The world is changing; has been changing. I owe much of my success to those changes: the advent of ubiquitous high speed internet gave my tiny blogspot site that launched 20 years ago an incredible reach. After a few years of regular posting (which also led to my long running relationship with Strings) I was touring the country, meeting all kinds of musicians and their instructors, from the late great Liz Morrow and her gang of pre-professionals at the University of Texas to the Atlanta Cello Project and the Washington Conservatory of Music in DC. I knew in the moment how special the experience was, the immense luck that created space for the hard work.
Now the internet is home to the thousands upon thousands of phenomenal teachers vying for your attention. That’s not even mentioning the half asses and charlatans! There are so many thoughtful artists who manage to teach/write/play a ton AND create masses of online content. I’ve had the hardest time balancing the doing part of life with the documenting of the doing so as to attract students and continue to cultivate an audience for subsequent projects. I thought I might monetize my work and set up a paywall, but it’s been 1. a pain in the ass and 2. not doing much to help, so I’ve eliminated it.
What does seem to be working is the newsletter. It’s free, and maps well onto the vintage internet™️ style of slower, more intentional online reading I’m trying to foster. So, if you’d like to receive it, send me an email! I manage it manually, so no spam, and no insane analytics tracing stuff. Just invites to events, playlists, and the occasional musing. If you enjoy any of what I put out—videos, podcasts, writing—and want me to be able to do more of it, then I could really use your support. The reason things get so sporadic is that I have to work when the opportunity comes, no matter what. I would love to be able to turn down some of the stuff so I can be more consistent and creative!
What does support look like? Of course direct financial support is extremely useful, but if there are other ways that are free to you, primarily
- subscribing to my YouTube channel: I need over 1000 subs/4000 hours of watch time to monetize
- sharing my posts on social media when they resonate with you
- rating and reviewing the Lonely Cello podcast on your favorite app
- word of mouth recommendations
I’ll talk about this more in the coming weeks and months, but 2027 is going to include at least one teaching tour, like I did in the days of old. Stops on my wish list are Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Richmond, Outer Banks NC, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, probably New Orleans, Moscow (Idaho), Seattle, and Sonoma, CA.
If you’d like me to stop where you are, send an email to contact at emily wright dot net and we can work out the details. I’m also looking for opportunities to travel to Europe and Oceana to teach and collaborate with other musicians, so please don’t be shy!
