Summer, Fall, and Beyond!

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Now that fall the 2013-2014 season are finally here, everyone at team 5HE is remembering the awesome fun of summer as they hit the rehearsal room & performance stage for a crazy fall, but we're also looking forward to our upcoming season with as much vigor and excitement as you can imagine possible.

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In preparation to kick off the season, I asked some of our ensemble members what the most awesome part of their summers was, as well as what they are most looking forward to this season.  I thought I'd share some of these responses with you to give you a peek into our brains.

First up:  What was the most awesome/exciting/fun thing you did this summer?

Anna: celebrating graduation, new full-time position with 5HE, and my engagement with some really fun celebrations hosted by my family and friends!

Melissa: fresh inc!  Duh!

Jani: Climbing Fisher Peak, an amazing peak, with three of my best friends in July.

Eric S: The most exciting thing I did this summer was attend the Goat Rodeo Sessions concert at Ravinia. It was such a special experience to witness the absolute best in their fields put on, what I would consider,  to be the epitome of a chamber music experience.  The music was of the highest caliber,  but what made it so special was the way they made every audience member, including this one, feel like they were in the stage with them and like they were carrying on a conversation with me, personally.  It was an experience I will never forget and a model of excellence that I will always aspire to achieve.

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Clark: fresh inc!  Getting the chance to work, collaborate, and teach with with four (!!!) violists was pretty awesome.

Merideth: move to Chicago to start my dream job with Fifth House!

Drew: Making eye contact with a large bull Moose at 20 feet while hiking in an Alaska Tundra.

Carole: The awesome-ness of fresh inc, followed by a much needed relaxing vacation in Saint Augustine, Florida visiting and hanging out with some family members I haven't seen in a few years!  

And second: What are you most looking forward to in the 2013-2014 season?

Anna: developing our winter and spring shows into really unforgettable new collaborations!

Melissa: I'm REALLY looking forward to our year-long residency at DePauw University this coming year. As Ensemble-in-Residence we'll be working with the School of Music and the amazing performing arts center over the course of next season to create "Harvest," a new show that celebrates memories, ideas, and images gathered from the Putnam County community. To prepare for that, we'll stage pop-up performances in community spaces, train DePauw students to present effective educational programming and outreach, and get to know the Greencastle community in as many crazy ways as we can dream up together. Can't wait!

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Jani: seeing our new CD in print, with our sleek new photos in the liner notes, and all of our amazing collaborators getting credit for their work. And, then winning a Grammy for it.

Eric S: The concert experience I am most looking forward to this season is our new Graphic Novel concert with collaborator, Chicago artist Sarah Becan. Ever since Black Violet, which was such a tremendous success for our ensemble,  I have been itching to have a follow-up concert experience like that, and I believe Sarah is going to bring that to the table.  She is a tremendous talent, with a fresh new perspective and she will get to work with our stellar wind quintet for this concert. I am oozing with excitement and cannot wait for our audiences to be brought into the experience.

Merideth: learning new rep with new people and connecting with children and audiences in Chicago and on tour!

Drew: Really looking forward to performing at Black Violet at New England Conservatory and then back in Chi town!depauw - fall 2013-1142

Carole: By being able to work full time with 5HE this season, I'm able to experience everything we do on a completely different level.  Working with Fifth House is incredibly fulfilling for me, and always has been, but I've already found that working full time has afforded me even more inspiring artistic opportunities, both as a staff member and an audience member (for 5HE and other arts groups!), than I even thought were possible!  Plus, I'm pretty excited to be bringing 5HE to my home state of Indiana for our residency at DePauw this year.  I'm hoping to be able to bring a huge number of friends and family members out to events!

And Eric H's responses?  Well he was awesome enough to write me a full post on his experience at the Pacific Music Festival this summer, so keep an eye out for that!

What's your best memory from this summer?  And what are you most looking forward to, both from Fifth House and in general, this coming year?