Spice for the recipe

In the baseball game of Audition vs Emily, the pitcher is kicking the dirt on the mound, leaning forward to consult the catcher’s sign, and has risen up: coiled and ready to pounce.  Less than a week till the audition, and it’s been quite a blustery few days in the ballpark. I went to play […]

The comforts of home

When I decided to take a break from Los Angeles, things were on the rough side. I couldn’t seem to hold onto enough students to make the ends meet, I was still healing from my surgery, and it felt as if the book would never be finished. Of course once I committed to Hopkins, the book […]

a lot for a little

I was watching SportsCenter this morning and found myself unexpectedly cheered by the sight of Giants pitcher Barry Zito. No, I haven’t traded in my allegiance to the Phillies. It was his socks. Allow me to explain. There are certain things that trigger huge swells of complicated, wonderful emotions for most of us. The fact […]

Steps

I shed the first of what are sure to be many tears today as I reflected on one particular student’s journey. My strength as a teacher (and possibly as a human) is the same as my greatest weakness:  I invest deeply in the people that stick with me. This makes walking away very difficult. How […]

Sorry, Johns Hopkins.

To have this pressed into my hand after the recital yesterday means more than any accolade a high-level institution could bestow upon me.

the Amazon

While it does not net me nearly as much revenue as my beloved Lulu, it is pretty exciting to have my book offered on Amazon! I am working feverishly on the next text, which is not the sequel to AMCM. That one is coming down the pike in a year or so, I think. For […]

with love

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who reads and comments and emails here and through my site. It is nice to feel appreciated, and even when I’m critiqued, I learn how to be a better teacher, writer, cellist, and person. Thank you! Em

Pretty good!

For those of you who aren’t doing the whole Twitter thing, a quick hello from ulnar recovery 2009! Right after the surgery, I could feel more of my pinky and ring fingers than I had in years. Still swollen and sore, but I have much optimism going forward. Ok. Enough one-handed typing for now. There […]

this is the best I can draw.

I had quite a day on Monday. Here are the highlights! Creme de la Crepe cafe in Redondo is my favorite for light French fare. This is a cremeux espresso: double shot with fresh whipped cream. Les serveuses there are so nice, and they let me practice my bockety French. Maybe not such a good […]

Frazier/Ali

It’s interesting how much I learn from teaching. Over the past year or so, I have had four or five students rise quickly to the “uh-oh this is serious!” level of intensity with their cello practice and approach to playing. It looks like a few of them are even going to take it to the […]