Courage

Why Do Our Buts Carry So Much Weight?

I happened to hear a talk this week by a gentleman who is presently in charge of one of the premier performing arts institutions in the world. His words and vision for the future of both this organization and the classical music industry were inspiring on many levels, but what resonated with me most were [...]

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Cracked Notes? Squirrely Intonation? Solution May Be Ease-ier Than You Think

Minimal effort brings maximal performance. What a paradox! (Why the haiku? TMQ) Musicians are often regarded as being a pretty hard-working lot – a reputation that I’d say is probably well-deserved. We often start at a very young age, spend lots of alone time practicing while others are out doing more enjoyable things, and are [...]

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Thoughts on Thriving as a Musician in 2012 and Beyond (What Does it Take?)

Recently, I was asked to write a guest post on a relatively new music site. As I did some browsing through the archives to learn more about the folks behind this venture, I found some noteworthy articles that I thought would be of interest to the readers of this blog. String-heavy emphasis, but still very [...]

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The Most Valuable Lesson I Learned at Oberlin

I never planned on going to Oberlin, but nevertheless, that’s where I found myself one day as a lost and somewhat bewildered freshperson (yep, “Obies” were fond of their PC language). Oberlin’s liberal crunchy granola-ness threw me for a loop, and I was really turned off by the idealism I found myself surrounded by. A [...]

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How to Change the Way You Feel About Auditions

Have you ever heard the phrase “perception is reality?” I read a book the other day in which the author described one such experience. During a ride on the subway, a man and his young children entered and sat down near him. The children were yelling, being rowdy, and disturbing the other passengers, while the [...]

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