About Academy
As a boarding arts high school, we give our artists an exceptional pre-professional education, and we also recognize their art is just the beginning of who they will become–and what they will do– as Citizen Artists.
Idyllwild Arts emboldens and cultivates the artist as:
An Interdisciplinary Thinker
Master teachers guide the practice of creativity and connectivity within and across all subject areas, instilling in students a well-honed and nuanced ability to think critically and holistically and to problem-solve with agility and imagination.
When I was in college, my classes were unrelated to one another but informed each other, and that’s the interdisciplinary curriculum at Idyllwild Arts. There are a lot of crossed paths in my life and my thinking, and my work thrives because of that.
Alum
An Individual
Idyllwild’s intimate size, scale, and deliberately secluded location provides a sanctuary for self-discovery, maintaining the space for students to undertake the journey of self-recognition, while nurturing their independence and originality.
This is a place where anyone can be themselves.
Student
A Partner
Idyllwild Arts actively curates an environment promoting collaboration over competition to move beyond mere conservatory prep. At Idyllwild Arts, each student is uplifted and supported by their peers and expected to do the same in return.
Idyllwild Arts is a community that supports not just what the teachers are doing, but every single student. Every single day in every way. I’ve never been a part of something like this before. It really is extraordinary.
Faculty Member
A Citizen
As an international, multicultural community representative of authentic and multilayered diversity, Idyllwild members engage in the earnest dialogues about identity that prove integral to becoming both world-focused citizens and their fuller selves.
My child is becoming a citizen of the world–all discovered at Idyllwild Arts on a mountaintop.
Parent
An Apprentice to Nature
Inspired by the Cahuilla land on which the community dwells, Idyllwild Arts embraces the sacredness of all spaces, both within and without. All members respect and seek the human-nature relationship daily as one rich in lessons and vital to personal and societal evolution.
The ever-presence of nature is a driving force for so many lessons. It’s grounding. It’s connection. It’s a part of understanding our human purpose.
Faculty Member
Nicole Disson
Film & Digital Media Faculty
Producing for Film and Media Makers
Film & Digital Media
ndisson@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Kathryn McCluskey
Dance Faculty
Contemporary/Modern Dance
Dance
kmccluskey@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Tricia Pilkington
Music Faculty
Songwriting and Private Lessons
Music
tpilkington@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Oliver Young
Film & Digital Media Faculty
Cinematography
Film & Digital Media
951.659.2171
oliveryoung@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Alicia Serling
Parks Exhibition Center Manager
Visual Arts Faculty
Visual Arts
951.659.2171
aserling@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Marjorie Perry
World Languages Faculty
English for Academic Communication
951.659.2171
mperry@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Timothy Collins
Film & Digital Media Faculty
Production Design
Film & Digital Media
951.659.2171
tcollins@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Jeff Bell
Musical Theater Faculty and Music Director
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171
jbell@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Jason Hallowbard
Head of School
Music Faculty
Music
951.659.2171 x2224
jhallowbard@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Leadership
Alexander McLaughlin
Music Faculty & Jazz Program Director
Music
alexanderm@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Rebecca Kandel
Director of AEL
Interim Director of College Counseling
rkandel@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Denis McCourt Stryjewski
Dramatic Arts Chair
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2206
dstryjewski@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Jeanette Knight
Dramatic Arts Faculty
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2208
jknight@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Tom Hynes
Music Faculty & Jazz in the Pines Summer Director
Jazz Guitar
Music
thynes@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Isaac Webb
InterArts Chair & Faculty, Creative Writing, Film & Digital Media
Creative Writing, Film & Digital Media, InterArts
iwebb@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Catalina Alcaraz-Guzman
Film & Digital Media Chair
Film & Digital Media
catalinaag@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Andrew Leeson
Music, Dramatic Arts and Creative Writing Faculty
Dorm Parent
Dramatic Arts, InterArts, Music
aleeson@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Staff
Braden Diotte
Music Faculty
Music Technology
Music
951.659.2171 x2313
bdiotte@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Kirt Wackford, PhD
Mathematics and Science Chair
Dorm Parent
kwackford@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Staff
Maygen Sandrini
World Languages Faculty
English for Academic Communication
msandrini@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Dr. Marshall Hawkins
Music Faculty
Jazz, Bass and Piano
Music
951.659.2171 x2302
mhawkins@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Dr. Doug Ashcraft, DMA
Music Faculty
Piano
Music
951.659.2171 x2370
dashcraft@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Hai Cohen
Dance & Musical Theatre Faculty
Dance, Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2235
haicohen@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Jonathan Sharp
Dance & Musical Theatre Faculty
Dance, Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2236
jsharp@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Jeanette Louise Yaryan, dMA
Assistant Head of School
Music Faculty, Piano
Music
951.659.2171 x2373
jlyaryan@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Staff
Dimyana Pelev
Dramatic Arts Faculty
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2208
dpelev@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Trevor Holmes
Dramatic Arts Faculty
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2241
tholmes@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Todd Carpenter
Dramatic Arts Faculty
Campus Technical Director
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2242
toddc@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Bonnie Carpenter
Dramatic Arts Faculty
Dorm Head
Dramatic Arts
951.659.2171 x2208
bonniec@idyllwildarts.org
Faculty
Staff
