2021 project
2020 was a year of extremes. While my finances have rarely been so dire, I have also rarely felt so supported. With virtually everything at a standstill, a vision for what I want the middle third of my career to…
Emily Wright
Lonely Cello
While purists snipe and decry their very existence as folly, the fact remains that there are legions of solitary cellists out there. Perhaps you, gentle reader, are one yourself. Some folks choose to live far from populations centers where music…
ICS answers: what’s the best scale book?
Elegie triplets: help for a tricky passage
send me your problems!
Everyone has reacted to the changes brought about by covid-19 differently. Many of my musical colleagues have become prolifically creative; the sudden confinement and lack of performance outlets funneling their energies into new compositions and inventive self-accompanied recordings. I, on…
next stop: Geneva
Geneva, New York is situated at the top of one of the famous Finger Lakes, so named because, well, look at the picture below. Zooming in a little further, Geneva (named for its resemblance to the one in Switzerland) is…
Oregon
To get to my accommodations in the unincorporated town of Temmile, I took two flights: DC to MSP, MSP to PDX. I landed around 8pm, went to the wrong rental car place (twice), and was routed, terrified, around the shipping…
help for a sore thumb
Originally published 7 January 2008. The main takeaway I have, now that an additional 12 years have elapsed, is that while the larger aspects of this post hold true, bow hold is wildly variable. The video I posted about visualization…
Does your bow grip work?
Originally published 5 Jan 2008. I really wish I had somehow been able to wrangle the bow in the picture into my life. While the current Sasano bow (I’ve had since my second year at CSUN) is wonderful, I can…
music from another time
Originally published 11 Dec 2007. I still haul these pieces out now and again, and they continue to surprise me! Maybe I’ll spring them on some of my more advanced students who are working on the elusive perfectly tapered “long,…