In spite of the occasional snowfall, it feels as though we can finally say it with confidence: spring has come to Stockholm. Nothing seems as warm and light as the first days of sunshine.
But it's not only outside that we feel summer approaching. Inside the tiny festival office, the to-do-lists are, once again, suddenly becoming twice as long. From programming details and and schedules to PR decisions and newsletters, from layout feedback and programme notes to tax forms and statistics. As the list grows, so does an almost imperceptible feeling of expectation. Though sometimes partially obscured by massive piles of paper, it's there - a knowledge that we'll soon see this year's ideas and plans materialize during a vibrant, intense week.
To be sure, multitasking and seeming mountains of paperwork can be a little overwhelming - which is why it's not a bad thing to get to climb a real mountain from time to time. Last weekend, in Alsace, on a conference with REMA, the European network for early music festivals, we took the opportunity. An early morning, clear air, silence, and a mountain. Steep paths that posed quite a different challenge to our everyday mental climbing. But a view from the top somehow similar to the feeling of standing ovations after a concert.
We're getting closer to the festival! Run the final stretch with us - it starts now.
/the SEMF team
