Brevard Concerts

I haven't shared much about Brevard yet, and now we're 6 weeks in with 2 weeks left to go! The schedule here is more draining than I anticipated - it's not like we walk around exhausted all the time, but there's a lot of music to learn, rehearsals to attend, and concerts to perform or watch. Some of the highlights for me have been seeing performances of the Liebermann flute sonata (it was SO good), Schumann piano quintet, a new piece called "3 Riffs" for 3 cellos and timpani, the Shanghai Quartet (whoa), a couple members of ICE giving a recital where I really liked some pieces, and really disliked others, but they were awesome performers either way, and seeing Garrick Ohlsson play Brahms and then do this transcendental performance of Clair de Lune as an encore that actually left many people silently wiping away tears. 

For my own performances, the most exciting part of the summer so far was playing Souvenir de Florence on Bill Preucil's recital. We did a side by side of 3 faculty and 3 students. I think it's the most professional-like demand I've ever experienced, as I'd never played it before, and we had 3 rehearsals and a dress to put it together (not to mention that half the people involved were very professional.) I met a couple times one-on-one with the other cellist though, which helped a lot to prepare for the first full rehearsal. The performance ended up being super fun and kind of surreal! I also played a program that included Stravinsky Symphony in C, Strauss oboe concerto, and Haydn 60 with Matthias Bamert leading, who is one of the best conductors I've ever played under. (That's a picture of the cello section with him afterwards, a couple pictures up.) We opened up the season playing with Itzhak Perlman, which was a lot of fun, and last weekend played Brahms 2 and and Prokofiev 2nd piano concerto under another conductor that I really enjoyed. He was a great musician and effective leader, and he cracked me up because for some reason he would exaggerate certain words or syllables. He is originally from Peru - I don't know if that had anything to do with it - and would say things like "take the fiRRRRSSSSTTT ending," or make a comment about the "TEMpo." It was the most intense annunciation I've ever heard! Awesome. Tomorrow is Beethoven 1 and Dumbarton Oaks, and my mom is coming to visit! Hooray :)



ps: All photos of the sextet by Stephen Houseworth photography.

Brevard, North Carolina

 Haven't written anything in awhile here...a quick catch-up is that in the past month or so, I officially finished all my Master's degree requirements, had a couple weeks for a break, then prepped my apartment to be empty for most of the summer, and drove off to stay in Brevard, North Carolina for two months for a music festival. It's really beautiful here! BMC's campus is right on the edge of the Pisgah National Forest, (Think forested scenes from The Hunger Games; parts of it were filmed in the area.) so there is great hiking and loads of waterfalls to see in the area. We live in cabins, and the campus isn't huge, but big enough to accommodate about 400 students, plus faculty and workers. The food is decent, music good, and people friendly. I haven't taken many photos yet, but here are few from the dusky hour of the day. Hope you're all well and stay tuned for more tales to come :)

~xomo

Madison

I returned home to La Crosse this week after spending time in Madison at a Feldenkrais workshop and National Summer Cello Institute - programs that Uri and Hagit Vardi created and held several summers now.  If any musicians are reading this, you should definitely check out the workshop in the future.  The Feldenkrais portion is open to all instruments and is so amazing, and the NSCI has famous guest teachers that come give lessons, masterclasses, and seminars.  There is a really unique environment and community created in two weeks; everyone always says it's unlike any other summer program they've been to.  And Madison is a really special place to be in the summer - so beautiful, with much to see, eat, drink and explore.  There is a website for the program, although it's super outdated right now...but I heard rumors that someone was going to be giving it a makeover in the coming year, and it should look like it belongs in the current decade(!) and give clear information.  Anyway, Madison was amazing, as always, and I'm missing it a bit.  It was really nice to absorb so much new information at the workshop by day, and spend time with the lake and friends by night.  But it's good to be at home, too :)

Summer Camp

 

Here are some photos from Lake Luzerne, where I am spending a couple months working at a music camp that I attended myself, years ago.  It's a special place that combines solid training with a really traditional summer camp experience.  The weather can be a bit crazy up here in the Adirondack region - I took these pictures when the sun first came out after almost a week of solid rain!  The students just arrived the other day, and now I'm busy memorizing a bunch of new names, comforting homesick little ones, organizing activities, and coaching a chamber group of cute, beginning string players.  More stories and pictures to come!