What do you mean, A Contest?
Yep, that’s right. I’ve teamed up with the lovely people at Strings Magazine, and I’m having a little bit of a contest. In 250 words or less, what would you say is the essence of my take on learning and…
Emily Wright
Avoidance mode
You have étude books. And in those books are certain pages that make your guts churn and your eyes sizzle. I know because I, too have Popper’s High School of Cello Studies. But you don’t need to bust out Popper…
Dallas to Atlanta, or how PMS saved my life.
On the last leg of my drive from TX to GA, I encountered a tornado-laden lightningfest of a storm that had me alternately tailgating the semi in front of me to keep track of where I was, crying, and generally…
a reminder
I’m in my Atlanta hotel room, watching tv. This show comes on about kids playing music, and this guy still has me smiling. There were some other kids too, including an amazing brass band made of siblings. Sometimes I hear…
Arlington, part 2
What a day. Hot, windy, and full of cello stuff. Oh, and a train that slowly went back and forth in front of me for about 10 minutes. First off, I went to the Waffle House and had, well, a…
Arlington, part 1
Austin
Once again, JetBlue comes through in the clutch. Not only were they friendly and helpful, but they thought it would be safer to just take the flight case off and seat my cello next to me in the cabin. The…
sneak peek
Can you guess what I’m working on?
packing
Getting ready for the trip, pre-packing, sorting things out, listening to some music. Can I just say that the first two movements of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra are the most extravagant, wonderful things ever? It was hard to explain to…
when photo shoots go awry
It always starts out well. Big hair, fun lighting. This is what always ends up happening. Would you trust this woman with your cello lessons? Another shoot is scheduled for when I get back from the trip. Many thanks to…
road tunes
Hey there! In preparation for my teaching tour of road tripping cello-y goodness, I am in need of some fresh tunes for the ol’ iPod. So please, pretty please, would you recommend songs, iMixes, or even whole albums you think…
chop wood, carry water
Anyone who knows me knows that I love sports. In fact, with the exception of golf, I have a hard time walking past any television with some sort of sport on it without sitting down and talking trash. It follows…
getting ready for a master class or one-off
I don’t know that I ever really got the most out of the master classes I participated in. I might have gotten marginally more out of the one or two-off lessons I had with visiting artists, but as I frequently…
Though they are high in fiber
***Anyone interested in information on the Southern teaching tour, read these posts! *** I’m not sure if it’s an LA phenomenon or if I am just some sort of magnet for silliness, but the past few months have shown me…
Atlanta Master Class
March 1st, more details here, if you check out the Calendar section. Many many thanks to Church of the Redeemer, Kim, Ana, and the entire Atlanta Cello Project. EDIT: Enrollment to participate in the Atlanta Master Class is now CLOSED!…
Texas hospitality
The esteemed and lovely Dr. Elizabeth Morrow has extended the facilities of the University of Texas, Arlington for the 2nd stop on my little tour. Some of you may know her through the Texas Cello Academy or the thoughtful writings…
Yes, I am doing more than just advertising my tour…
Not that you’re looking for anything more to complicate your practice, but I did something fun the other day. Try to play through a substantial portion of your current piece (I was sparring with old Saint Saens) using just one…
Should you participate in a Master Class?
I’ve never really gotten into the term “Master Class”. First off, it just sounds scary. Second, it usually is scary! And yet, it is a valuable part of the pre-professional and college level experience, fear and all. I like the…
KCCB
Those are the call letters for Cable Airport in Upland, CA. I took a whole day off of teaching and volunteered to man the Angel Flight booth for a few hours, along with some other folks with more aviation experience.…
Enrollment Form
Here’s the form for participants/attendees to fill out and return by February 6th. I hope the pricing doesn’t terrify too many of you. The rates are shy of what I charge here in LA, to try and encourage a lot…
Master Class and Private Lesson Sign Up!
Attention cellists of Austin Dallas Atlanta Miami I am coming to your area to conduct some master class seminars and give some private lessons! Here are my tentative dates: Wednesday. February 25th, private lessons/possible master class in Austin, TX Friday,…
Step Right Up!
I am planning the initial master class/private lesson tour, and in order to make it happen, I would like a few things: 1) a point person in each stop to help bring people in, even if just to watch. General…
On the 7th day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 7) Take the thing you hate the most and make it your favorite. You know that measure that twists your fingers into a knot, befuddles your bow or just sounds plain awful? Well meet your…
On the 6th day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 6) Practice sightreading at least once a week, if it’s not already part of your routine. There are few tricks to getting better at sightreading. You just have to do it; preferably with a metronome.…
On the 5th day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 5) Go slow, go fast, go slow again. The hallmark of erratic driving is a great test of true grasp of technique and timing. Take a short piece or study that you have roughly under…
On the 4th Day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 4) When you can’t practice your cello, there are still ways to practice being a better musician. Let’s say you’re away from your instrument during the holidays for more than 3 days (the amount of…
On the 3rd Day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 3) Tune your half steps. Ideally, you should have half steps between your fingers with a nice big space between 2 and 3 which is flexible enough to be tempered up or down. Using a…
On the 2nd Day of Cellomas
My teacher told to me: 2) Find a way to record yourself. Lots of my students have balked at this one. “I get nervous!” “It will sound bad!” etc. To me, those are reasons to record yourself. Unless you are…
The 12 (or so) days of Cellomas
I’m not swimming in time these days, but I thought I it might be fun to offer a few basic reminders to take into your next practice session. Whether you’re an agnostic low-layer, a celebrant of another religion or a…
once more, with feeling
I have talked big and small game about doing a swing out to a few cities for master classes and private lessons. This time, I think I’ll actually go to the trouble to make it happen. My thought is Midwest…