Is this the real life / Is this just fantasy

One of my job responsibilities is to contribute to a weekly sort of 'arts magazine' program on the station. The on-air hosts interview local music-makers about their upcoming concerts, then we edit those segments, add music, write intros and outros, etc. It's something I've never done before coming to this station, and in general I really like it. It's a new skill though, interviewing. I'm not always really good at it; my abilities are generally largely impacted by how excited I am about the concert or event I'm talking about.

Last week, I was really excited about my segment: The Northwest Horn Orchestra. This is an ensemble made up of 16 French horn players -- all really good ones, from the Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theater and so on. Being a horn player myself, I was totally psyched for this interview.

So I found out who the contact person was, and asked if she'd like to come in for an interview. We emailed back & forth, nailed down a time, and I asked if she could send me some promotional materials for the show, and maybe her own performance resume so that I'd be prepared for our conversation.

I read her resume and my jaw dropped. The last line, where she listed her education, read: "Northwestern University, 1991". I looked again at her name, Jen Harrison, and said, out loud, "Oh. My. God." I totally remembered Jen. We played in many ensembles together at NU. I could even picture her face.

I wrote back to her and said, "Uh... Jen... I think we know each other..." and listed off a bunch of friends we had in common. In her reply, she said the first time she saw my name in her Inbox she briefly wondered whether it was the same person she went to school with, but for some reason didn't think it was possible.

The date of the interview arrived and when Jen arrived we had a little reunion of hugs and laughs in the recording studio. Our interview was infused with excitement and fun, and a way that none of my other interviews have been. We focused the segment on the oddity of the Horn Orchestra (they performed Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and a Led Zepplin cover, along with some standard Mozart and Copland, for example) and the fact that they'd be serving beer at the event. After I closed the mic we caught up on old friends, and she gave me tips on which orchestras I should try to contact if I want to keep playing. It was a really great time.

The concert was last night, and the turnout was huge. The orchestra acknowledged me from the stage and asked me to stand; at intermission many audience members came up and told me that they were there because they heard the interview on the station. That made me feel great. Also at intermission, Jen re-introduced me to another NU alum in the audience, one that played trombone that I totally remembered when I saw him. I look forward to reconnecting with him, too.

Small world. Great concert. Good times. This feels like home now.