Don’t Pass Up Day One, Day Two and Day Three!
Thursday, July 31: Time For Summer Camp!
Well, it’s the last day of July and time to head back home. But first…one more stop along the way, this time for a casual lunch with world-renowned classical violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, who moonlights as the President and Artistic Director of the Luzerne Music Center. John’s pro bono work, it seems, extends far and wide, even to the epicentre of the summer camp experience in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains
Tucked away along the shores of Lake Luzerne, the music camp/retreat has hosted four-week sessions s since 1980 for rising orchestral performers from around the world. The first four weeks are for “juniors,” ranging in age from about 8 to 14; the next four weeks for the “seniors,” ages 15-18.
These are world-class players, headed for major orchestras around the globe, who audition for admittance. The instructors and guest artists are all active, top-level performers. It’s quite a collection of talent; the music coming out of the cabins and halls is lush and beautiful.
After a vegetarian chili lunch from the camp cafeteria and a short sit-down with the instructors, staff and house audio engineer, we visited The Octagon, a new, acoustically tight and musically open performance space in the middle of the grounds, designed by WSDG. While the students practiced a Dvorak Symphony for the upcoming weekly Sunday afternoon performance, we toured the rest of the facilities, and Elizabeth and John discussed a few more upcoming projects.
The Dvořák Symphony performance by the seniors on Sunday, August 3, featuring John Storyk’s favorite clarinet solo. Side note: John played clarinet in the Princeton band.
Pitcairn herself was a Luzerne camper in 1988 and 1989, when she was 14 and 15, and has maintained a professional relationship ever since. In 2010, the founders named her as their successor, and over the past three to five years, she has led an active and ongoing overhaul of the facilities throughout the camp.
It started with air conditioning and new cabin accommodations for staff and campers, followed by the first of the new practice rooms, rolled in as pre-assembled wood trailer/cabins from Pennsylvania Amish country, separated in half by an interior wall. John will be helping make them “sound good” with a few simple, low-budget fixes.
As we walked the perimeter of the camp, Pitcairn pointed out a few more upcoming upgrades, perhaps the most significant being the creation of a new bandshell to both cover the orchestra and project quality sound out to the crowd during their weekly, open-to-the-community public performances. Her spirit and commitment to the kids, starting with her impish smile and relaxed demeanor, on up to her professional resolve and violinist’s carriage, makes even this stranger want to be involved! And John is certainly involved.
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Alas, eventually we had to leave and head back to Poughkeepsie, where my friend Geoffrey Brackett from Marist University would be meeting us for dinner and then taking me away for the weekend. John would be returning home to pack for a weekend at Glimmerglass, near Cooperstown, where he and longtime friend Howie Schwartz would be taking in performances of Tosca (John’s favorite opera) and Sunday in the Park With George (“Sondheim!” John exclaims).
I sure hope I someday get a chance to return to Luzerne. It is such an inspiring musical place, and Elizabeth Pitcairn is one passionate, talented and dedicated individual. I’m so glad to know that places like this still exist in 2025. And that music can still stir the soul, even deep in the Adirondack Mountains. Thank you, Elizabeth!
