2026 International Orchestra
The Blue Lake International Youth Symphony Orchestra is comprised of talented and inspired young musicians and performs a full range of traditional and contemporary orchestral works. In 2026, the orchestra will perform selections to include: European premier of Kirt Mosier’s Lift Off, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “New World,” Vaughn Williams’ Folk Song Suite, Sibelius’ Finlandia, and more.
Each of the groups in the Blue Lake International Exchange Program will visit six host communities in 2–3 European countries with several group excursions throughout the trip. Tentative countries for the 2026 IYSO include France and Germany, but the tour may expand depending on invitations. Final tour schedules will not be available until the late spring
Dates
Sunday, November 9, 2025 – Rehearsal Day
(8:00am – 4:00pm)
Sunday, April 19, 2026 – Rehearsal Day
(8:00am – 4:00pm)
Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Weekend
(arrive 7pm)
Friday, June 12 – Friday, June 19, 2026 – Intensive Rehearsal Week
(arrive 7pm)
Friday, June 19, 2026 – Depart from Blue Lake for Europe!
(Ensemble departs from either Chicago or Detroit to Paris CDG)
Friday, July 10, 2026 – Return flight to U.S.
(Ensemble returns to same port of departure. Parents meet students at airport)
Saturday, July 11, 2026 – Homecoming Celebration Day at Blue Lake!
(12pm – 9pm) (Parents bring students to Blue Lake)
Tuition
Tuition includes supervision and instruction, room and board on camp prior to departure, airfare, coach travel in Europe, and several excursions en route. The cost of 2026 tuition is $6,890, with a minimum $750 deposit due at time of enrollment. Scholarships are available for tour alumni and those who have attended Blue Lake as a camper in the 2025 season. Financial need and instrumentation scholarships may also be available in some circumstances.
Director
Keith Dodson
Director
Dr. Keith Dodson is currently Director of Orchestral Activities and Assistant Professor of Conducting at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Dr. Dodson completed his PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Orchestral Conducting at the Florida State University College of Music.
Since the summer of 2021, Dr. Dodson has served on the conducting faculty at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. He has conducted the Vander Linde Band (2021), Symphony Orchestra (2022–2024), and the Masterworks Orchestra (2025). In the fall of 2025, Dr. Dodson will conduct the world premiere of a new full orchestral work by renowned composer Kirt Mosier entitled Lift Off, which will take place at Central Michigan University with Houston-based Summer Creek High School and their conductor, David Irish. Prior to his career in higher education, he held secondary instrumental positions at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School and Matanzas High School in Central Florida.
At Central Michigan University, Dr. Dodson serves as Music Director of the Central Michigan University Symphony Orchestra. This flagship ensemble hosts top-performing undergraduate and graduate music majors, in addition to other non-music major students at CMU. A passionate educator, Dr. Dodson serves as co-director of the Michigan American String Teachers Association chapter at Central Michigan University alongside Dr. Jamie Fiste, where the pair mentors future string music educators. As an active clinician, Dr. Dodson has conducted middle school and high school honor orchestras in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio, and also led clinics for numerous middle and high school bands and orchestras in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas. Notably, Dr. Dodson served as a guest conductor for the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra Honors String Day in the spring of 2025, will conduct the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp International Youth Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2026, and will serve as the Florida 9–10 All-State Concert Orchestra Conductor in the spring of 2027.
