The Festival Spirit, return to Carnegie, and our first Chicago appearance!

Hello from snowy Milwaukee, Wisconsin! After a much-needed holiday break with our families and loved ones, Sybarite5 hit the ground running in January and dove into a 9-5 lifestyle for a few days! We were happy to be selected as one of four artists to participate in the Young Performers Career Advancement program, at this year's APAP conference. Led by career-counseling expert Angela Beeching, the program allowed us to hear from and speak to many inspiring presenters, artists, managers, and other experts from within our field over several days, culminating in a showcase performance at Carnegie Hall! In addition to the dizzying amount of information and guidance we received (our heads are still spinning from processing it all), we got a kick out of returning to Carnegie so soon after our debut there this past November. This time, we were thrilled to share the concert with our talented friends from the Linden String Quartet, pianist extraordinaire Gabriela Martinez, and incredible cellist Gabriel Cabezas. We are confident that the benefits of YPCA will figure prominently in the development of our career for years to come. With our Carnegie showcase as a launching pad for our winter tour, we headed far west the very next day to the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in Washington State. Having gotten our start at the Aspen Music Festival, we are no strangers to the music festival scene, and we loved every minute of this music-filled week. Artistic director, violist/violinist Timothy Christie and his wife, violinist Maria Sampen, have created a thriving music festival that truly enriches and interacts with the community around it. From the creative concerts at Sinclair Estate Vineyards,  Charles Smith Wines & Foundry Vineyards, to a converted power plant at the Gesa Power House Theatre, to the open rehearsal held in at Salumiere Cesario, to the artist accommodations in the lovely homes of local arts supporters, this festival has become an important part of the cultural fabric of Walla Walla. We had the pleasure of collaborating with Tim and Maria, as well as violinist Julia Salerno and her father, cellist Ben Gish, on Golijiv's striking, tango-inspired Last Round and Bach's undeniable Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The concerts were packed, the audiences warm and appreciative, and the food and wine were none too shabby either! We couldn't have asked for a better experience for our first time headlining a festival, and we hope to return to Walla-squared as soon as possible.

Now we're in Milwaukee for a Shuffle Effect concert at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center this weekend, and tomorrow we'll take a little drive to Chicago to perform on WFMT's Impromptu radio show in front of a live studio audience. So if you're in the Chicago area, please tune in at 3:00pm to hear selections from our new, all-Radiohead CD Everything In Its Right Place and more Sybarite5 favorites. Then we're off to Reno, Nevada to bring our New Music Idol program to the University of Nevada. Stay tuned for more updates from the road!