Welcome!
Thank you for stopping by! The first iteration of this site was Stark Raving Cello: a Blogger site where I took turns opining, explaining, and ranting about whatever came into my 28-year-old brain. The name of the blog was accurate!…
Rot or not: Opstal Sixpence white blend
Welcome to another installment of RoN! This was a surprising, high acid wine that I would buy again…if my other budget buys weren’t in stock. Making it a little unexpected is the combination of SauvBlanc and Semillon grapes combined with…
June 2025 playlist
Hoping to usher in some summer feelings with this playlist! I’m not normally someone who looks forward to summer, especially on the east coast with the mosquitoes, humidity, and infrastructure that was built for cooler weather. But this year has…
May practice stream
Hey friends! It’s time again— come join me for an unvarnished look at my practice and hang out for a while. 7pm Eastern May 23. Send an email, leave a comment, or text 323 657 9444 and I’ll get you…
Temp post: don’t try to sign up just yet!
I’m still fighting with MemberPress, and there are some bugs with payment processing, so if you are seeing “this post is for subscribers”, there is no sign up. And if you do root around and find the sign up page,…
course preview: time and texture
One of the chief complaints I hear from the advancing string players I encounter is this idea that they can manufacture notes reasonably well enough, but that they don’t feel like they’re making music. And for the most part, that’s…
new podcast: panel discussion time!
In preparation for the course I’m putting together about time and texture, I thought I’d get together with some colleagues and see if we can distill the nuts and bolts of making music down to something—if not simple—at least more…
Range
One of my favorite podcasts is If Books Could Kill, where the two hosts take a critical (good faith) look at the pop-sci books that take the zeitgeist by storm every few years. Examples of this include: What these books…
May playlist
This one has selections I wish the DJ at the roller rink would play! In hard times, living well is the best revenge. Oh, and promise me you’ll wear wrist guards next time you skate. 😘