Alumni-designed chimes, student craftsmanship, and a new commissioned work come together on Osterlin Mall during Academy Reunion Weekend 2026
INTERLOCHEN, Mich., Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Interlochen Center for the Arts continues to celebrate its centennial with "Sounding the Call," a campus-wide sound installation and live performance on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 2:15 p.m. on Osterlin Mall near the Melody Freeze. The event is part of Academy Reunion Weekend 2026, which runs Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18.
The installation, produced by Keith Aleo (Director of Percussion at Interlochen Center for the Arts) and Doug Perkins (Director of Percussion at the University of Michigan), is centered around an 18-note metallophone and 40 tuned wind chimes. The instruments were built by Interlochen alumnus Garry Kvistad, who attended National Music Camp and Interlochen Arts Camp in 1963 and 1964 and Interlochen Arts Academy from 1964 to 1967. Current Interlochen visual arts students, led by Patty Smith, embellished and adorned the wind chimes into works of art.
Installed across campus, the chimes turn the grounds into a sound environment that changes with the northern Michigan weather, to the ode of a classic Camp song, Sound the Call.
The release of the wind chimes will be coupled by a world premiere of a newly commissioned work by composer Joseph Karz, an Interlochen Arts Camp alumnus who attended in 2017 and 2018. The Interlochen Percussion Ensemble will perform the premiere, pairing the new composition with an installation built by an alumnus whose time on campus came five decades earlier.
"As we reflect on a century of artistic excellence and creative community, 'Sounding the Call' signifies that moment between the past and the future of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, their alumnus and the many alumnus to come in the next 100 years" said Interlochen Director of Percussion Keith Aleo. "This is one of many meaningful ways to launch our centennial celebrations and show our commitment to our enduring legacy as a worldwide arts institution."
"Sounding the Call" is one of several events planned for Interlochen's centennial. Others include the Interlochen Centennial "Collage" in July 2027 and a centennial performance of "Les Préludes" in August 2027.
About Interlochen Center for the Arts
Interlochen Center for the Arts is a nonprofit arts education and cultural institution located in northwest Michigan. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Interlochen serves artists and arts enthusiasts through Interlochen Arts Camp, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Online, Interlochen Presents, Interlochen Public Radio, Interlochen Hospitality, and Interlochen College of Creative Arts. Since 1928, Interlochen has brought people together through excellence in education and the arts while inspiring creativity, artistic growth, collaboration, and a lifelong passion for the arts.
Media Contact
Shore Fire Media, Interlochen Center for the Arts, 1 (718) 522-7171, [email protected]
SOURCE Interlochen Center for the Arts
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