Head of the Class

Fifth House has partnered with educational institutions since 2007, so a lot of what we brought to Fresh Inc comes from our own experiences at colleges and conservatories and understanding their challenges in implementing curricula to train the 21st-century musician. Time is our greatest commodity and also the most limiting factor. A lot of this content is seen as either/or: if you’re going to put this in the schedule, something else has to be taken out. And while Fresh Inc isn’t bound by a conservatory’s scheduling constraints, we have a very short time to accomplish what we need to in two weeks. We’re iterating all the time, learning as we go. One big question that’s come up a lot has been diversity, helping people understand how their own identity relates to the art they create and also creating more inclusive spaces. Fresh Inc happens at a time in an artist’s life when they’re really wrestling with this, for personal and professional reasons. And so that’s one of the reasons we started our Fresh Voices program—so marginalized musicians can develop the kind of leadership and entrepreneurial skills to make their careers flourish. Ultimately, any program that promotes “extra-musical” skills needs to be viewed as “yes, and” as opposed to “instead of.” Because none of the things we’re talking about here are going to be effective if you don’t have the chops. You gotta have the goods—even if you’re playing for third graders, people know if you’re faking.

Published for Symphony Magazine on October 24, 2019