Spacelover Headlines Voices in Partnership Reception
May 13, 2023 before the Concert:
Starting at 6pm on May 13, just before the Cantate Carlisle “Stories in Song” Concert, Spacelover, comprised of Meredith (Merry) Andrews & Fritz Horstman, will present their original “experimental folk” music for guests of the Voices in Partnership (VIP) reception to be held at the Cumberland County Historical Society.
Introducing Andrews & Horstman:
Andrews & Horstman have a beautiful home on the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation(1) campus in Bethany, Connecticut, where Fritz serves as education director and coordinates the artists-in-residence program. Meredith teaches art to 1st through 9th graders in nearby New Haven. In addition to their jobs, both are prolific creators of visual art as well as music.
The Evolution of Spacelover:
When I had the opportunity to talk with Meredith, Fritz was offering a lecture and couldn’t join the conversation.
Meredith shared that she and Fritz met while both attending Kenyon College. When they began dating, he would bring his guitar, she would sing, and Spacelover evolved.
She shared, “We made an album before we had a band name.” A conversation about Father Time and Mother Earth lead – down a path only the participants in such a conversation can really understand – to the question, “What is the personification of space?”
From there, “’Spacelover’ popped up, and it stuck. Our sound is pretty mellow” and uses layer upon layer of sounds from instruments, nature, and their voices. As a result, live performances are rather uncommon for Spacelover – doubling Cantate’s pride in being able to bring them to Carlisle.
Filled with Music & Art:
Carlisle, particularly Cantate supporters, might recognize Meredith as she is a Carlisle native whose (very proud) father, Taylor Andrews, is currently serving Cantate as both a singer and Board President.
Meredith recalls, “Cheryl Parsons [founder of Cantate] was my high school choir director. I was in the musicals and Singers Unlimited” with her. She further recalls being raised in a home filled with music and art. In the morning, her father would send Meredith and her siblings off to school with music. In the afternoons, her mother Pat Andrews, who once taught art as her daughter now does, would welcome the children home to the smell of crayons and paints and glue to create something magical.
“Music was always prevalent in our household. Dad plunked around on piano. He had a guitar my brother played. And the living room always had record player, tape player, and music.”
Creativity Abounds:
The Andrews-Horstman home is abundant with creativity. Each artist has their own studio where they can work freely. Many of Andrews’ early works are large, welded sculptures on display in her parents’ home. (I was fortunate to get a tour of those months before meeting Meredith. They are impressive for their visual appeal and their skillful construction.)
Fritz, a Michigan native, has several upcoming exhibitions of his art. His next solo show opens on March 4, 2023 in San Francisco. The show, “Fritz Horstman: Folded Light” will be on view at Municipal Bonds through April 22 and “comprises a group of large beautifully framed Folded Cyanotypes.”(2) Somewhat closer to home, another solo showing of Horstman’s work can be seen at Jennifer Terzian Gallery in Litchfield, Connecticut from March 25 through April 29.
You can enjoy Horstman’s visual art as well as Spacelover’s offerings on Fritz’s website.
The Full-Circle Love of Song:
I asked Meredith about a favorite moment related to music and, thinking that could be a difficult decision, offered her time to reflect. Instead, she immediately related this story:
“When Fritz and I got married, it was supposed to be outside, but it was raining, so my dad, brother, and uncle strung white lights in the activities shed there and turned it into a beautiful impromptu venue. During the ceremony, my dad and Fritz’s mom sang Harry Chapin’s ‘Circle.’ Dad started it. Fritz’s mom sang the second part. Fritz and I joined in. By the end, everyone was singing the chorus.”
So, I will leave you with these long-loved Harry Chapin lyrics and the heady anticipation of enjoying the more recent lyrics of Spacelover’s original works(3) at our May 13 VIP reception. (Tickets to the reception and the Cantate Spring Concert are available at https://cantatecarlisle.org/2023-spring-concert/).
All my life’s a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.
All my life’s a circle;
But I can’t tell you why;
Season’s spinning round again;
The years keep rollin’ by.
It seems like I’ve been here before;
I can’t remember when;
But I have this funny feeling;
That we’ll all be together again.
No straight lines make up my life;
And all my roads have bends;
There’s no clear-cut beginnings;
And so far no dead-ends.
I found you a thousand times;
I guess you done the same;
But then we lose each other;
It’s like a children’s game;
As I find you here again;
A thought runs through my mind;
Our love is like a circle;
Let’s go ’round one more time.(4)
- For more information about the Albers Foundation, visit www.albersfoundation.org.
- See Fritz’s artwork, read about his exhibits, and listen to Spacelover at www.fritzhorstman.com.
- You can find Spacelover on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, and Amazon music.
- “Circle” by Harry Chapin
