Idyllwild Arts Academy is a private school located in Idyllwild, in the

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mou ...

and

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...

, within western

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

. The school was founded in 1946. It was previously known as Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts.

About

It offers a college preparatory program for grades 9–12 and post-graduates, with training in music, theater, dance, visual art, creative writing, film, and interdisciplinary arts. An audition or portfolio is required for admission. The academy is accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

(WASC). It was the first independent boarding high school for the arts in the western United States. Idyllwild Arts Academy offers programs including music,

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

, and

interdisciplinary arts Interdisciplinary arts are a combination of arts that use an interdisciplinary approach involving more than one artistic discipline. Examples of different arts include visual arts, performing arts, musical arts, digital arts, conceptual arts, etc ...

. Outside of regular school year, Idyllwild Arts Academy offers summer workshops that include

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

in the Pines,

ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

, Native American Arts.

Notable alumni

Joel Gennari, Artist. Emmy Award-winning puppet builder for The Jim Henson Company. Book illustrator for Soman Chainani, Victoria Aveyard, & Harper Collins *

Casey Abrams Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is an American musician from Idyllwild, California, who finished in sixth place in the 10th season of ''American Idol,'' five weeks after being saved from elimination by the judges. A self-titled debut al ...

, ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' season 10 contestant and musician *

Clayton Alexander Clayton may refer to: People *Clayton (name) * Clayton baronets * The Clayton Brothers, Jeff and John, jazz musicians *Clayton Brothers, Rob and Christian, painter artists * Justice Clayton (disambiguation), the judges Clayton Places Canada * Cl ...

, inventor. *

Amanda Aday Amanda Lee Aday (born January 21, 1981) is an American actress, best known for her recurring role as Dora Mae Dreifuss on the first season of the HBO series '' Carnivàle'' (2003–05). Early life and family Born in New York City, Aday is the ...

, actress. *

Neal Bledsoe Neal Bledsoe (born March 26, 1981) is a Canadian and American actor, writer, and filmmaker. Early life Bledsoe was born in Toronto, but grew up in Seattle, Washington. Both of his grandfathers served in the Air Force during World War II and his ...

, actor on Smash and Ugly Betty. *

Douwe Blumberg Douwe Blumberg (pronounced "Dow", born January 30, 1965) is a bronze sculptor who is most well known for his statue of a special forces soldier on horseback commemorating Special Forces operations in Afghanistan during the opening days of Operat ...

, sculptor. *

Evan Christopher Evan Christopher (born August 31, 1969) is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. Biography Background His first musical training was at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. After high school, he studied saxophone at the University ...

, clarinetist. *

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker cam ...

, artist. *

Greer Grammer Kandace Greer Grammer (born February 15, 1992) is an American actress and former beauty queen. She is best known for her role as Lissa Miller in the MTV series ''Awkward (TV series), Awkward'' and for her role in the 2021 Netflix-released film ''D ...

, actress *

Trevor Hall Trevor Hall may refer to: * Trevor Hall (musician), American singer, lyricist and guitarist * ''Trevor Hall'' (album), an album by Trevor Hall * Trevor Hall (rugby league), New Zealand landlord, salesman, and professional rugby league footballer ...

, musician. *

Celeste Headlee Celeste Headlee (born December 30, 1969) is an American radio journalist, author, public speaker, and co-host of the weekly series ''Retro Report on PBS.'' In her 20-year career in public radio, Headlee has served as the host of the Georgia Publi ...

, author and radio host *

Marin Ireland Marin Yvonne Ireland is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". Her accolades include a Theatre World Award and nomina ...

, actress *

Aaron Lee Tasjan Aaron Lee Tasjan (born August 24, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Tasjan is reported to have his own distinct version of "indie folk grit." Garret Woodward of the Smoky Mountain News says, "Tasjan's word ...

, musician. *

Nate Lowman Nate Lowman (born 1979 in Las Vegas Valley) is an American artist working in the genre of pop art. He grew up in Idyllwild–Pine Cove, California, Idyllwild, CA where he graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy. He received his Bachelor of Science d ...

, artist. *

Jennifer Missoni Jennifer Missoni (born April 3, 1985) is an Italian actress known for such films and television shows as '' Playback'', ''Gossip Girl'', ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and '' Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story''. Missoni attended Idyllwild Arts A ...

, actress. *

Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...

, conductor and pianist * Liang Wang, oboeist *

Mara Wilson Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress and writer. She rose to prominence as a child for playing Natalie Hillard in the film ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) and went on to play Susan Walker in ''Miracle on 34th Street (1994 ...

, actress.

Notable faculty

* Lisa Adams, painter * Suzanne Jackson, visual artist and dancer *

Michael Kabotie Michael Kabotie, also known as Lomawywesa (September 3, 1942 – October 23, 2009) was a Hopi silversmith, painter, sculptor, and poet. He is known for his petroglyph and geometric imagery. Background Michael Kabotie was born September 3, 194 ...

, Hopi silversmith *

Bella Lewitzky Bella Lewitzky (January 13, 1916, Los Angeles, California – July 16, 2004, Pasadena, California) was a modern dance choreographer, dancer and teacher. Biography Born to Jewish Russian immigrants, Lewitzky spent her childhood on a ranch in San ...

, Modern dancer and founding chair of the Dance Department at Idyllwild Arts Academy (1956–1972). * Mary Stone McLendon, Chickasaw artist and educator. *

Eleonore Schoenfeld Eleonore Schoenfeld (March 6, 1925 – January 1, 2007) was an American musician, considered one of the most influential cellists of the 20th century. Biography Born in Maribor, Slovenia to a Polish father and a Russian mother, Schoenfeld m ...

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

and longtime professor at University of Southern California (USC) at the Thornton School of Music.

In popular culture

In the television series ''The Fosters'' the character Brandon Foster attends a summer program in piano composition at Idyllwild. Author

Justin Cronin Justin Cronin (born 1962) is an American author. He has written five novels: ''Mary and O'Neil'' and ''The Summer Guest'', as well as a vampire trilogy consisting of ''The Passage,'' '' The Twelve'' and '' City of Mirrors''. He has won the Heming ...

confirmed on Twitter that Idyllwild Arts Academy eventually becomes the community called First Colony in his book ''

The Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

'' as humanity tries to survive one hundred years into a vampire apocalypse.

References

External links

*
The Association of Boarding Schools profile
{{authority control High schools in Riverside County, California Art schools in California Music schools in California Private high schools in California Preparatory schools in California San Jacinto Mountains Educational institutions established in 1986 1986 establishments in California Schools of the performing arts in the United States Boarding schools in California