Holiday 2015

NEXT LEVEL JOURNALS Strings
Holiday 2015
RANAAN MEYER ENTERTAINMENT

CONTENTS
The road to
performing
nikki chooi
violin
principal bass
houston symphony
Robin kesselman
double bass
remember, your teachers
are trying to help you
dan foster
viola
CONTRIBUTORS
be nice and kick butt
yumi kendall
cello
RANAAN MEYER
publisher/founder
Joanne Erwin
Norma Meyer
emily meyer
co-editors
Emily meyer
art work

The Road to Performing
Nikki Chooi

THE JOURNEY
I was born in Victoria, British Columbia
to parents of Chinese descent. My musical
journey began at age 4 with the Suzuki
Method and at age 9, I studied with
Sydney Humphreys, one of the most influential
figures in my life, at the Victoria
Conservatory of Music. My parents were
and are still the strongest source of support
of my musical growth and education,
from giving the loudest applause to being
the “number one fans” of my brother (also
a violinist) and me. To this day, they still
travel to attend my concerts whenever
they can. When I was 14 years old, I participated
in the Starling-DeLay Symposium
for Violin Studies held at the Juilliard
School in New York City. Observing and
playing for respected violinists such as
Itzhak Perlman, Anne Akiko Meyers, and
Paul Kantor, I was completely enamored
by the whole experience. It was then that I
decided I wanted to pursue a career in music.
When I told my parents that I wanted
to stay in New York and learn from these
masters, my parents were reluctant to let
me pursue a music career. They were adamant
in having me finish a well-rounded
education in Canada.
As a compromise, I attended the Mount
Royal University Academy Programme in
Calgary along with the Morningside Music
Bridge Summer Programme also held
in Calgary, while attending high school in
Victoria. I travelled to Calgary from Victoria
about once a month to receive violin
lessons from Bill van der Sloot, as well as
participating in the Academy Programme
which included activities, collaborations,
and masterclasses from respected artists
such as James Ehnes, Andres Cardenes,
Lynn Harrell, and many others.
The first time I heard about the Curtis Institute
of Music was when fellow Canadian,
Julliete Kang won the Indianapolis Violin
Competition, which followed a short profile
of her that was shown all over Canadian
television in the mid 1990s, just when I

had started the violin. I remember a clip
of her playing “Flight of the Bumblebee”, a
video tour of the wooden interior of Curtis,
and a peek into student life there. I was
extremely fortunate to be accepted into
the school to study with both Ida Kavafian
and the late Joseph Silverstein.
usually held in the Zimbalist room and was
a nerve-wracking experience. I felt that if
I could be satisfied with a performance in
studio class, I could perform anywhere.
My first chamber music experience at
Curtis was studying the Beethoven Harp
Quartet with respected cellist, Peter Wiley.
He was an extraordinary inspiration to me
back then and even today, I am still influenced
by his experience and mentorship.
Masters Studies:
I was never disciplined with doing scales,
arpeggios, and etudes but during my studies
at Juilliard, I made it a priority to
include it into my practice regime. The
reason for this was to enhance my consistency.
My Practice Routine as a Student:
1. 45 minutes on warm ups, scales,
and arpeggios
2. 30 minutes on Paganini Caprices
When I was preparing for competitions,
performing in Ms. Kavafian’s studio class
was the most rigorous training - playing
in front of my peers who were studying
and working on the same repertoire and
also in such close proximity. The class was
And over 3 days, I would rotate these categories
of repertoire:
1. Bach Sonata or Partita
2. Classical Sonata
3. Romantic Sonata
4. Classical Concerto
5. Romantic Concerto
6. Contemporary Work
7. Virtuosic Work
SOLO COMPETITIONS
My first few years of participating in competitions
were a great learning experience,
however, I never advanced past the semifinals
round. As I applied greater discipline

and consistency to my daily practice and
an organized preparation my performances
steadily improved. The first time I
advanced to the finals in an international
competition was at the 2012 Queen Elisabeth
Competition in Brussels. Since then, I
have advanced to the finals in every event
I participated in, eventually winning first
prize at the 2013 Michael Hill International
Violin Competition in New Zealand. Winning
the Michael Hill gave me numerous
opportunities to perform concertos and
recitals.
TIME FOR THREE
I heard about Time for Three during my
first year at Curtis - through the grapevine.
In 2009, I was in a Foundations of
Engagement class and Time for Three
came in to talk about their experience. I
heard TF3 live in 2011 at Music from Angel
Fire and I was completely blown away.
I still remember wondering what I could
take from watching them live and putting
it into my own performances.
Two summers ago, I received a call from
Nick to invite me to sub for Zach DePue
for a one week long Time for Three engagement.
Without a thought, I said, “Of
course!” I came into rehearsals really not
knowing what to expect however, it felt
very natural and inspiring to play with
Nick and Ranaan for the first time. I had
never played in this unique formation,
nor had I ever improvised or played other
genres besides the classical repertoire.
The more we played together, the more
confident I became and I was able to just
be myself.
We were able to play 6 educational concerts,
some promotional and donor events,
and 3 evening concerts all in one week.
Each event felt better than the last and
I really believed that we were creating a
new kind of energy together. That week

with Time for Three was one of the highlights
of my year.
A few months later, I met up with Nick
and Ranaan because they asked me to
have lunch with them and talk about some
things and then I remember it was Ranaan
who asked me to the join the trio. It was
the last thing I thought I would hear and I
was thrilled beyond belief.
way about my playing. By trying my best
and giving it my all I am in the greatest
position to succeed.
So I had a decision to make and after careful
thought, I accepted their offer because
I love collaborating and the collaboration
process. Time for Three is all about the
giving and taking of musicianship and
artistry at the highest level of music making.
This is engaging and the fundamental
performance aspect of tf3 is really the
reason I play music.
I remember my father even told me when
I had the opportunity to sub with TF3 that
I should practice really hard because you
never know, maybe someday, I would have
the opportunity to join the group. I laughed
at him – but as it turns out, he was right!
It was a great life lesson.
I strive everyday to embrace a philosophy
of understanding that there is only so
much one can control. So I try my very
best in everything. This satisfies my own
standards and makes me happy with myself.
If I can be happy with my own progress
over time others will feel the same

Be N
Kick
Bu

tt and
ice
Yumi Kendall

Inspiration day to day
My professional life is as a performer and educator.
I have been the Assistant Principal Cellist
for the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2004, and
it’s been a BLAST! The collaborative chamber
music that happens on stage is extraordinary. In
addition, I also have a private teaching studio;
I’m constantly learning through teaching, and I
appreciate the challenge of seeing through students’
eyes and experience – doing so keeps me
on my toes. I am also a mentor for the Community
Artists Program (CAP) at the Curtis Institute
of Music.
My newest responsibility
I have recently initiated The Suzuki Alumni
Project. The Suzuki movement does not yet have
a central database or community for its alumni,
and I’m hoping to remedy that, with the participation
of the many thousands of Suzuki “kids”
who are enthusiastic about their Suzuki foundations.
I’m a Suzuki Kid - AND PROUD!
It’s mind blowing to observe how many musicians
consider themselves Suzuki Alumni and
to see what they are up to in many professional
spheres. The unharnessed talent that is out
there –Suzuki alum as professional orchestra
musicians, chamber musicians, and soloists- is
the inspiration behind this network. Colleges,
Youth Orchestras, and Festivals are very aware
of who their alumni are, and I see a similar, untapped
opportunity in the Suzuki world, as well
as a desire in Suzuki Alumni to show their pride
of their educational roots.
As a teenager I was academically interested in
EVERYTHING. I actually didn’t decide until my
senior year to go into music. I worked hard,
practiced cello intensely, and had many green
lights, musically speaking, but the conscious decision
to audition for music schools did not happen
until the fall of my senior year. I attended
Waldorf Schools from kindergarten through high
school graduation- an enormous influence-, and
I remember keenly that each of my high school
subject teachers felt I should enter his/her academic
field. I love learning, and upon reflection,
it was the combination of my Suzuki and Waldorf
education that has given me my current identity
as a forever student- never stop growing! Also,
though, I did have a practical fear of being in an
accident after which cello wouldn’t be an option
(knock on wood), and that fear combined with
positive school experiences encouraged my ideal
to be well rounded. However, as a senior in high
school, I would have had no way of knowing that
five years later I would be at the front of the
Philadelphia Orchestra cello section, counting my
lucky stars!
A few things that knocked my socks off
In my first season in the Philadelphia Orchestra,
February 2005, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducted
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Leonidas
Kavakos and I pretty much knew it couldn’t get
better than this- as close as ever to what the
music should be. I also have fond memories of
being in school at Curtis, subbing with the Philadelphia
Orchestra playing Brahms 2 with Simon
Rattle conducting; during the same week playing
in school with the Curtis Orchestra, Sir Simon
came to do a reading and when he saw me in orchestra
he said “wow, some people just show up
everywhere!” I recognized in both circumstances
that I was starting to experience music in a way
that was extraordinarily special and to have
experiences that I would never forget.
I have also loved performing for Live Connections
at World Café. These performances, called
Bridge Sessions, focus on connecting one culture
to another culture, one time period to another,
one genre to another. For a student who may

not have had any opportunity to explore music
through varying entry points, a Bridge Session
is an incredible and exciting adventure. We - a
trio of mixed instruments- play in an intimate
space, often for young children who have likely
never seen a musical instrument before, up close
and personal. To me, this is what it is all about:
inspiring a child so that he or she can light his
or her own spark.
Repertoire that was pivotal to my musical
growth
In 7 th grade, my cello teacher David Hardy, principal
cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra
in Washington, DC, gave me the first cello part of
Pierre Boulez’s Messagesquisse for 7 cellos. Over
the year he had me memorize the entire piece,
note by note, line by line, and, eventually, page
by page (which consists of three solid pages of
random 16th notes, followed by two solid pages
of triplets, also random), played at a brisk metronome
marking of 132 for the quarter note. At
the time, I didn’t quite recognize what he set out
for me to accomplish, but what he taught me in
hindsight- and really an unbelievable gift from a
teacher- is the confidence that with patience and
perseverance, I can learn anything.
In contrast, a few years later, while learning
Shostakovich Cello Concerto #1, I struggled with
one passage at the end of the piece- really fast
32 nd notes scales- might any cellists out there
sympathize? -because my fingers would move
neither quickly enough nor correctly, and I was
SO frustrated that I actually cried in a practice
session. Another important lesson from that
frustration was to understand that the struggle
of challenge, and overcoming that, is part of
learning and the growing process.
Studying with Yumi
Currently, I have a full private teaching studio.
In recent summers I have taught at the National
Orchestral Institute at University of Maryland,
which I enjoy very much- these are curious and
hard-working cellists who are on the edge of
their formal studies, and about to embark on a
professional journey: a pivotal time, and it’s a
blast to work with them. In addition, coordinated
with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual summer
residency in Saratoga Springs, NY, I teach
at the New York School of Orchestral Studies
held at Skidmore College. Both of these opportunities
afford me, the teacher/coach, to imbue the
students with individual attention, yes, but also
a camaraderie that is unique to being in a section,
and a cello section, at that!
I believe that the single most important role of
a teacher is to believe in her student. And, when
ready –and different ages and apparent skill sets
provide the entry point of my work- a student
who asks questions- of me, of the composer, of
the music- will eventually come into one’s own
as an artist. Beyond having belief in a student,
learning to ask questions- and to follow the questions-
that’s the fuel of life.
My secret to success is “Kick Butt and Be Nice”
Being excellent and being kind is a recipe for
success.
Excellence through the quality of one’s work
Kindness to connect that excellence, and that
work, with other people
Conviction, compassion, and communication
For if we are alone on an island, just playing
for ourselves, what’s the point? It’s the human
connection, the human communication, and the
human sharing- that is the reason behind it all.
And through music, we connect to each other.

Robin Kesselman
Newly Appointed Principal Bass

I am 8 months into the job as of December 2015.
While I am starting to feel settled into the new
position, I still feel incredibly lucky and grateful
for the opportunity to play with this orchestra.
My colleagues could not be more welcoming. One
of the biggest (and best) transitions is that all
the music that I am prepping on a daily basis is
going to be performed. As a student I remember
this was not the case – the scales were weighted
to preparation for auditions or lessons. Now it’s
only about serving the music. How do I hear
a particular phrase in this piece? Or what did
Schumann mean with a Sforzando here, instead
of an accent? It’s not about what an audition
committee may want, or how my presentation
comes across to other people judging me.
Nowadays, the turn-around time for preparing a
piece of music is fast. There isn’t time for a piece
to get stale or over-worked. There’s been a natural
progression for me of playing a lot of new
material with a lot of different musicians.
As a student, I didn’t always trust my decisions
so I needed more time to make my choices.
That’s ok, that’s why we go to school. We have
mentors and more experienced colleagues to lean
on. When I began subbing with great orchestras
like the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, and playing chamber music
with players I looked up to and respected, I got
more exposure and new ideas. I started to develop
more confidence in my choices. This is crucial
in the professional world. Continuing forward,
playing in Houston I don’t have to look very hard
to be inspired. My colleagues provide daily models
of musicianship and artistry.
As I was making the transition to the professional
world, I started thinking about all the parts of
my playing I still saw problems with. I felt like I
was about to make this switch, but personally, I
still wasn’t where I wanted to be technically and
musically. I remember asking my teacher at the
Curtis Institute of Music, Hal Robinson, “Please
tell me you were better when you were 30 years
old than when you were 25?”
Thankfully Hal replied, “Man, I was better when
I was 30 and I was better when I was 40 and
even better when I was 50.”
“Thank goodness!” I breathed a sigh of relief that
I still had more time to keep improving.
How I came to the Bass
I grew up outside of Chicago. My parents are
choral musicians and my sister is a singer so
music is kind of like a family disease. I constantly
heard people singing. Music was always
around but I didn’t want to sing. My quiet rebellion
was being an instrumentalist. I began in
the public schools in the 4 th grade. Our strings
teacher, Mrs. Wegscheid, came into my class and
showed me all sorts of instruments and I chose
the bass.
Virginia Dixon was my first bass teacher. She
is an extremely talented teacher and I started
working with her in the 6 th grade and continued
all throughout high school. Charlie Nilles, a bass
player, grew up just 2 blocks away from me,
also studied with Virginia, and now he is in the
National Symphony. He was always like my bass
older brother growing up. As a young bass student
I would do things like Richard Davis’s bass
weekend and go to the ISB conventions.
I always played sports growing up and wasn’t
initially very serious about the bass. It was
around Freshman or Sophomore year in high
school when I realized I wasn’t going to be a pro
football player so I started to devote myself to
the instrument in a different way. I played in the

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and I took
some lessons with Rob Kassinger from the Chicago
Symphony. I had transformational summers
at Boston University Tanglewood Institute and
Domaine Forget, up in Quebec, Canada. Domaine
is where I met the teachers I would go on to do
my undergraduate studies with - David Moore
and Paul Ellison. I also studied with Leigh Mesh
of the MET orchestra for one year in college.
When auditioning for schools I was wait-listed at
the schools I wanted to go to and felt like I always
needed to dig deeper.
But what I realized is: work ethic beats natural
talent every time.
I went to Los Angeles to study with David Moore.
First at Colburn and then I followed him to the
University of Southern California. David taught
me how to play the bass. In my mind he is one of
the best teachers anywhere, right now. His analytical
mind meshed with mine and he was able
to give me exactly what I wanted and needed at
the time.
dove into having complete control over my bow
speed. I hoped that by refining my musical building
blocks, when I came back to full strength, I
would be able to think more about the music and
less about how to make the sound. I devoted a
lot of time on just this. Another thing I got into
was practicing excerpts with my right hand only.
I would put a rag in between the strings and the
fingerboard, up by the nut to have the strings
feel and react as if my left hand were fingering
through the passage.
This kind of work in addition to mental and
visualization practice is why I was able to work
up the Curtis audition while I was injured and
only playing 20 - 30 minutes with my left hand.
I think it’s important to realize that you can
practice in some capacity even when one part of
Unfortunately in my final year at USC I suffered
a playing-related injury and couldn’t play fully
for an entire year - December to December. It
was one of the hardest things I have ever had to
work through. Luckily, the injury was only in my
left arm. That let me keep working on right arm
concepts. I was looking for any way I could to
continue improving as a player during the injury.
I kept going to lessons
I took little phrase shapes such as a crescendo
or diminuendo over 3 counts, and practiced
them aiming to get rid of all excess motion and
sounds. I realized that long phrases are these
little musical gestures linked together, so I

you may be tired or injured and that using your
brain and thinking about your practice is also a
crucial part of moving forward.
My professional career kind
of worked out all at once
I won trials for Principal Bass simultaneously
with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the
Houston Symphony last Fall. Before those auditions
I had a one year sub contract lined up
with Los Angeles Philharmonic starting in January.
The LA Phil bass section has been a huge
influence in my playing. I spent two summers
studying with their Principal, Chris Hanulik, and
continue to think of his playing and artistry on a
weekly basis. Things came together for me all at
the same time and after a lot of smart, efficient
practice.
In the Houston Symphony everything is still
pretty recent and fresh. I am constantly getting
to know people. I now also have the comfort of
knowing that I can make music and put bread
on the table from that career. The closest thing
I ever came to a real job was working as an
umpire for little league in middle school. I have
always supported myself in a way by music. I
hope to be lucky enough to continue feeling like I
haven’t worked a day in my life.
Having music as a career is an amazing life. But
it needs to be said more often that if one loves
music, one can continuing loving music and have
a fulfilling, intimate relationship with music
throughout life without depending on it for a livelihood.
When music is your life, there isn’t ever a
way to clock out of work. You never get to leave
your work at the office over the weekend and a
task is never really completed. There is always
another layer to dig deeper into a piece or a technical
concept. Working on fundamentals such
as pitch, rhythm, and sound is a life-long, never
ending process. You have to come in with eyes
wide open knowing that is part of the equation.
If after knowing all this you’re still into it and it
sounds good, then you’re going to be okay. It is a
serious commitment and a life long journey.
I am not trying to discourage people but it is
really important to know that you do not have to
be a pro musician to have music in your life.
Studying with Hal Robinson and Edgar
Meyer
The first challenge in working with Hal and
Edgar is getting past the fact that you’re in the
same room as them and then appreciating the
experience. I did not take a second of my time
with them for granted. There is never a single
moment that you lose sight with Edgar and Hal
that it is always about the music. It is never
about doing a trick fingering for any reason
other than the musical line. Choices come from
the repertoire.
I went to Aspen and worked with Edgar for two
summers. I was working on a Haydn Divertimento,
which had a slow opening that seems
very simple. I recall spending 30 minutes working
on only this 4 note opening. Edgar would put
so much detail into the nuance of shaping something.
He had the full pallet of a dynamic range
in mind. In a lesson, you will always run out of
time when working on a musical moment with
Edgar. The work is never finished, it’s just that
you have to move on because of time constraints.
As demanding as he and Hal were with instilling
a commitment to shaping with us, we all knew
they are even more demanding on themselves.
This is what was so eye opening. It sort of goes
into the category of light bulb moments that still
pop up or things that will pop up years from now.
Ultimately making decisions to serve the music.

If it sounds good it is good. Finding a fingering to
serve the music IS the fingering worth choosing.
The music is always above the ego
Hal Robinson’s The Quad Volume 2
I can’t believe I got time to spend with those
guys. Seriously, I can’t believe it.
In conclusion the standard or the norm is that
you really don’t know what a particular moment
is like until you are looking back on it, but if you
can get a little glimpse of just how special a moment
can be while you’re experiencing it – that’s
powerful!
The point is to try to maximize as many of those
experiences. And it is so possible while making
music.
available for instant download
www.ranaanmeyer.com
The Colorado College Summer Music Festival is
an intensive three-week program for 50 festival
fellow musicians. All participate in formal and
informal chamber music concerts, orchestra
performances and off-campus outreach programs.
Application Deadline
February 15, 2016
Full scholarships for all accepted students
For more information please contact us at
(719)-389-6552
www.coloradocollege.edu/musicfestival

Wabass Institute 2016
at the Charley Creek Foundation
Wabash, Indiana
June 19-24, 2016
www.wabass.com
Hal Robinson
Eric Larson Ranaan Meyer

Remember, Your Teachers

Are Trying to Help You
Dan Foster

Professional and Student Life
I have been the Principal Violist
of the National Symphony
Orchestra since 1993. It is my
23rd year as a member, and
my 22ndyear as principal.
Additionally I teach both privately
and at the University of
Maryland, and also do a fair
amount of chamber music
playing. In my family everyone
played an instrument.
And before I knew it, I was
playing and learning violin
from my father with the Suzuki
Method. I later became
a student of the renowned
Suzuki pedagogue Ronda
Cole (who ironically is now
the violin teacher of my two
children, and from whom I
therefore am still learning). In
high school I started playing
some viola but I didn’t really
want to because my father
was a violist and I wasn’t really
excited about following
in his footsteps. I soon discovered,
however, that as a violist
I was very much in demand,
and I had some very exciting
and fulfilling experiences
playing chamber music as a
violist at summer camps and
with friends in High School. I
found that at these summer
music festivals I had a lot in
common with my fellow musicians,
and realized that perhaps
I was my most comfortable
with myself in the world
of music. When I got close to
college I started thinking a lot
more about a career in music.
This is when I also started
to make the official switch to
viola.
Because I came to a decision
to pursue a musical career
quite late, I had only applied
to one music school, Oberlin
Conservatory. Ironically, while
I had tried to do everything
different than my family I ended
up doing exactly the same
thing – my brother, both parents,
and both of my mother’s
parents all went to Oberlin.
The viola professor at Oberlin
at the time was Jeffrey Irvine,
about whom I knew nothing
before I came to Oberlin. It
was my good fortune that he

was a tremendous teacher.
He was extremely dedicated
to teaching, and had a knack
of understanding and addressing
each student’s individual
needs. In fact, I came
to realize he had a much better
handle on what I needed
to work on than I did.
After Oberlin I went to Curtis
for two years working with
Karen Tuttle. I had known
about her from a master class
she had given at Oberlin my
freshman or sophomore year,
which I had not much cared
for. My opinion of her evolved
over the next couple of years,
through working with Mr. Irvine,
who had been a student
of Ms. Tuttle’s, as well as
through learning more about
her teaching approach, and
by the time I was a senior at
Oberlin, I had determined
that she was the right teacher
for me for grad school. Sure
enough, she proved to be
the perfect teacher for me at
that stage of my career.
Having had several very
strong but very different
teachers; this taught me a
very important lesson about
being open-minded. My first
instinct was always to reject a
new teacher’s idea that was
opposite of what had been
taught to me by my previous
much-loved teacher. But
I eventually realized if I didn’t
buy into what is being taught
to me, I wouldn’t get anything
out of it, so by deciding to
trust someone and go with it –
it really started to pay off.
Mstislav Rostropovich
Sometime during my years at
Curtis I had the tremendous
opportunity of playing a private
“audition” for the great
cellist Mstislav Rostropovich,
for whom I played the Bartok
Viola Concerto. He listened to
3 other students and me, then
brought us together into his
room for his feedback. When
it was my turn for my critique,
though he had nice things
to say, what I remember the
most is that he said, “Everything
you play is out of tune”.

This was at a point in my career
when I had already won
2 competitions, been close to
winning some big orchestral
principal jobs, and felt that I
was a finished product. Needless
to say, it threw me for a
loop. So I realized I had the
choice:
1) I could just ignore what he
told me
Or
2) See whether, though I had
never heard this comment
from anyone else before,
there was indeed truth to it.
So, I did decide to fully embrace
and examine it. And
I started at square one and
found that he had been right.
It turned out to be a very important
part of advancing my
playing which I came very
close to missing out on.
This was about taking a risk
and enabling myself to get
the most out of learning.
Rostropovich later gave me
my job for the National Symphony.
Trust me it was worth
listening.
The Viola
I am not sure if much has
changed with the evolution of
the viola in the last 20 years.
As a solo instrument it was
already evolving as a voice
before I started playing. Of
course it is a middle voice in-

strument by nature. But there
are so many people that love
the viola as a sound and push
it forward.
People who play the viola
generally have to appreciate
its role bridging the gap between
the other instruments. I
feel it is a great role in order to
being able to listen and hear
how everything goes together.
The Three Standard Classical Career
Choices
I would love to have 3 full
time careers:
1) Orchestra musician – which
I do full time
2) Chamber musician – which
I do part time
3) Viola Teacher – which I do
part time
When I do teach, I love analyzing
what everyone is doing
and figuring out how to
help my students practice at
a higher level. I did not learn
to practice well myself until I
went to college so I like helping
teach how to practice.
My teachers taught me a lot
but I also learned from my
peers. It is important to realize
just how many avenues of
learning there are if you are
always looking for opportunities
to learn.
Advice to up and coming violists
of today:

1) There are many different
possible career paths. Don’t
get tunnel vision about what
constitutes a satisfying career
in music.
For example some people
say, “I want to win a job in
an orchestra.” Do they want
to win a job in an orchestra,
or do they want to play in an
orchestra? Winning a job happens
on one day, playing in
an orchestra can happen as
long as 30, 40, 50 years.
2) Nuts and Bolts: every time
you go to practice make sure
you know exactly what you
are going to work on. Often
people spend a lot of time
practicing and they can not
really be sure what they accomplished
with their time.
Ask yourself questions like:
How can I be efficient?
How much time do I have to
work today?
What specifically can I improve
in that time?
How can I improve it?
What’s my strategy today?
What are my goals today?
3) Recognize styles and experience
life, music theory,
history, things that are not music
studies but will influence
your life. Everything you do
in school will help you to become
a better musician.
Exit Strategy:
My future looks a lot like the
present. I like to know when
I am going to make big
changes. I like to be able to
be clear in my own head to
know when it is not my turn
any more. If I am still principal
violist of the National Symphony
when I am 65 -that will be
more than 40 years occupying
this position. I feel like that
is almost unfair to all the great
violists who deserve a position
like that, and I would like not to
overstay my welcome. So financially
I want to plan for when I
switch gears to something else
in my life.
Hear Me:
If being immersed in music
makes you happy, you will find
success in music. I always loved
to listen to music, study music,
and play music. I didn’t realize
how much until I was close to
college age, but now I realize

that the love of music is what
kept me going in the years be
fore I realized that was how I
felt. On the plus side, I therefore
had a lot of other interests
which keep me balanced to
this day. Music is a labor of love,
not of planning for a life of financial
stability. Occasionally
you can have both, but financial
stability is not a reason to
pursue music. People pursue a
musical career because it’s the
only thing that will make them
truly happy.