Sarasota Violist's Escapades

All done!

2012-08-28T16:34:00.001-07:00

Well, my audition is over..... For now. I played this past Saturday, and was happy with how it went. Sure, it could have gone much better, and it will at my next audition. I felt really good about the difficult excerpts, but then my nerves got the best of me with some of the other excerpts.

I was sad to hear that the audition turned out as another no hire. Someone deserved that wonderful opportunity to make music with that orchestra. If it was an honest no hire audition, not just a way to use substitutes instead of hiring a full employee I look forward to taking a second chance next time they hold auditions. After finally getting a chance to perform on one of the stages of the Kennedy center, I know that's one of the places I would love to make music on a permanent basis.

The Last week of prep..

2012-08-21T06:40:00.001-07:00

Well, the week of the audition is finally here. I haven't been very good about posting about my progress in the past couple of weeks. Things have gotten a bit busy :) I auditioned for a local orchestra on violin (not my choice!!) and got the concertmaster position, which also includes a performance in the second week of September of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

It has been quite an interesting time trying to juggle between prepping for both this audition, and trying to find at least a little time to work on the Mendelssohn. Keep in mind, I'm a VIOLIST, not a violinist!!! I have been having fun with the rehearsals playing the concertmaster position, and I think that the orchestra is really moving forward with great progress.

I'm feeling pretty good with the excerpts right now. I had a funny thing happen last night in my practiced session though!! When I got to the Bartered Bride excerpt (one of my favorites, and one that I can usually play pretty easily) my fingers decided to go on strike!! It was as if I had never played the excerpt before, and I'm thinking that I was trying to overthink the excerpt. When I sit back and just let the fast passages happen, they go smoothly. This is something I will have to remember this weekend when I get up there. LET GO, and LET IT HAPPEN!

I'm excited to be going back to DC for a few days, and am actually really looking forward to the audition. It's amazing that just thinking about it right now I already get the butterflies in my stomach. I have to remember to be able to channel that nervous energy into positive energy for my audition, and not let the old nerves effect me in a negative way. My goal with this audition is to be able to walk out on stage, and play the excerpts the way I know I can - If I sit back and relax with focus, I should be able to do this. I would love to finally be able to play an audition with the tone that my viola can produce - not just a jittery nervous tone.

This may be my last post until after the audition. I leave very early friday morning, and will be playing in the 11:00 group for the prelims on saturday.

Wish me luck!! AWAY WE GO!!!!

Coming back with renewed vigor...

2012-07-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

Sometimes stepping away for a few days can be a good thing. Mind you, I still played my viola, but Wednesday night I had an orchestra rehearsal and last night I had to practice some other music.

When I returned to the audition excerpts this evening, I was very happy that they went much better than expected. I still have an enormous amount of work to do to get them where they need to be, but stepping away from them for a bit and then coming back with renewed clarity wasn't a bad thing.

COUNTDOWN!

2012-07-25T08:46:00.002-07:00

Well, today officially marks the ONE MONTH count down until the audition... will I have enough time to prepare? I plan on it!! I'm determined to have a good audition experience (being well prepped) for this audition - whether I advance or not is out of my hands, but I know that I can make sure I am ready for it!

On another note - aside from audition stuff, the South Shore Symphony begins rehearsals tonight for our concerts next weekend. Should be a fun one - a concert of all overtures. I'll be interested to see how Tannhauser goes :)

Slow it down now..

2012-07-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

I won't have any new recordings for you today or tomorrow, I have decided to take a few days to really do some slow practicing. Starting last night, I worked VERY slowly on about half of the excerpts on the list, including Daphnis et Chloe, and the Strauss excerpts. There are some challenging sections in these excerpts, and I feel that the only way I will be able to get them very clear is to do a lot of precise slow work.

Yesterday, I posted a question on my facebook, and got some interesting answers in reply - I thought I would share them here with you now. There is some very good information and suggestions for clarity and crispness in playing. I've changed the people who responded names to just initials for privacy.

"Hey string players... this could be a stupid question, but any suggestions on achieving very crisp, clear playing? I'm doing a lot of slow practice, practicing in rhythms, and metronome work - but still not achieving as clear and concise of a sound as I want. Suggestions?"

LL: Distance from bridge? Bow speed? Multitudinous questions. I think you sound great already!
Shawn Snider Good suggestions Lyle! Thanks, I'll try paying more attention to those tonight in my practice and see what happens. I'm willing to try anything at this point for the faster excerpts I am working on.
EM: Maybe try feeling each bow change and your point of contact so you get a core sound from each note. Also I know I have to work a lot on string crossings, because that's where it gets messy.
Shawn Snider Erin- thanks - I think that "core" is part of the problem I need to work on... in a running passage of triplets or 16ths, most will have a good core sound, but the random few don't seem to speak like the rest, hence, those tend to stick out as "messy"
Shawn Snider Also, it seems to do with really tying the left hand in with the bow stroke with precision.
EM: No problem! I like the Susan Dubois buzzwords, haha. I just had a couple lessons with her at green mountain so I'm working on this stuff too
EM: Yeah coordination is important too...can't forget about that.
CBC: All good suggestions. But I've never heard anyone play a viola with the crispness you can get on a violin. Thicker strings, slower vibrations. My hat goes off to you if you can crank out crisp on a viola. Good luck with that audition, by the way. Hate to lose you in Venice tho. :-
Shawn Snider Heheh thanks Carolyn, Maybe I should have classified my question as "As Crisp as possible" :)
EG: 1, 2, and 3 octave scales with a tuner like a Korg Orchestral tuner or Sabine tuner. Hold each note of the scale until the little green light on the tuner stays on green (which means the note is precisely in tune) for several seconds, then... play the next note. My violin teacher from college Art Pranno had me doing those all the time for intonation ( this will help with clearer sound). I played the Hrimaly Scales for violin and don't know what is available for viola. They are long and tedious but maybe they will help. Also try using the tuner while practicing the passages that you are having trouble with in the excerpts. This will help with achieving a clear sound because each note will be precisely in tune.See More
IS: Are the notes that stick out ones that are at a point where the phrase changes? I find that if I am overly sensitive to the nuance of phrasing my articulation automatically becomes cleaner. Perhaps the three notes of the triplet should be play exactly evenly, ie the phrase maybe 1+2 or 2+1. Good luck.
IS: Should not be played exactly evenly...oops sorry
Shawn Snider Thanks Ian, ill consider that tonight too.
DS: This could be a column in String magazine. Coordination between bow changes and fingering is issue for me, gets out of sync sometimes in fast passage. I have to back down on tempo until its in sync again
DS:I like all the suggestions, you really could compile these responses into a guest column for String mag
AS: practice scales in staccato articulation, (2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, etc). works for me every time.
JC: Make sure as soon as the string "speaks", ie: "sings" to release to make it tonalized and crisp as well. That could be 1/8 of an inch of "purr" and then release.
JC: The faster the tempo the slower the bow speed!
WW: Just want to throw my two cents in here. If this has already been said, ignore me, but recently I've found that focusing the weight of my hand and forearm a little more into the sounding point of the string and bringing the bow just a taaaa...d closer to the bridge has done wonders for crispness and clarity. Really evens out the attack on each individual notes, even at quicker tempos, and makes for a nice clarity in the passage. Not sure if this helps at all, but figured I'd join in lol

All Excerpts - First Week Review Recordings

2012-07-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

As part of the process in prepping for the Kennedy Center Audition, I will be recording every excerpt each Sunday night leading up to the audition. I'm nearing the point of having one month left to prepare. I've posted below the recordings from last night, in a hope to show progress over the next few weeks. Some of these excerpts are still in a very rough stage, and need MUCH more work (I'm embarrassed to post them here, but in the sake of tracking progress I will). This will serve as the reference point from here on out as recordings of all of the excerpts after week one of practicing.

Berlioz - Roman Carnival Overture

Brahms - Haydn Variations

Hindemith - The Four Temperaments

Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 "Scottish"

Mozart - Haffner Symphony, Movement 1

Mozart - Haffner Symphony, Movement 4

Delibes - Coppelia "La paix"

Prokofiev - Classical Symphony - Movement 1

Prokofiev - Classical Symphony - Movement 4 (1)

Prokofiev - Classical Symphony - Movement 4 (2)

Ravel - Daphnis & Chloe Suite No. 2

Ravel - Daphnis & Chloe Suite No. 2 (Excerpt 2)

Rossini - La Gazza Ladra Overture

Smetana - Bartered Bride Overture (Excerpt 1)

Smetana - Bartered Bride Overture (Excerpt 2)

Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier Act I

Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier Act II

Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier Act III

Wagner - Tannhauser Overture

Wagner - Tristan and Isolde Prelude and Love Death (Excerpt 1)

Wagner - Tristan and Isolde Prelude and Love Death (Excerpt 2)

Wagner - Tristan and Isolde Prelude and Love Death (Excerpt 3)

Wagner - Tristan and Isolde Prelude and Love Death (Excerpt 4)

Cat's Out of the Bag!

2012-07-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I just received in the mail this afternoon an invite to the audition! I guess I can go ahead and disclose what the audition is for now! The Kennedy Center is holding auditions this August for Assistant Principal viola in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera Orchestra! Now, time to make sure I get the proper amount of practicing and get these excerpts up to a high level of performance!

Let's Make a Change...

2012-07-19T07:38:00.001-07:00

Throughout this first period of practicing for the audition, I have been constantly working on trying to find a way to produce a crisper, cleaner, clearer sound. I think I may have struck something last night which will help on the way to this goal. Hence the title of this post - I took a risky step and changed my bow hold. Turns out, I think I have been playing too much with the side of the hair, with out enough direct contact with the rest of the bow hair. I rotated the bow in my hand a bit, turning it so that it's closer to perpendicular with the strings, and what a difference! It is taking a lot of concentration right now as I play to keep making sure I am staying like this, hence some of the notes in my left hand get lost because I am not thinking about them as much. This should become easier and easier the more I do it though, and I think in the end it will help me produce a much more focused sound. I immediately noticed the difference in my bow stroke in the Brahms variations and Mendelssohn excerpts (fast articulated notes).

The other change I am constantly battling is in the shape of my left hand. I am getting better about keeping my fingers closer to the fingerboard to facilitate faster playing, but that too, is something I have to concentrate on. Take a look at this promo picture for one of the symphonies I play with (this was taken last season) and you will see what I am referring to. Look how high my fingers are away from the strings!! Unacceptable!!

For today's recordings from last night, I have included a few more starting point recordings (1st recordings) of some of the other excerpts, and then have also included a couple repeat recordings to show progress over the last 2 or 3 days. There are so many excerpts for this audition, there are still a lot that I haven't recorded yet - but I'll get to those soon.

New Recordings:

Hindemith - The Four Temperaments

Needs to be faster!!

Rossini - La Gazza Ladra Overture

Mozart - "Haffner" Symphony, 4th Movement

Need to work on opening to bring up tempo, and clarity in the octaves

Progress Recordings:

Brahms - Haydn Variations

Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 "Scottish"

"Be Careful Crossing Strings"

2012-07-18T08:31:00.001-07:00

A wise teacher had a saying everytime I left rehearsal to drive home, or whenever I was going to take an audition. The last thing he would say to me was "Be Careful Crossing Strings" (as a joke, instead of Be Careful Crossing the Road). There was more truth in that saying than he let on. This teacher and awesome violist is no longer with us, and this is the first audition I have taken without having him around to coach me on the excerpts. Having played in the Philidelphia Orchestra for over 30 years, his vast experience made these coachings invaulable. I found last night in my practice time of one of the Prokofiev excerpts that this saying of his was right on the money.

I need to break down this excerpt some more, and really concentrate on my string crossings. There is a slight feeling of a break in the rhythm right now as the string crossings occur, and listening to the starting point recording of this excerpt it becomes clear that I need to fix it.

Prokofiev Classical Symphony Movement 1 Excerpt

More "Starting - Point" recordings

2012-07-17T06:55:00.001-07:00

I've decided that since the goal of these blog posts leading up to taking an audition is to follow progress, I will post a few more "Starting-Point" recordings today. These were recorded during my practice time last night, and they are simply to show where I am starting at with these excerpts. They still need a LOT of work, cleaning up, increase in clarity, and fixing of intonation!

Since the audition is still a month away, I hope to post more recordings as progress happens with these excerpts. I'm spending a lot of time with the excerpts, really trying to tear them apart now to make drastic improvements. Things are going well, but I am finding it hard to find enough time during the day to get to as much work on these as I would like.

Here they are, again, comments and suggestions welcome (keeping in mind that these, again, are STARTING point recordings).

Smetana - Bartered Bride Overture

Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3

Brahms - Haydn Variations

Mozart - Haffner Symphony First Movement

First Audition Recordings

2012-07-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm at the stage now where I should be hearing today or tomorrow whether I got an audition spot or not based on my resume. Practicing is going well - I did a lot of work over the weekend, mostly continuing to work with the metronome on the faster excerpts. I did notice that there is a heavy leaning towards fast excerpts in this audition.

I took the time after doing metronome work to start recording some of my excerpts to see where I need to improve, what doesn't sound the way I think it does under my ear, and to help pinpoint areas that need some more work. I'm going to share these two excerpts with you here, but please keep in mind they are still a work in progress. There are out of tune notes, and articulations that need to be cleaned up. Remember - when you are working on audition material, it ALWAYS is a good idea to record yourself. You will end up hearing things in the recording that you didn't realize were happening, and sometimes its a very simple fix!

So, here they are, comments and suggestions for improvement are more than welcome: These were just recorded with my iPhone Voice Memo feature, after all, the main goal was not recording quality :)

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture

Delibes: Coppelia "La paix"

Coppelia "La paix"

2012-07-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

I worked quite a bit last night on the excerpt from Coppelia "La paix". What a beautiful moment for solo viola in the ballet!

This excerpt involves quite a bit of work in and around 4th position on the viola (at least how I play it). Therefore, I took the opportunity to practice in front of a mirror and really examine my left hand position (wrist, fingers, arm) and how it applied to the shape of the phrase, and the shifts into and out of position. My goal with this excerpt is to have a long seamless line.

Give the excerpt a listen here (it's worth it!!):

Hurry up and wait..

2012-07-12T12:42:00.001-07:00

One of the worst parts about taking an audition has got to be the waiting process.

Step one - Send in resume, and WAIT
This is the part that happens with almost every audition... waiting to find out if your resume has gotten you an audition spot with the orchestra or not. Some orchestras are quick in responding, some are not. Right now, this is the mode that I am in! Most orchestras now (depending on the orchestra) take quite a few applicants to the first round of auditions, but there are still some out there who are VERY selective in the resume round. After all, who wants to hear Don Juan played 100-200 times over again and again?

Step two - Send in the video/recording, and WAIT
Although this step of the process is not required by a lot of orchestras, some orchestras will require you to send in a video or recording of certain excerpts. Luckily - as far as I know there is no recording round for the current audition I am working on!

Step Three - Prepare your audition material, and WAIT
This step isn't as bad as some of the others, however it can be the longest step. This is the part of the process after you have been granted an audition slot, and you have a period of time when you work on the audition material, and wait for the audition date. Sometimes this period is a month, sometimes its as much as three months - just depends on how the individual orchestra handles their audition process and scheduling.

Step Four - Play your audition, and WAIT.
This involves two separate waiting times (sometimes more): Waiting with all of the other people for your time slot to come around.. warming up, but not overdoing it, making sure you feel as comfortable as possible and then stepping out on stage to PLAY!

The second phase is after you have played - waiting for the results to come back for your audition. This can be difficult - all of the what if's running through your head, the time spent thinking - "I should have played this excerpt a little faster", or "I can't believe I missed that note!". I've found the most beneficial way to handle this is to instead focus and turn the audition waiting into a learning experience. Nothing you can do from this point out will effect the judge's decision - so instead, focus on what you can learn from the experience. If something in a particular excerpt took you by surprise due to nerves, or something didn't come out the way it should have... then ask yourself "Why?" and analyze.

Audition Prep Day 1

2012-07-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

Practice time: 3.5 hours

Last night was day one of prepping for the audition! I've found that a good way to begin learning excerpts that I have not ever performed (especially fast ones) is to do some good old fashion metronome work! So, I broke out the metronome and worked at a slow tempo making sure everything was clear, concise, crisp and in tune. Then came the fun of slowly working the metronome tempo up. Before you know it, you reach the proper speed for the excerpt, and your fingers magically seem to know what they are doing! The trick here is as the tempo increases, keep focusing on that clarity - don't move the tempo up another notch until you are playing the entire excerpt nice and clearly.

I found that this method worked great for starting on the Hindemith excerpt from the 4 Temperaments to help me gain stability in the left hand through the fast passages. I'll have to keep working with the metronome on this one!

General First Impressions of the excerpts:

Some of my favorite excerpts to play are included in this audition, and I always enjoy working on them - such as Brahms Haydn Variations, and the Overture to the Bartered Bride - such fun!!

The excerpt from the Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture has also been one of my favorites since we studied it in our Orchestral Excerpt class at Eastman. Its such a lovely solo for the viola section.

The Mozart Hoffner excerpt is a standard - it's your typical finger twister and will require some more slow work to get it nice and clear - but SOFT!

Prokofiev - Classical Symphony - I've been fortunate enough to have played this quite a few times with orchestras, so I'm thinking it will just be a matter of working it back up to speed, and getting those lovely D major scales up to the high D.

This post is getting long enough, so I wont go into much more detail - but I am looking forward to really tearing apart the Strauss and Wagner excerpts in the next few days!!

The long road begins...

2012-07-05T15:01:00.001-07:00

Part of the reason for starting this blog a few years ago was to post about orchestral auditions. Since I haven't done much of that to point, I have decided to initiate a daily blog posting about my journey to an upcoming audition.

I'll be posting about my daily practice sessions, about specific excerpts, and even plan on posting progress videos as I work towards the audition.

Since the invite letters have not been sent out yet, I won't mention what audition this is for. I won't even know if I get invited until later this month. If I do, I'll be happy to elaborate further, but those of you out there who know the rep will most likely be able to tell what audition I am taking based on that!!

Tonight is day one. I've read through the excerpts a few times to point, but the real work begins now!! After my practice session I'll be posting my first general impressions of the music tonight, along with what excerpts I think will be the most challenging.

So, stay tuned, and join the fun as I take this journey to another orchestra audition!!

Octet

2012-06-01T11:16:00.001-07:00

Every now and then in a performer's career, an opportunity arises to play a piece of music unlike any other. A piece of music that they have been waiting for an opportunity to perform - One of these situations has come up here in Florida!

I am so excited to perform the first movement of the Mendelssohn String Octet on July 10. Not only will I get to play this awesome work with some great players from SWFLSO (including Reiko on 1st Violin!), but we will be performing it on the stage of BBMAN hall - for a private concert! There really is nothing like 8 string players coming together - each performing their own part - to create this music!

It's time to take out the 1st Viola part, and do some good practicing! I've always found it amazing how much easier the practicing seems when it's a piece that you really love. Any one else have situations like this?

Review from Arts Naples World Festival Chamber Orchestra

2012-05-22T06:47:00.003-07:00

I just found the review online from our Arts Naples Chamber Orchestra concert last week - what a fun concert that was to play - 3 beautiful grand pianos on stage with a full chamber orchestra.

Although the reviewer seemed to really enjoy the evening, I must disagree with his opinion of the Bach - with all of the other music performed that night, I felt it was nice to have a pallet cleanser like the Bach to step back and hear all three pianos with the orchestra.

The Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra was a treat! I had never had the opportunity to perform it before this, and I felt that the orchestra really got into the "feel" of the piece and delivered a very energetic performance to match the two piano soloists. Apparently, the reviewer thought so too:

"The same could be said for the Poulenc concerto for Two Pianos, which brought in regional talent and members of the New York-based Declassified String Quartet as the ensemble behind the pianists. On this urgent, roller coaster-ride of a work, the pianists — this time Kopachevsky and Nersessian — had to figure into their mix the orchestra, a group equal to them in spirit and intensity for it.

Poulenc is said to have tucked in tributes to Mozart and nearly every other composer to whom he wanted to pay homage, which may be discernible in the larghetto segment. But most of us just enjoyed the thrill of its whirlwind ride over surprising musical terrain, a ride the entire group seemed to relish Tuesday." -GoNaples.com

I look forward to seeing what next year's performance brings from this new festival!

Audition Time?

2012-05-21T08:05:00.003-07:00

Well, here we go again.... It might be time to go back to that lovely process of prepping excerpts, getting the concerto polished up... and stepping out on to stage for a whole lovely 2 minutes in an orchestral audition! Don't you love this process?? :)

I've submitted my resume and cover letter for an upcoming audition - and I'm actually looking forward to the process since it has been a while since the last orchestra audition. This one just happens to be in a city that I've been waiting 6 years for a spot to open up... here's a little hint:

And, if that picture doesn't help - this one should give the location away!!

They won't be sending out audition information until July - but wish me luck in getting an audition spot!

For those of you out there reading this - what is your favorite part of the audition process (if any) - and what do you consider the worst part? If you were in the position of the audition committee - what would you do to make the process better?

I'm interested to hear your comments!

Palm Strings Quartet

2012-05-21T07:37:00.001-07:00

The Palm Strings Quartet has a new web home! Check out our new web page - still in development!

http://palmstringsquartet.instantencore.com/web/home.aspx

Last bits of Holiday Goodness!

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've made it... I think... though another very busy holiday season!! Although Christmas isn't for another week and a bit, the last holiday concerts are taking place this weekend!

Tonight (Friday) at 8pm; and Tomorrow at 4pm and 8pm will be the Venice Symphony Holiday Concert... always a very well attended series, and a lot of fun to play! Following that will be Anna Maria's (AMICCO) concert on Sunday, featuring Haydn's Farewell symphony and Frostiana - a neat little set of pieces for orchestra and chorus based on Robert Frost's poems.

After that, it looks like I'm finished with rehearsals and performances until the first week of January!! What to do with the time off??? Hmmmm.. I think I'll be practicing some of the Haydn Quartet, the Vivaldi Four Seasons, and the Brahms Requiem!!

This past weekend I had a wonderful time performing with the Palm Strings Quartet at the Van Wezel, and then after that down in Naples for the 5th Avenue Chamber Orchestra. The 5th Ave performed a very vibrant concert of Vivaldi Four Seasons and Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aries - such a dynamic group and amazingly fun to work with. The concert was a blast! Each December we perform at the Sugden Theatre in Naples, and each year the stage is set for a different play. Last year it was "A Christmas Carol" and this year it was the set for "Sherlock Holmes". So interesting to perform on something other than a blank stage! (see picture below).

December, a time to celebrate, and an opportunity to help kids with the gift of music!

2011-12-08T08:19:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful feeling every time December rolls around. Believe it or not, there is actually a chill in the air today here in Florida. Perfect weather for the Venice Symphony's first full rehearsal of the season for our Holiday Concert!! We are playing one piece that is pretty special to me, although it may be a bit cheesy, Dance of the Tumblers. Back when I was a freshman in high school (Years and Years ago now!!!) our orchestra teacher Julie McNally brought in a professional musician to give the violists a sectional rehearsal - we were playing an easy school orchestra version of "Dance of the Tumblers" - and this violists name was James Fawcett. Somehow, Ms. McNally talked Mr. Fawcett into taking me on as a student, and my life changed from that point on. Little did I know at the time that he was in the Philadelphia orchestra for 32 years prior to living in Florida!
So, in honor of young musicians, and opportunities that they need to give them a chance with music, I've decided to start a donation drive to help the Venice Symphony with their Summer Music Program for kids. I've spoken with the directors of the Symphony, and they have agreed to earmark all donations received through this drive to specifically go towards the Summer Music Camp.

Will you take a moment to make a small donation to help kids receive the gift of music? If so, simply click on the link below, and thank you!!

http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/418511

Updates for the end of November...

2011-11-30T07:39:00.001-08:00

Hello out there!!! November is coming to a close, and with it, the start of the holiday season of concerts. Quite a few this year - and I'm really looking forward to playing some great music. More on that later in this post - but first, some updates to take care of!!

Thanks to TuneCore (the digital music distribution company) whom I released my first album through, I now have a new "Fan" page on facebook... when you get a minute, stop by, check it out, and leave a note!! Click the Facbook Icon below to visit!

Next up, as part of the site, I also have a new "stream" of a preview from the Bach Cello Suites CD... Here it is!

Now, back to the Holiday Season!! First up is a special Christmas concert this Sunday in Ft. Myers featuring members of the SWFLSO, Joseph Caulkins (Conductor) and Vocal Artistry! Some great music is planned for this program, and it should be a lot of fun - and BTW, admission is free!!

Four Seasons & Fifths!

2011-11-22T06:35:00.001-08:00

Last night marked the first "Run Through" rehearsal for the Sun City Chamber Players February concert. The main idea was just to read through the music and get an idea and feeling for how it will fit together.

We ran into a small glitch last week when we realized that we had to pick a new piece of music to replace the Mozart Horn Quintet for this concert, but I think we ended up picking a wonderful piece of music! We read through Haydn's String Quartet Op. 76 No. 2 - Quinten (or Fifths). What a fun piece to play, and with only one day to work on it before our rehearsal, it went surprisingly well.

Following the String Quartet, we read through Vivaldi's Four Seasons, minus the solo violin part. A very exciting set of pieces to play, and I think the audience will love it. We've got some work to do on bowings (which I'll be getting from our soloist soon) and also making sure that we interpret all of the effects and tempi correctly as a group. It's nice to have a larger string group performing for this piece with the SCCP for the first time!

The rest of this week looks a bit quiet, rehearsal tonight for a wedding, and the wedding this weekend.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!! Have a wonderful holiday!

Another Weekend Recap, plus looking forward!

2011-11-15T11:51:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was great! I had a marvelous time performing in the SWFLSO Pops 1 Concert - An American Songbook! Although some audience members thought that the sound (mics) were a bit too loud for the singers, covering the orchestra - They also said that they REALLY enjoyed the orchestral features. I was proud to be able to play as Principal violist for my first time with that symphony. Let me tell you, with only one rehearsal it was a bit of a rush to get the correct bowings in all of the parts!

On Sunday, I performed with AMICCO at our first concert of the season! It was a wonderful performance of Beethoven Symphony No. 1; the first movement of Bruch's Violin Concerto, a Bach Cantata, and my favorite - a solo by our bass player Jerome Butler performing Paganini with the orchestra. What an amazing bass player, and so much fun to watch his facial expressions as he gets into the music. Everyone could tell he was just having fun performing!

And now, time to look forward a little bit!! Tonight (Tuesday) is the first rehearsal for the Venice Chamber Orchestra - a new off-sprout of the full Venice Symphony. I'm looking forward to this first performance this Saturday evening, November 19, 2011 at 7pm. (venice presbyterian Church). There is quite a lot of music in the concert - and a lot of fun stuff, including:

Handel, Concerto Grosso Op. 6 no, 1

Bach, Violin Concerto no 1 (first movement)

Sibelius, Romance in C Major

Rutter, Suite for Strings

Mozart Flute Concerto no 2 in D Major

Elgar, Serenade for Strings

Mendelssohn, String Symphony No. 2

Bartok, Rumanian Folk Dances.

Looks like a lot of music, right??? :)

Season is definately here...

2011-11-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

Yup, its true, believe it or not, the season for concerts and gigs is officially in full swing. Hard to believe everything got so busy all at once.

This weekend's Masterworks concert with SWFLSO went very well - one more repeat performance tonight at Shell Point (Monday 7:30pm). The energy in the orchestra on Saturday night was amazing... you could really tell that every single musician was completely involved in the music. The glorious big ending to Liszt Les Preludes echoed through the hall, and set the tone for a great performance. I have to say, though, the Brahms has been my favorite piece for this concert series. His second symphony is just so jam-packed with tunes that get stuck in your head, and its so much fun to play. The audience clearly loved the performance on Saturday, and I know we really appreciated having so many people there.

This week proves to be quite busy... here's a quick run down:

Monday - Shell Point - SWFLSO Masterworks 1 (7:30pm)

Tuesday - Palm Strings Quartet Rehearsal - Beethoven Op. 18, No. 1 and some Tangos!

Wednesday - An evening for rest!!!

Thursday - South Shore Symphony Rehearsal for our holiday concert.

Friday - SWFLSO Pops 1, rehearsal and concert

Saturday - AMICCO dress rehearsal, SWFLSO Pops 1 Concert

Sunday - AMICCO Concert.

lets see, did I forget anything? I hope not!!!

Looks like it's time to keep my calendar close and handy at all times!!

I'm spending as much extra time as possible working on the music for this next weekend's SWFLSO Pops concert. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play as Principal viola for this series. Should be a fun one - The Great American Songbook. More to come on this later in the week :)