Opening my voice

Rhinelander High School student Kyree McMahon, 16, attended a prestigious arts camp for the second year in a row this summer. The camp’s alumni include many successful artists, and several who recently were nominees at the 77th Emmy Awards.

Kyree’s mother, Tessa, said they learned about Interlochen Center for the Arts through social media and, after researching it a little bit more, Kyree applied. Tessa said it’s a very competitive admittance process, so they were pleased when Kyree was accepted the first time. This year, she said, Kyree was invited back and didn’t have to reapply. 

“It’s one of the top performing arts camps … in the world,” Tessa said about Interlochen, which is located on the north west side of Michigan’s lower peninsula. “People come from all over the world. There’s all kinds of different performing centers within it.”

Rhinelander High School student Kyree McMahon takes part in a choir performance at a prestigious summer camp hosted by Interlochen Center for the Arts this summer. (Contributed photograph)

She said more than 10,000 students apply to attend the three week camp, but only 10 percent are accepted.

Interlochen isn’t a “fun summer camp,” Tessa said, also indicating students are on a strict schedule to hone their skills. For Kyree, that’s singing, though she’s very much involved in theater in and outside of high school as well.

“She fell in love with opera through doing solo ensemble in her freshman year and singing a piece for that, and it just resonated with her and her teacher really saw a spark,” she said of her daughter. 

Not only does Interlochen host summer camp for the artistically gifted, but it also offers a year-round academy for students. 

Tessa said Kyree hopes to attend the academy for her senior year of high school. 

“It’s really costly, so we would probably have to see what kind of financial assistance that the school would provide,” she said. “But that’s something that she’s … eyeing up in the future.”

When Kyree returned to the Northwoods, she said her second year of camp was “a little different” than her first. 

“It’s always just a really good experience because all of the people are just really good people, and you find people that you can just connect with … easily in a way,” she said. “Like I don’t think I met a person that’s been … really terrible to me ever. All the people in my opera arts group were all super awesome people.”

The opera program at Interlochen taught her a lot, Kyree said. 

“It just has helped me come out of my shell, open my voice more,” she said. “Like I’ve been able to push myself more than I thought I could and do a bunch of different things I wish I could’ve done when I was younger and now I can do.”

The teachers at Interlochen were very helpful. Kyree indicated they were constantly there to assist her. 

“You basically are just like always learning,” she said. 

Kyree’s love for opera came when she sang her first classical piece before she was in high school and it made her realize how capable her voice really was. 

“It was a little confusing at first because … my voice (felt) so much bigger than it usually (was) and I didn’t know what was happening,” she said. “It was a really big eye-opener for me because it really helped me … just believe in myself more than I thought I did and it made me feel like I was actually … a good enough singer for people.”

One story from camp Kyree said she’ll never forget came last summer, when she attended Interlochen for the first time. 

She said the camp “forgot to cast” her prior to her arrival. Therefore, she showed up the first day without knowing she had to have learned “an entire piece” beforehand. 

“One of the directors, who I’m pretty close with now, walks up to me and says ‘Hey Kyree, so we kind of like forgot to cast you, but I have a piece you’re going to perform with someone else. So basically you have three weeks to learn and perform it,’” Kyree said. “And I’m like ‘Oh, awesome!’”

She said she didn’t realize other camp-goers had time prior to camp to prepare. 

“So during the afternoon, we’re working on our opera scenes and I’m like ‘Oh my God, how are they doing this?’” she said. “And then they’re like ‘Honey, we’ve had this for three weeks already, at least’ and I was just … baffled and I was … so surprised.”

Surprised, but not discouraged. 

Kyree said she “really cracked down” and, with the help of many of her teachers and directors who believed in her, she had one of her most memorable performances.

“It also was … life-changing in a way,” she said. “Because … I’ve never felt the same … about singing.”

This year, Kyree said, her piece posed certain challenges because it was to be performed as a trio. 

She said she didn’t know the other two camp-goers that well at first, which made it difficult to prepare for at first. 

Kyree said she wasn’t worried, but more insecure about her own voice.

“But I get (to camp) and I meet these people and these people were like the nicest people ever,” she said. “Like I have so many different and funny memories … this past summer. And it was kind of hard my first summer there because I was so cracked down, and I feel like I didn’t experience as much of the campy stuff, but aside from that, both experiences were a lot different, but were both really good and awesome.”

Next up for the to-be junior is a fall musical at Rhinelander High School, which she said she’s “really excited” for. Additionally, Kyree said she looks forward to the high school swim season “because our swim team … is just one big family.”

“And in September I’m hoping to apply for the Interlochen Academy,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s harder to get into, but I at least want to try-out for it and see how that goes because Interlochen has just been a really big thing for me, so I hope it goes well.”

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].