Rehearsal retreat

Last week I had the great pleasure to work for two days with my colleagues practicing the Shostakovich Octet. I was a little apprehensive going in, not having rehearsed in this configuration before, and hoping to live up to the great musicians around me. And with any eight personalities in a room, I wondered, how do you balance the contrasting, and sometimes conflicting, ideas that are are part of the rehearsal process? What I experienced was each of us having a voice in this rehearsal process, with PSQ leading the way, and Fellows holding their own.

Of course, even with all the time spent on the octet, there was room for good food and good fun. Two brilliant teams (Fellows vs. PSQ, of course) tapped their creative juices in Cranium on Tuesday night over the course of three games: final tally 2-1.

-Rachel Panitch, Fellow