets and musicians. Programs include: Painting's Edge, Native American Arts, Summer Poetry in Idyllwild, Chamber Music in Idyllwild and the Idyllwild Music Festival.
The culmination of the Summer Program is celebrated with a concert by the Festival Choir, Festival Wind Ensemble and the Festival Orchestra. In previous years this concert ended with a performance of Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
's "In Idyllwild" by the combined ensembles. Since 2004 this concert has been given at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
in Los Angeles, CA.
Notable alumni
- Aaron RossiAaron RossiAaron Rossi is an American drummer, most notable for his performance with industrial metal band Ministry, and the heavy metal band Prong. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States recognized Aaron for the first time at the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony, which was held...
, Grammy nominated drummer, most notable for playing with the bands Ministry (band)Ministry (band)Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
and Prong (band) - Amanda AdayAmanda AdayAmanda Lee Aday is an American actress. Born in New York City, Aday is best known for her recurring role as Dora Mae Dreifuss on the first season of the 2003-2005 HBO series Carnivàle....
, actress. - Evan ChristopherEvan ChristopherEvan Christopher is an American clarinetist and composer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Recognized mainly for a personal brand of "contemporary early-jazz,” he strives to extend the legacy of the unique clarinet style anchored in the musical vocabulary created by early New Orleans clarinetists...
, clarinet. - Shepard FaireyShepard FaireyFrank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His...
, artist. - Trevor Hall, musician.
- Marin IrelandMarin IrelandMarin Ireland is an American film, stage and television actress.She won the 2009 Theatre World Award and was nominated for a 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in reasons to be pretty.-Education:...
, actress, class of 1996. 2009 Tony Award Nominee for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for reasons to be prettyReasons to be prettyreasons to be pretty is a play by Neil LaBute, his first to be staged on Broadway. The plot centers on four young working class friends and lovers who become increasingly dissatisfied with their dead-end lives and each other...
. - Michael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, internationally recognized conductor and pianist - Mara WilsonMara WilsonMara Elizabeth Wilson is an American former child actress best known for her roles as a child star, particularly in Mrs. Doubtfire , Miracle on 34th Street , and Matilda . She was born in Los Angeles, California, to Michael and Suzie Wilson . She has three older brothers, Danny, Jon, and Joel, and...
, actress, Class of 2005, Theatre. - Casey AbramsCasey AbramsCasey Abrams is an American musician from Idyllwild, California who finished in sixth place on the tenth season of American Idol. He was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, five weeks after being saved from elimination by the judges.-Early life:Abrams was born on February 12, 1991...
, season ten American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant (placed sixth).