Last night, while performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, I was deeply moved during the 3rd movement where the first violin’s 16th notes flow in gorgeous counterpoint to the main theme in the winds (quick reference video). If I were to foolishly try to define what Beethoven
This Is What Gratitude Does to Your Performance
Gratitude in performance? What a ridiculous idea. Won’t it take away from our focus? Nope. Last Sunday I performed a sextet with fabulous musicians from the Oregon Symphony, as well as the Brahms Clarinet Trio (watch it here). I felt immense gratitude percolating behind
Leverage Your Powerful Memories to Enhance Today’s Practice and Performance
I walked onto campus last night to begin my work at Lewis & Clark College. As I met with the new collegiate orchestra players, I felt the memories from my own college years come flooding back, the good the bad, and
Basking in Your Glory—Good or Bad for the Ego?
“Timers ready? Swimmers, take your mark…” I was supercharged with energy for our parent/coach relay at my daughter’s district championship meet. The head coach had chosen me to swim anchor in our 200 yd free relay (no pressure!). The gun went off—the
How to counterbalance hate crime
I was deeply discouraged when I read the news about the hate-crime tragedy in South Carolina that left 9 dead yesterday. I feel deeply for those who mourn. In sending thoughts and prayers to the families, I’m frustrated that life isn’t balancing out like it is
The 5 major advantages I will have in my audition
I have a huge audition coming up for a full-time position at the Oregon Symphony. The audition will bring over 100 very capable cellists from all over the country to audition. We will all play behind a screen for the prelims
JOY—the ultimate motivator
Behind every great success is great motivation. What’s your motivator? An external reward or a pure JOY of doing? The final moments of the BRAVO Youth Orchestra Winter term had finally come. All week the kids were wound up and excited. I would have imagined that the final