Fifth House Ensemble Announces New Artistic Leadership Structure
Chicago, IL - Fifth House Ensemble (5HE), praised for “conviction, authority, and finesse” by the New York Times, announces a new artistic leadership. Founding cellist Herine Coetzee Koschak has been appointed 5HE’s Director of Artistic Programming and will directly collaborate with Shawn Okpebholo who assumes the role of Composer in Residence for the group. Herine will provide artistic oversight of the ensemble’s mission, and work with Shawn to create engaging performances and interactive programs, forge meaningful partnerships with unexpected venues, artists of other disciplines, educational institutions, and audiences of every type.
“We’re in great hands with Shawn and Herine at the artistic helm,” said Alexandra Olsavsky, 5HE’s Executive Director. “While working with Shawn to premiere Fractured Water, it was immediately apparent that he is not only a tremendously gifted artist and composer, but a wonderful collaborator. In tandem, Herine brings an innate understanding of the ensemble’s mission to transform through creative acts, and continues to bring care and intuitive leadership to the ensemble and our partners. I could not envision a better artistic leadership team to herald in the 21/22 season, and look forward to both learning from and creating with Shawn and Herine in partnership.”
Okpebholo is a widely sought-after and award-winning composer whose music has been described as "devastatingly beautiful" (The Washington Post), "affecting" (The New York Times), "searing" (The Chicago Tribune), "staggering" (The New Yorker), and "powerful" (BBC). He comfortably composes in various styles and genres, intentional in creating music that is diverse, dynamic, and genuine, resulting in many prizes and honors, including The American Academy of Arts and Letters Walter Hinrichsen Award in Music, First Place Winner of the 2020 American Prize in Composition (professional/wind band division) and Second Place Winner in the 2017 American Prize in Composition (professional/orchestral division), First Prize Winner in the Flute New Music Consortium Composition Competition, Sound of Late Composition Contest, Accent06 International Composition Competition, and the Inaugural Awardee of the Leslie Adams-Robert Owens Composition Award.
“I’m thrilled to officially join the Fifth House Ensemble family in this role as Composer in Residence and looking forward to thinking creatively, helping spearhead new initiatives, and commissioning and programming dynamic, imaginative, and diverse new works,” said Shawn.
An avid conversationalist, cellist Herine Coetzee Koschak is on a lifelong quest to engage in meaningful and personal exchanges through music. Herine is a founding member of Fifth House Ensemble and is regularly heard on local and national radio stations and concert stages, as well as on the Cedille record label. As a passionate advocate of music education in underserved communities, Herine joined the faculty of the Merit School of Music in 2002 and served as Co-Director of the Suzuki-Alegre Strings Program and the String Department Chair from 2010-2014. She has appeared as a featured soloist with numerous orchestras including the National Repertory Orchestra, the Nittany Valley Symphony, and International Chamber Artists. Herine has held titled positions in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the National Repertory Orchestra, and has also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the renowned new music ensemble, eighth blackbird.
"I'm overjoyed to serve the ensemble in this capacity, and honored to work with Shawn to meet the moment during this exciting time in history," said Herine. "The possibilities of connecting and creating through music are endless, and it is so special for us to walk that road with Shawn."
"I'm excited to see and hear what the future holds with Shawn and Herine leading the way artistically. Our ensemble, and the entire classical music community, finds itself at a crucial juncture. Fifth House Ensemble will continue illuminating the way forward," added Tad Gray, board president.
ABOUT FIFTH HOUSE ENSEMBLE
Praised by the New York Times for its “conviction, authority, and finesse,” the Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble harnesses the collaborative spirit of chamber music to reach beyond the traditionally-perceived limits of classical music. The ensemble’s artistic, educational, and civic programs engage theater groups, video game designers, corporate innovators, and folk bands to share stories as diverse as the communities it serves.
Reaching 17,000 students annually through its arts-integrated educational programs, Fifth House connects K-12 core curricula to vivid, custom-crafted, and interactive musical experiences which challenge students to share and lead. As an extension of this work, Fifth House enters its fourth year of partnership with Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning this season, through which the ensemble is in residence at sites serving at-risk youth and adults including Deborah’s Place, Teen Living Programs, Cara Chicago, and Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School at the Chicago Temporary Youth Detention Center. Fifth House also partners with Storycatchers Theatre as part of its residency at the detention center to develop curriculum culminating in a new theatrical work based on participants’ own experiences.
An established partner and resource to the nation’s top music schools and conservatories, Fifth House launches the careers of emerging artists through entrepreneurship residencies and training programs, including those at Yale College, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana University, Roosevelt University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, UT-Austin, Northwestern University, San Francisco Conservatory, DePaul University, and the Colburn School. Recent creative partnerships have included those with The Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera. In 2012, Fifth House launched Fresh Inc, a two-week, intensive training program for emerging composers and performers where Fifth House works with participants on building careers in music in line with their own unique vision and values.
Visit us at www.fifth-house.com for more information, and for videos of our latest work.