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NGI Recipient: Gina Dunn

Session Attended: Country Dance and Song Society - Early Music Week (2009)

Thank you all for the support you have given the NGI program and for the scholarship I was awarded. I have wanted to attend Early Music Week at Pinewoods since I was first told about it 4 years ago. This summer, I was awarded an NGI scholarship to attend.

During the summer I learned many new techniques for playing chamber music. This experience and the skills I learned have become invaluable in my life. I have become a better cello player, stronger in both my ability to play a piece accurately to the time period and in being more sensitive to the music and to the ensemble.

My experience this summer has also allowed me to take a big step as a musician and begin performing in paying venues. I was recently given the opportunity to perform at a choral workshop concert because of my experience this summer.

I am a member of the chamber ensemble at my school, and have been for the entire time I have been there, yet I am now able to take on more of a leadership role there because of my experience this summer. I am now often able to make suggestions and help the ensemble to sound better and to play our music in a more accurate style.

In addition, I gained a new appreciation for English dancing. I had enjoyed it before, but had never really appreciated it or been exposed to high quality dancing. I had always liked contra more because it was more exciting. Now, however, I enjoy English dance just as much as I do contra. The exposure to good English dancing has made me a better dancer not only in English dancing but also in contra dancing and in long sword and rapper.

I learned some things about what makes a dance special. When I got home, I applied these things to my own dancing and have shared some of these things with my dance teams. I also wrote a new dance for my rapper team, taking into account the things I learned about dancing while at early music week.

I also made many new friends while at early music week. These are friends that I am still in contact with and will continue to talk to. I look forward to seeing them again soon, at dances and hopefully at pinewoods again next year.

Again, I thank you all for the support you have given the NGI program and for the scholarship I was awarded. I am truly thankful for the opportunity I was given to attend Early Music Week at Pinewoods and for all the opportunities I have gained from this experience.