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>> There is a sense of community, I think, here, that's stronger than a lot of places because we have to live with each other. You know, hopefully we're practicing the skills to coexist with very different ideas.
>> I think oftentimes, classical music is associated perhaps with the elite, and it's an unfair reputation. It's more a question of who the classical music is offered to. Once you offer it to people who appreciate music and appreciate art, it doesn't matter what your walk of life is. It's great music, and it will speak to you.
>> Chamberfest is a one-week classical music festival in Brown County in Nashville.
>> We find that musicians coming here really, really love the environment. And everyone is so hospitable. So if you're a performing musician going from concert to concert, you know, it's a very stressful environment. In a big city, the human touch is often lacking, but it isn't in a place like this. We had people yelling from the audience, do it again next year! So that kind of visceral enthusiasm we weren't expecting. So that was a very, very pleasant surprise.
>> When we talk about mobilizing Indiana University's resources for quality and place, we're really talking about helping those communities advance themselves, and we're following their goals, really. And so we might be providing logistical support, we might be providing data and information, we might be providing performers or poets or musicians, but we're doing it in a way that matches the community's stated goals. You build in access points, you build in ways in which youth might participate, you build in ways in which seniors might participate, or local business leaders, and each event that we posted in southern Indiana through the center for engagement always had new access points added to it.
>> Plugging in to this community artistically in a variety of ways, it does so much good for a community. It is healing. It creates unity. There's intentionality about the art in this community. There's a lot of places you can get involved if that's something you're interested in doing here, whether you're a master artist or your beginning, and that's what I love about it because all levels of artistic ability are welcome here.
>> Partnering with the center for rural engagement has been an incredible collaboration because we just get expertise when we need it. We get those added benefits of having a university where they can send over students to interact with our high school kids. I just feel like they're almost the right arm of this county because it's so accessible. When we do collaborate, it's very meaningful.