Written & Photographed By WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH
The Jack Lawrence Performance Lodge, at once rustic and elegant.
Last July, weary of beach and board games, I found myself craving a new cultural experience: something musical in nature that didn’t involve a lot of driving, throngs of people, or pricey entry fees. Suddenly, I remembered Luzerne Music Center (LMC), a music camp in Lake Luzerne that provides world-class music instruction and opportunities to aspiring young musicians. I’d heard stories about people canoeing on the lake as the soft strains of music filtered through the pines. I’d even driven past the Center’s Route 9N sign dozens of times over the years, yet I’d never investigated further. I decided it was time to learn more about this surely harmonious place.
A bit of online sleuthing revealed that LMC offered an abundant list of summertime concerts, some performed by the camp’s faculty and many more put on by LMC students. Faculty Artist Concerts are affordably priced ($15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for students, free to children under 18); and all Student Concerts are open to the public and free of charge. Intrigued by the prospect of seeing and hearing budding musicians in action, my husband and I marked our calendar for a music-filled afternoon on campus.
The Junior Session Symphony Orchestra performs at The Shed.
At the Center’s wooded entrance, we stopped briefly to savor the peace and tranquility of the setting. LMC’s 20-acre plot was originally home to the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk Nation Council) and a gathering place for the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Indigenous peoples. The Luzerne Music Center is deeply committed to fostering diversity, tolerance, kindness, and respect among its students and faculty. Equally committed to honoring those who came before, the Center strives to keep its vibrant history alive and to serve as responsible stewards of the land.
Arriving on campus, we found a large green field of open space, edged by cozy dormitory cabins, practice cottages, large performance venues, and various administrative buildings. In recent years, extensive capital improvements have been made to update and expand the facilities, with many more yet to come. The campus was bustling with instrument-carrying musicians, their families, and day visitors of all ages—clearly a place where activity was the norm rather than the exception!
Attracting musicians from all over the world, LMC hosts 150 gifted musicians each year while maintaining an impressive 8:1 student-to-staff ratio. A typical day includes morning and afternoon music classes and practice followed by a variety of physical games and lakeside activities. During August, Senior Session students spend a thrilling week interacting, studying, and performing with members of the Philharmonic Orchestra. Mondays, however, are non-music, ‘recreation-only’ days when all students enjoy field trips to water parks, SPAC, and other fun local sites.
For decades, beginning in 1909, LMC’s campus was home to Camp Tekakwitha, a summer camp for boys from Albany’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In 1980, following the camp’s closure, the property was purchased by Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Bert Phillips and Steinway pianist Toby Blumenthal. This gifted husband/wife duo had long envisioned a topnotch music center where talented musicians from all walks of life could partake equally in training and mentorship from world-renowned musicians. To this day, LMC remains committed to this mission, welcoming people of “any race, creed, color, socioeconomic status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex, ability, military status, marital status, or age.”
At the helm of Luzerne Music Center today, serving as CEO and Artistic Director, is internationally-celebrated classical violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn. The Philadelphia native, whose own violin training began at age three, attended LMC herself as a student in the late 1980s and, years later, became Bert Phillips’ chosen successor as the organization’s President and CEO. Year after year, passionate about young people and education, Pitcairn continues to embrace, lead, and challenge LMC students and faculty.
The newly constructed octagonal concert hall with grand piano.
During our visit, my husband and I were impressed by the poise and friendliness of the students we met. From the greeters who welcomed us and handed out programs to the skilled young performers, everyone seemed to take pride in working efficiently and energetically as a team. The first of that day’s two-part concert — a Piano Prelude performance held within LMC’s elegant Jack Lawrence Performance Lodge—included 15 different works, spanning several centuries. When the piano concert ended, we moved to a more casual outdoor auditorium where the Junior Session Symphony Orchestra performed four energetic works on LMC’s open air Shed Stage.
As the afternoon wound down, I realized we’d truly been honored to enjoy such a full and diverse program of piano and orchestral music at LMC’s exquisite Adirondack campus. Music brightens the world, and seeing so many talented young people sharing their art and their commitment to one another was, at once, inspiring and heartwarming.
With summer fast approaching, my husband and I find ourselves already making plans for a return visit to Luzerne Music Center—and this time, we’ll bring our grandchildren! For us, a wonderful new family tradition has begun.
To learn more about LMC and see its schedule of summer concerts, visit www.luzernemusic.org
