Lila Dettelback and Josh Knehans are studying voice at Interlochen Arts Camp 2022.
They visited Studio A to chat and perform music of Luigi Rossi and Antonín Dvořák.
Lila is a soprano from Martinsville, New Jersey. She says she could never have imagined a place like Interlochen.
“I’ve never been exposed to music 24/7 the way that we are here. I mean, every single class that I’m in is catered directly to my interests and what I want to do in the future.”
She performed a song by Venetian Baroque composer Luigi Rossi with collaborative pianist Yi-Hui Chen called "Anime, voi che sete" (You souls, who are oppressed), which expresses the pain of a lover's jealousy.
It took a lot of hard work to learn this piece, as it is jam-packed with Italian text, and has a sparse piano accompaniment that often leaves the voice exposed. But Lila welcomes that challenge, because the song is full of expressive opportunities.
“I really enjoy singing Baroque music; especially this piece because the beginning starts with just rolled chords in the piano… which means that there is a lot of room for me to express emotion and musicality through my voice, which is always something I enjoy doing.”
In addition to her singing, Lila is also a lifeguard and swim instructor at her local YMCA. She also gave a shoutout to her dog Onyx, a beagle mutt who’s her favorite thing in the world. Onyx could not be reached for comment, but we’re sure the feeling is mutual.
Tenor Josh Knehans comes to Interlochen from his hometown of Cincinnati, OH. He loves the way he's immersed in different kinds of music-making at camp.
“It’s very hands on; a lot of classes and music and scenes are thrown at you. I find that very enjoyable, to just kind of take that all in.”
He performed Dvořák's lyrical "Als die alte Mutter" (Songs My Mother Taught Me) with pianist Yi-Hui Chen.
Josh has also played the French horn for seven years and is a part of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra. He plans to audition for music schools on both horn and voice!
He notes that there are several ways in which singing and brass playing are connected.
“There’s a lot of overlap between breath support, vowels even, with singing and horn playing. You have to change the shape of your mouth for different registers, so it’s very similar in that aspect.”
Josh studies voice at Interlochen Arts Camp with Dr. Matthew Valverde, and Lila studies with Dr. André Chiang.
Special thanks to voice area coordinator Dr. Autumn West, and to Stefan Wiebe, who engineered this edition of Studio A.
