Interlochen Arts Academy students have a unique challenge ahead of them. During the 2025-26 Academy year, they will learn one of the most challenging pieces in the orchestral repertoire: the Symphony no. 4 by Charles Ives.
This Ives symphony will appear on the same program as a new cello concerto by Wynton Marsalis featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
This concert program will be performed at Interlochen and then go on tour in March 2026, with stops in Detroit, Boston and Washington, D.C.
Scholar Jan Swafford visited Interlochen to give the Academy students and faculty an introduction to composer Charles Ives.
Regarded as one of the most important of American composers, Ives has been called everything from "iconoclast" to "maverick" with his unique approach to music composition.
Ives' music often features complex orchestrations, references to American transcendentalism and a strong sense of the composer's spirituality. The music of Charles Ives is also characterized by his frequent use of musical borrowing, with melodies of hymns, patriotic songs, band music and popular tunes woven into each piece.
View the complete performance score of Charles Ives's Symphony no. 4 here.
Hear Jan Swafford in conversation from a live interview given in Corson Auditorium at Interlochen Center for the Arts with Interlochen Public Radio music director Amanda Sewell.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Pieces by Charles Ives excerpted in this presentation
Holiday Quickstep
Psalm 67
Symphony no. 1
Symphony no. 1
Decoration Day
Symphony no. 4
Ragtime Dance
Fourth of July
Additional support for this interview came from Michael Culler, Robert Cracknell and Heather Kaatz.
