With my Bizarro Ultra Extreme 3000™ schedule, I haven’t been able to do much volunteering at my Henri Give Back outlets. So today I went rogue. It began innocently enough, shoveling my neighbor’s sidewalk and stairs- they have a newborn and…

I am thrilled to report that the wonderful people at SCOR! have added me to their faculty for the upcoming Chesapeake camp, taking place July 31-Aug 2. If you are an adult amateur string player in the general Philly/Baltimore/DC area,…

When I met Henri, he was a nameless cello that had come in as a consignment piece to Potter Violins, where I worked part time as a sort of gal-about the shop. He was far too loud, with too much…

    The only good thing about losing your swagger is the moment when, for no apparent reason, it comes back. In case you forgot, “working it” doesn’t mean “Work to gain something you don’t have so you can be…

Warning: Hockey content. Those of you who are regular readers can feel free to ignore this post or become rabid fans. Those of you who are visiting for the first time and are already hockey fans will surely be disappointed…

  During my visit to Walter Reed, I ran into Chaplain Wayne Haddad, whose kind demeanor and conversation immediately put me at ease. I inquired if there might be some use for me, and within a week, I was signed…

  This, from my inbox. I laughed until my face hurt. At least it’s better than those folks in eastern Europe trying to get me to evangelize about their pricey and yet somehow cheap-looking cases.   I am a Music…

I spent the first two hours of my Henri campaign volunteer time at Walter Reed, being only moderately helpful as an assistant at an art show. The pieces were created by those in and around the Reed community who found…

  A few years ago, I wrote a post about reasons I would “fire” a student. As time passes, I’m discovering that there are as many ways for the student-teacher relationship to sour as there are for it to flourish.…

I frequently implore my students to practice confidence. This means practice being confident, practice with confidence, practice staying confident. I’ve been thinking about the root causes of a confident mindset, and have come to the conclusion that it is largely unrelated…

  There is $6000 left to raise and 60 hours remaining in the campaign to fund Henri, and I’m sorting through mixed emotions as I prepare for the shortfall.   Of course, this blog has made a name for itself…

  In more ways than one, I’m trying to get back to owning the cello. The 1-2-3 punch of surgery, moving and then grad school took some of the edge off of my chops. There were a few months towards…

I got so sick of waiting for the perfect time, ideal level of preparedness or whatever. Now you get to meet Henri. No cellos were harmed during the making of this video. More soon! Donate here, si’l vous plaît!…

  So there are 30 days left of the IndieGogo fundraiser. as uncomfortable as it may make me, I’m going to turn up the volume on my efforts a little bit. I’ve gotten emails from people I thought were well…

  I’m not the only musician fostering a love/hate relationship with social media. The other day, I lamented that there was this constant pressure to provide evidence of work- and worth. There’s a lot to be curated: a web site,…

    So after an explosive start, the weekend fundraising was…nominal. I suppose I’m trying to see how things develop organically without cluttering up the internet with frequent posts that will only annoy the people whose support I am trying…

  Day 1 was epic and incredibly emotional. I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity that has been shown to me. Within 4 hours of launch, nearly $3500 had been raised! I was particularly moved by a donation from…

  Go here if you’d like to contribute to the cello fund. I’ll try to keep it as low-key and unobtrusive as possible. Thank you for all of your support over the past few years. even if you can’t contribute…

      Goals    1. Fundraise, without shame, the remaining $16,000 balance on the cello that is currently lying on its side next to me. It’s taking a long time to edit the video the fundraising site requires, and…

    I was talking with someone about the upheaval that’s been a characteristic flavor of the past few years, and he said, “Well, I know you: it’s about time for your next reinvention.” At the moment, I didn’t think…

One of the most frustrating things about teaching is seeing a student work like crazy and still not make music. It’s part of the Note Salad effect: all of the ingredients are there, but with little or no relation to…

  New video post should be up tomorrow. For now, a picture of the cathedral in the sopping-wet snow of yesterday’s anticlimactic storm.

Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Arlington, VA.

  I’ve started to internalize some of the wisdom that has been around for, well, eternity: Do things that make you happy. Screw the economy and the burden of expectations. Things are not the same now, and they will continue…