Hey, Campers!
Here at Everything Summer Camp, we learn about plenty of celebrities who were once summer campers like yourselves. It’s hard not to discover them when so many went to camp! We’ve talked about tons of pop stars, actors, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more on this Blog and today, we add Norah Jones to our list of Celebrities at Summer Camp!
I can’t imagine anyone isn’t familiar with Norah Jones, but, in case I’m wrong, she’s that singer/songwriter and actress responsible for such hits as ‘Don’t Know Why’ and ‘Come Away With Me’. She’s won lots of awards (including nine Grammy Awards) and sold more than 50 million albums the world over.
But before any of that, she attended Interlochen Center for the Arts. Located in the beautiful northwestern region of lower Michigan, Norah spent her summer days soaking in the summer sun as it beat down on 1,200 acres of Interlochen, nestled between two lakes. But Norah Jones wasn’t her name back then. It was Geetali Norah Shankar.
And even before that, she was born in Brooklyn, but raised in Grapevine, Texas. She went to Colleyville Middle School and Grapevine High School until she later transferred to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas.
Previously she had sung at mass services during her weekly visits to church and, there, she discovered a passion for singing and so she took piano and voice lessons. But it was in her high school days that her love for music truly blossomed. She sang in the choir, participated in band, and played the alto saxophone too.
She went to the University of North Texas to further her study of music, majoring in jazz piano. She also spent her time there singing with the Jazz Singers group at the school. Fresh out of her graduation in 2002, Norah launched her solo music career with an original talent for lounge music. Every coffee shop was playing her album that year.
Norah followed her passion and look where it took her. Where will yours take you? You can check out Camp Interlochen for yourself and, as always, thanks for reading.
- John