Choir Camp
52nd ANNUAL CHOIR CAMP - SAVE THE DATE!
August 6-12, 2024
Registration - Late March 2024
Registration has not opened yet for the 52nd annual Pioneer Choir Camp, August 6-12, 2024! All new & returning choir students are strongly encouraged to attend this transformative week at the Interlochen Center for the Arts!
REGISTRATION
Overview
Pioneer Choir Camp is held at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, and all students enrolled in the Pioneer Choirs for the upcoming school year are encouraged to attend. Choir Camp is an exciting opportunity for students from all grade levels and ensembles to sing and play together. Over the course of a single week, students heighten musicianship, improve leadership skills, and develop lifelong friendships. Camp is invaluable in building an esprit de corps that is vital to presenting expressive, exciting, and engaging performances. Senior members of the choir plan evening social activities and serve as mentors for new members, helping them get acclimated to Pioneer High School and the choir program. Students stay in cabins that represent a mixture of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors from each choir. When the school year begins, new students know a large contingent of the Pioneer student population, easing their transition to high school.
Traditionally, on Sunday afternoon, the Pioneer High School Choirs, Orchestras, and Bands present a culminating concert in Kresge Auditorium on the campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Camp concludes with a closing campfire on Sunday evening, and the students return to Ann Arbor on Monday.
Choir Camp Traditions
A Brief History
The Pioneer Choirs began providing a camp experience during the 1972-73 school year. Robert Pratt (Pioneer High School director of choirs) and Ruth Datz (Huron High School director of choirs) decided to offer a fall weekend retreat for members of the two A Cappella Choirs. The first camp experience was held at Huron High School in September 1972. That Friday, Saturday, Sunday experience in Ann Arbor led to three years of camp at Camp Tamarac, near Ortonville, first for a weekend in September, then for a week in August. In August 1977, the Pioneer and Huron Choirs joined the Pioneer and Huron Bands at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. From 1977-1988, the Pioneer and Huron Choirs spent their days together at Interlochen using the Junior Girls Camp as their headquarters. In 1989, the Pioneer Choirs moved to the High School Girls Camp at Interlochen and the Pioneer and Huron choirs met separately as the Pioneer and Huron bands had for many years. Currently, the Pioneer choirs, bands, and orchestras hold camp simultaneously, while the ensembles from Huron and Skyline join together during a separate week. From that first weekend in 1972 to the present, members of the Pioneer Choirs have enjoyed the camaraderie, learning, and singing at choir camp.
Interlochen Center for the Arts Information
Cabin Map for High School Lakeside (campground) - Interlochen Center for the Arts
