Sarasota Violist's Escapades

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 :)

SWFLSO Starts!

2011-11-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the first rehearsal of the season for the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra in Ft. Myers, and to celebrate, I put a new tire on my car this morning to insure that I'll be able to drive down!

I'm really looking forward to this concert, some great music has been programmed including:

Liszt Les Preludes

Schumann Piano Concerto

And Brahms Second Symphony

I've always enjoyed performing the Brahms Symphony, and lets not forget those wonderful sections of the first movement which are inevitably included in ANY orchestral audition! The Liszt is great to play as well, with some great tone colors for the orchestra.

Concert is Saturday night, 8pm at BBMANN Hall, and Monday at 7:30 - Shell Point.

Piano Man

2011-10-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Satruday night a good time was had by all! The Edison Pops yearly concert was a great success. What a perfect day we had for an outdoor concert! The evening was just cool enough for it to be comfortable, even with all of the stage lighting.

I have to admit, I have a great time playing these "backup" orchestra gigs, but aside from that I was actually quite impressed with how many different instruments Michael Cavanaugh was able to play. His harmonica solo in "Piano Man" was perfect.

Here are a few more pictures from the evening:

Mail time!!!

2011-10-19T15:00:00.001-07:00

I love the start of orchestra season!! It means wonderful little goodies arriving in the mail so frequently that it almost feels like Christmas!! Today, I received my music for the first SWFLSO masterworks concert - Liszt les preludes, Schumann piano concerto and Brahms symphony 2 - what a great program!!

And yesterday another little surprise - music for the first ever Venice symphony chamber orchestra concert with some great selections! Can't wait to see what the mailman shows up with next!

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Location:Sarasota, FL

A new week...

2011-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

After a weekend that has started to get busier as the season kicks into full swing, its time to start a new week. But first - a recap!

Friday's Sun City Chamber Players concert went great! It was so much fun to perform some wonderful music with friends. We had a good turn out in the audience, and they thoughouly enjoyed the performance. Thanks again SCCP Performers!

Here are two videos from the concert as samples :)

Debussy Sacred and Profane Dances for Harp and Strings

Pie Jesu from Requiem by Faure

Saturday morning was the first rehearsal of the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra for the season (AMICCO). Some fun music to start off the year - Beethoven Symphony No. 1 and a Bach Cantata, among other things. Its always a suprise when we reach a movement of a piece that we are playing (in this case the Bach Cantata) and for him to say, OK in this movement, we will use single solo string players. SUPRISE! It went well though, and was a bunch of fun to play.

This coming weekend - Edison Pops concert with Michael Cavanaugh - more to come on that towards the end of the week!

Last Rehearsal!

2011-10-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

The Sun City Chamber Players are having our last rehearsal tonight for our concert this Friday evening, October 14th!! On the schedule for tonight -

Mozart Flute Quartet in D Major
Vocalise for Soprano, Cello and Piano (Played by Tasha Scott on Harp!)
Debussy Sacred and Profane Dances for Harp and Strings

Looking forward to rehearsal tonight, and getting to perform this great music later this week! I have no clue how many people will show up for the concert, but we've done a lot of advertising and article publishing this time, so hopefully there will be a good crowd.

In other news, the South Shore Orchestra concert last Friday night turned out quite well. I'm very impressed with how these musicians really seem to pull the music together for the concert. We had almost a completely full house, and the music went off without any MAJOR glitches... I'll be excited to see how this orchestra grows from this points. A few weeks off, and then we will begin rehearsing for our December concert.

South Shore Symphony Orchestra

2011-10-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

Time for the first concert of the full season! Hard to believe it is already here. Tonight the South Shore Symphony will be performing Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov; The Heberdies Overture by Mendelssohn; and The Moldau by Smetana. I find it quite amazing that this orchestra, just starting its second full season ever, is performing such great works of music. It should be a good time!

Yesterday, three members of the Sun City Chamber Players performed at St. Andrew's Church in downtown Tampa. I hadn't been up to Tampa since the Barry Manilow tour, so it was fun to drive up with Karolyn, and perform some fun music as a preview to next Friday night's big concert. The audience was small, but appreciative. After the concert we spoke for a while with a woman who was a past board member of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC - my dream orchestra! She was very kind, and loved our music. She spoke of chamber concerts with the members of the NSO that they held at people's houses, after which they had wonderful wine and dinners to get to know the musicians.

Thats it for now... stay tuned for more as the season starts to get busier and busier!

Johanna Fincher, Soprano Extrodinare!!

2011-10-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to blog about this for some time now... A person who I like to consider a good friend is joining the Sun City Chamber Players for our October 14 Concert - Johanna Fincher.

Although I knew Johanna a little bit in my first few years back here in Sarasota (mainly only when she performed with the Venice Symphony), I didn't have the opportunity to really get to know her until we traveled to Europe together (also with Gayle Heskett and Donna Smith) back in the summer of 2010. That trip was quite an awesome experience, and I had the opportunity to really see just how much Johanna loves singing.

I'm so happy that she has chosen to sing 4 songs on our upcoming concert - she always brings such enthusiasm to the music, and without needing to be said, her voice is just angelic. When I first asked Johanna if she would be willing to perform with us, her response came almost immediately with YES!! and then again, when I asked if she would be willing to sing with us in our upcoming "Chamber goes POP" concert in March 2012 - the same excited response was received!

Tonight's rehearsal for the Sun City Chamber Players will be a lot of fun... working on the music with Johanna, and then going through some of the Debussy Sacred & Profane Dances with just a few of the string players...

Here's a little video of one of the pieces we are doing with Johanna

Mein Glaubiges Herze - Bach

And then there was a piano quartet

2011-09-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of all of the musicians that have given their time and commitment to the sun city chamber players season. It really comes from my heart when I say that, because these musicians get paid very little durring our first full season as the organization gets established. They are giving their time and talent almost purely for the sake of performing and sharing the music with the audience. After all, isn't that what it all is about?

Tomorrow morning, some of us are getting up incredibly early for a Saturday to carpool to sun city to rehearse a Mozart piano quartet. It makes me feel like organizing this season of concerts was totally worth it to hear from the violist today that she couldn't wait for the rehearsal tomorrow. That's what it's all about, and I can't wait either.

Thank you so much to the musicians for this concert.

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Palm Strings go Tango

2011-09-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Palm Strings rehearsal will include Tango Tascana by Jeremy Cohen! Thanks Donna for ordering the music - here is a video of the Quartet San Francisco performing the piece:

Back to Season!

2011-09-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well, yet again it has been quite some time since my last posting on this blog, and it seems so much has happened over the summer. I'm getting ready for the 2011-2012 classical music season to kick back into full gear within the next few weeks. I thought this would be a good opportunity to begin posting again about what is coming up, as well as what is new.

First, The Sun City Chamber Players have really taken off over the first part of this year. I was so excited to give our first concert back in February, and our second in June of this year. In June, we performed Schubert's Death and the Maiden, Beethoven's Quartet Op. 18 no. 1, and premiered a set of vignettes by Robert Williams. The time for our next concert is fast approaching, and it looks to be our best one yet!! I was lucky to have so many good friends in the area who were willing to join in and make it happen... We have added Johanna Fincher, Soprano; Gayle Heskett, Flute; Jeff Jordan, Piano; and Tasha Scott, harp!! The concert is October 14 in sun city center - check out our web page for more details!! http://www.suncitychamberplayers.com

The AMICCO season will begin its rehearsals in early October - and I'm really looking forward to having Karen Tuttle join us for our first concert!!

The Edison Pops concert is a "go" again this year - October 22 at 7pm - Edison State College in Ft. Myers. Our featured guest performer is Michael Cavanaugh again.

The SWFLSO will be beginning its season in early November - I'm looking forward to getting back to rehearsals and concerts with this group! Watch for more posts about our upcoming concerts!

The Venice Symphony Season will not start until December, I'll post more about this later!

Last but not least, I'm really looking forward this year to joining the Sarasota Orchestra for a few concerts of their season. So far, I'll be performing with them for Masterworks 4 and 6 - one of which will include Mahler 1!

Well, thats it for now... I'm back to posting blogs, so stay tuned for more as the season starts again!

This weekend's Concert Schedule

2011-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

Another busy weekend approaches! (am I stuck on repeat??)

On Thursday (tonight), Friday, and two concerts on Saturday the Venice Symphony will be playing "A Celtic Celebration" as our Pops I concert for the season. Music from Ireland, Scotland, and England - with a Bagpipe and drummer troupe (the Jacobite's pipe and drum band), and a Celtic dance troupe dancing to music from "The lord of the dance". Looks like its time to reach back and pull from my Scottish ancestry on my mother's side of the family for this concert!

Also this weekend - Saturday morning is the first rehearsal for the AMICCO "An Island Valentine" concert featuring soloists from the orchestra and chorus. I know what that means - time for the first rehearsal of the Weber Andante and Hungarian Rondo - I'm really looking forward to playing it, as well as hearing/playing in the orchestra for all of the other soloists!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! And in case you are looking for something "a bit different" in your musical concert going for the weekend - be sure to check out the "Jack" String Quartet in concert at USF performing Georg Friedrich Haas's String Quartet No. 3 ("In iij. Noct."). I attended Eastman with 3 of the 4 musicians in this critically acclaimed quartet - and was in a string sextet with the first violinist.

Some Thoughts on playing in a Chamber Orchestra

2011-01-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to perform with the SWFLSO's Sanibel series Chamber orchestra for our first concert of the season. (at BIG Arts Sanibel) It was a delightful program of Ibert's Hommage a Mozart, Nielsen's Little Suite for Strings, and Mozart Symphony No. 40.

Now, usually for our chamber concerts we have a full viola section of 4 players (two per stand), but this concert had only 3 violists scheduled. Herein lies my discussion about performing in such an orchestra. Usually, with the 4 players, if you are sitting on the second stand you have your stand partner right next to you. This enables you to "hear the section" and easily contribute your individual sound to the Overall sound of the viola section. The goal here is to be so completely together, intune, and aware of the other players that the audience will perceive one large viola section sound with no individuals sticking out.

The Problem - performing in a chamber orchestra with only 3 violists means that one person will be sitting on the second stand by his/her self. In the case of the chamber concert this past weekend, that was me. I was absolutely amazed to discover how much more difficult it was to hear the first stand of violists, and thereby fit my sound in perfectly with the section. I was feeling like I was constantly trying to "send my sound" forward to join their playing, but without being able to clearly hear them, I was feeling as if I was playing my own little part.

So, all in all the concert turned out great - and was a joy to play. But we as musicians are learning all the time, and this concert for me was a great learning experience in how to blend into a viola section with only 3 players.

Barry Manilow Anyone?

2010-12-30T06:58:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaTime fast approaches for what looks to be an exciting tour!! I'm joining the Charlotte Symphony for their tour through Florida in January with Barry Manilow. This will be his "Las Vegas" style Show with the 60 piece orchestra playing backup. I think it will be interesting to play some of these VERY large venues, and a chance to play "Copa Cabana" about a bazillion times! It will be a lot of driving/travel time, but I'm looking forward to it.

Here's the schedule in case anyone wants to attend!!

January 20th - Amway Center, Orlando, FL

January 21st - St. Pete Times Forum, St. Petersburg, FL

January 26th - Jacksonville Arena, Jacksonville, FL

January 28th, BankAtlantic Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

January 29th, BankUnited Center, Miami, FL

The Crazy Concerto Season gears up!

2010-12-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

The new year fast approaches (THIS WEEKEND!!) unbelievable that its already almost 2011, and with it comes the start of a very busy concerto season for me. I've always enjoyed and felt very lucky to be able to perform some fun concerto's with orchestras in the past, and this season continues with that!

First up - Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Friday February 11, 2011 7:00pm
Sun City Chamber Players

This performance is going to be great fun!! I've always wanted to perform this piece, and am REALLY looking forward to getting the chance! This year marks a new milestone for me, as I decided to establish and found the "Sun City Chamber Players" series. The first concert is generously hosted by the United Methodist Church of Sun City, where the SSSO holds its concerts. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 is one of those unusual pieces that is not scored for any violins, instead - Two Solo Violas, One Cello, Two Viola Di Amore, One Bass, and Harpsichord. Here's a video of the first movment if you would like to check it out!

Second - Weber's Andante and Hungarian Rondo

Sunday, February 13, 2011 2:00pm

Anna Maria Concert Chorus and Orchestra

What a great piece!! This will be the most challenging concerto I'll be playing this season, but so much fun! I've been doing a lot of metronome work for the fast sections of the Andante and Rondo, and think it will turn out pretty well. The first rehearsal is coming up in less than 2 weeks, so wish me luck!!!

Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante - First Movment

March 19, 2011

Lakeside Lutheran Church, Venice

After performing this piece on the tour through Europe last summer, Donna Smith from the Palm Strings Quartet decided that she would like to organize a music series at her church, and programmed the Sinfonia Concertante (first movement) along with some works by Arriaga for string quartet, and a special section featuring Soprano Johanna Fincher.

Grayson Viola Concerto (Third Movement) World Premiere

March 27, 4:00pm

South Shore Symphony Orchestra

Martin Grayson is a composer living in Europe, who in 1971 composed a viola concerto. Unfortunately, to this date it has never been performed, and I have been in contact with him over the end of the summer. We will be premiering this wonderful concerto with the South Shore Symphony Orchestra, in what looks to be a fun concert entitled "Concerto Mania"

Well, thats it for this season!! As I've been sitting here typing this blog entry, I can't help thinking to myself - thats a lot of music!! What am I doing typing when I shoud be practicing??? :)

I hope all of you out there in Blog world have a great New Year, and enjoy the rest of your holiday season!!

Christmas 2010, the last weekend of concerts!

2010-12-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

It seems as soon as the season arrives, it is almost time to start prepping for the 2011 adventures!! With another weekend quickly approaching, I can't believe that the Christmas/Holiday concerts for 2010 are almost finished! This week has been quite busy with rehearsals everynight after work.

I'm looking forward to the Palm Strings Quartet being featured this friday from 4-6pm at Historic Spanish Point's Holiday Stroll for the third year in a row! All the folks at Spanish Point are always so nice to work with, and usually there is a very good turn out. Beautiful setting on the bay in Sarasota, Historic buildings, amazing plant life, and good food and wine. Here's a link to the website about the event for any of you Sarasotians that would like to join us!! http://www.historicspanishpoint.org/1217sunsetstroll.htm My only hope is that it warms up a bit before then for this OUTSIDE event!!

(Photos) Last Year's Sunset Stroll at Spanish Point

The rest of the weekend looks to be as Holiday Filled!! The Venice Symphony Holiday Concerts will be held this Friday evening, and Satruday afternoon and evening! We are playing a nice mix of holiday style music (see my last blog posting).

Sunday brings the second concert of the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra season. An interesting selection of music including the finale from a Mozart Symphony, and Rutter's Brother Heinrich's Christmas.

I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful holiday season, filled with cheer, and I also hope to see many of you at these events this weekend!!

A New Season Begins...

2010-12-09T07:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the first rehearsal of the season for the Venice Symphony. Looking forward to seeing everyone, along with some of the people I travelled to Europe with this summer. Seems like its been so long since that happened!

(Picture- Johanna Fincher, Soprano with the Venice Symphony)

Of course, being December, this will be the holiday concert for Venice, but just to spice things up there are a few other good pieces thrown into the mix!! Along with the holiday music, we are playing Finlandia, and a few other pieces that don't necessarily belong in a holiday concert. I think they fit beautifully though!!

Aside from Venice, another weekend fast approaches! This weekend is filled with an AMICCO rehearsal, A duet wedding at Selby Gardens (hope its not too cold!!), a Cantata Performance at a church in Englewood, and the Palms strings quartet members are again playing for the USF Sarasota/Bradenton Graduation at the Civic Center. Lots of fun to be had, lots of playing, but at least this weekend I won't be getting home at 12:30am for a bunch of nights in a row!!

Weekend in Review

2010-12-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

As I posted in my last blog update, this past weekend was scheduled to be crazy! And it was! Aside from feeling kind of under the weather, everything turned out great. SWFLSO Messiah Concerts, the wedding on the beach in Naples, and then especially the Naples Chamber Concerts.

I was very suprised to find out when I got to the first rehearsal that the Jasper Quartet (Quartet in Residence at Oberlin) is also the resident quartet for the Naples series. It was amazing to get to sit next to the violist of this quartet as assistant principal! The Elgar was such a fun piece to play and very interesting - solo string quartet with string chamber orchestra. The Bach Harpsichord Concerto in d Minor was a blast - we used a reduced orchestra durring the solo parts (1st stands only) which sounded beautiful with the delicate sound of the harpsichord. To end the concert was the Serenade for Strings - and awesome piece all around. All in all, it was a challenging concert, but the involvement and dynamic of the orchestra was amazing.

Here's a link to a video of the Jasper Quartet performing 9 concerts in 8 days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7ntlkZ5Ww

Coming Attractions...

2010-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend should prove to be another busy one!!! Starting with tomorrow night (wednesday) we are having the first rehearsal for a chamber music concert, on which I'm switching to playing 1st violin! Should be interesting - Mozart Quintet In C Major, Brandenburg concerto (original version) No 6, First movement of the Faure Piano Quartet, and a duet that I recently arranged for string sextet.

After that - the weekend hits!!! Friday I'm looking forward to a quartet wedding at the Naples Ritz Carlton Beach Resort, and Saturday is the start of the Southwest Florida Symphony Messiah rehearsals and concerts. This will be the first time I've played the Messiah with this group, and I'm excited! Performances are December 4 at 7:30 at the Faith United Methodist Church of Fort Myers, and December 5 at 4:00pm First Baptist Church of Cape Coral.

Also this weekend/early next week - Playing for the first time with the Naples Classic Chamber Concert Series. Looks to be a fun, but challenging set of music - Tchaikovsky Serenade for string orchestra, Elgar Introduction and Allegro, and a Bach piece. The concert is Monday evening at the Sugden Theatre in Naples.

Bach Cello Suites for the Viola

2010-11-29T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to my new cd. I hope you all get a chance to check it out!!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bach-cello-suites-for-viola/id399004944