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It's an intense relationship – four young musicians performing in a chamber ensemble called the Van Ness Quartet.
There are the hours spent rehearsing. The pressure of performance. Their varying talents, backgrounds and insecurities. Henry is a prodigy on the viola. Daniel, the cellist, has some pent-up angst and likes to sleep around. Brit is the shy second violin who grew up an orphan. And first violinist Jana is the group's resilient leader.
The extremes of the group's failures, their successes, their friendships, and their betrayals are fertile ground for a story. And writer Aja Gabel knows that all too well.
Gabel is a classically trained cellist who spent time performing in an ensemble herself. That's why she decided to set her debut novel, The Ensemble, in the crucible of such a group dynamic.
Gabel, who earned her Ph.D. in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston, tells Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty how her own experiences alerted her to the potential for drama, tension, and character development in a story about musicians.
Gabel will host a reading at Brazos Bookstore with Inprint tonight at 7.
