Spread Peace and Joy with Yo-Yo Ma

A friend sent me information about a contest in which the prize is an opportunity to play with Yo-Yo Ma. Details are on the Indaba Music web site (or click on the photo above).

In celebration of the release of his latest album, Songs of Joy & Peace, which includes contributions by many other artists, such as James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, Chris Botti, and Renée Fleming, Ma has invited amateur and professional musicians to compete for the opportunity to collaborate with him on "Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)."

On the Indaba website, there are recordings of Ma playing "Dona Nobis Pacem" as a cello solo, as well as a sample counterpoint melody and variations. And the downloadable sheet music to get you going. (It's in treble clef because you don't have to be a cellist to enter.) Participants are encouraged to write their "own counter-melody or record an entirely new set of variations."

It sounds like fun, as well as a nice collaboration of traditional and improvisational music. And, for those of us who don't stand much of a chance of winning, we can use Ma's recording of "Dona Nobis Pacem" as inspiration for our own playing.

Secret Life of the Cellists

We saw "Secret Life of the Bees" last night. Alicia Keys plays cello in it, not, in my opinion, entirely convincingly, but a cello is enough to get me to any movie.

I loved the book of the same name, and the movie is the best movie adaptation of a book that I have seen in a long time. It really captures the book, and the era (1964, as the civil rights movement was growing).

But, for now, just the cello part. Zoe Keating is the actual cellist in the movie, and, as the credits flipped by, I noticed that Alicia Keys had two cello coaches, one in New York and one in North Carolina, where, apparently, the movie was filmed. I didn't catch their names, and was checking the Internet for additional information, when I came across a query: "Was that cello piece the same one as the one in that commercial?"

Yes, it was the prelude to Bach's first suite for solo cello, the same one featured in numerous commercials from dog food to automobiles, apparently the identifying cello piece. Amazing Grace was also played, quite beautifully, I thought.

Just found an article about the North Carolina cello teacher. There is a video too, but I am in a motel in the Atlanta, Georgia area right now, one with a very slow Internet connection, so I can't watch it.

Here's another video, maybe the same one; it's hard to tell without being able to see them. It starts off by saying she learned the cello in 4 weeks. I guess she looks pretty good for four weeks!

I loved the fact that there was a cellist in this movie and there were quite a few scenes in which the cello played a supporting role. Alicia, however, played a character who was a bit unfeeling and unwilling to take a chance on love, perhaps someone who focuses all her emotions on the cello. So, you kind of want her to lighten up, put the cello aside, and go outside and play.

Oh, one other tiny complaint. This movie features Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, and only gives us little snippets of singing. Ok, you can't make this book into a musical, but it would have been nice to hear more.

Still, in all, a great little movie, even the non-cello, non-musical parts.

First Orchestra Rehearsal

Our new orchestra met for the first time last night. We had a good turnout of about 33 people, including 9 cellists, violins, violas, a bassoon, a bass clarinet, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, several trumpets, French horn, and possibly others. We should perhaps change our name to the mostly all cello orchestra.

We played "Sonate 2 da Chiesa" by Corelli and the Rosamunde Overture by Schubert. Both of these are free scores we found online. We were uncertain how many people would show up, and what instruments they would bring, but the random assemblage of players seems to be working out well.

I chanced to meet a young woman visiting from Scotland, a cellist, and invited her to join us (luckily, I have two cellos). She is a great musician, and it was a treat to sit next to her. On my other side was the bassoon player, also a strong player. I didn't get every note, but I played better with their help.

We were pleased with the turnout, with our conductor, and with the beautiful music we produced. It's a good thing, a community orchestra!

9 Cellos

We are starting a chamber orchestra/ensemble group here in town. The idea is that you can play in the larger, coached ensemble and/or break up into smaller groups, which may also be coached. So far we have 9 cellists among 34 people interested. There are about 10 violinists, a viola or two, 2 oboes, several flutes, a clarinet, a horn, a trumpet, and several keyboard players. Sounds like an excellent balance to me!

Bluegrass afternoon

Here's what Sunday's bluegrass festival looked like. This was after our group of 17 (fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, string bass, and cello) played. You can see the stage in background on the right, and the seating off to the left. Not a huge venue, but there were also people sitting in the grassy area. I do think the audience outnumbered our large group of musicians. In any case, they were appreciative, and it was fun.

Bluegrass diversion

I decided to play with the fiddle group this weekend at the Bluegrass on the Bogs festival. I went last year too, but this year I haven't been playing much fiddle music (we play old-time, not bluegrass), and there is very little time left to solidify my tentative grasp on the numerous tunes we will play. Fortunately, I do know some of them, but there will also be tunes I have never even heard before.

I'll think of something. It will be good to be surrounded by music and musicians for a few hours in the summer sun. (Well, rain is predicted, but I am hopeful.)

Concert approaching...

My flute group is playing for a local arts festival on June 21. We're sort of ready. I am playing two pieces on cello: Haydn's London Trios, just the first trio (which has 3 movements), and The Little Red Monkey, a contemporary frolic, in which I play the bouncy baseline. I am somewhat sort of ready, but really need to find time to practice in the sort of three weeks we have remaining until the concert (especially the 3rd movement of the Haydn, which is vivace).

Last year when we played this event, there were gusts of wind that it blew the notes back into my flute. And, even clustered in a tight horseshoe shape, we had a hard time hearing each other. Why do we keep doing this? It's fun. We don't really attract huge crowds because there are three stages in operation at any one time, as well as tents full of artists and artisans, children's activities, and food, but I enjoy being part of it.

Cello workshop slideshow

I'm experimenting with creating slideshows of musical events. This is a first effort using Animoto, which completely automates the process. It is very quick and easy, though you do not get much control over the final project. The process is supposed to coordinate the music and the photos, but I think the photos are whizzing by a little too quickly for the speed of the music. This is the 30-second free version. For $3 per video (or $30/year), you can make them longer, but I just wanted to try the free version for now.

This was our recent cello workshop with Eugene Friesen. A parent provided the audio. The photographs are by Teri Stanley. 1/26th of the music is by me. And my story on the event is here.

Another cello outing

I took my cello down to Woods Hole for the cello workshop with Eugene Friesen yesterday. There were about 27 cellists, students of my teacher ranging in age from about 5 to 60-ish, arranged in a circle in the rustic community hall. We played our three pieces for Eugene (all went well), and he gave us a rhythm workshop, featuring a 4 against 3 rhythm.

Eugene is one of my very favorite cellists, and we are lucky to have this annual workhop with him. In the past we have done various types of improvisation and rhythms. He does a great job keeping all ages and cello levels interested and learning.

Later, in the restaurant next door, we attended Eugene's "Cello Nova" concert, featuring pianist Tim Ray and guitarist Freddie Bryant, all amazing musicians. The music was outstanding, blending classical, improvisational jazz, and Brazilian, Colombian, and Venezuelan rhythms and melodies.

And I recognized a version of the little rhythm we had learned that afternoon. :-)

Time for practicing

I've been having a hard time finding time to practice the last couple of weeks. I know it's best to practice every day, even if only for 20 minutes, than to skip a day, or three, and try to make it up in a marathon practice session, but it has been hard finding even those 20 minutes.

Yesterday, I managed an hour and a half, but was so tired in the beginning (from lack of practicing) that it took 20 minutes just to warm up.

We have been playing Haydn's London Trios in our quartet though, so I have played through them several times, if imperfectly. How does a quartet play a trio, you might ask? Well, one night, the flutist was not able to come, so we were, in fact, a trio; and the second night, tonight, the violist played the cello part (which he had transposed for viola) with me, which seems to work fine. But, a little practicing would help me a lot.

I had asked the violist to transpose the part because I wanted, sometimes, to play flute and have him take the cello part, but, you know, as hard as it is to play the cello, it's harder not to.

Marcello Sonata

I've been looking forward to working on the Marcello sonata for a long time.

My favorite flute piece when I was in high school was a Marcello Sonata in F. I lost track of this sonata when I stopped playing the flute regularly, and, though bits of the piece would come back to me at odd moments, I couldn't remember enough to track it down.

Then, one day, I walked into my flute lesson a little early and heard a friend in her lesson, playing the piece. I recognized it immediately and went out and bought the sheet music, so happy to play it again. (I have since transcribed it for both woodwind/cello quartet and string quartet, but we have not played it yet in either group.)

The Marcello cello sonata is structurally very similar to the flute sonata. (Actually Marcello's other flute sonatas are all kind of similar too.) I tried the cello sonata recently and was disappointed by it. I searched Youtube, looking for a good version of it, to inspire me, but to no avail. (I couldn't find my Suzuki CD.)

We worked on it in my lesson this morning though, and wow, my cello teacher transformed what I thought was a bland piece into a gorgeous one. I was so relieved, to have my regard for Marcello restored. Hopefully, I can do the piece justice.

Here is a version of the flute sonata in F, from the Wikipedia page on Marcello:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetto_Marcello

It was the festive second movement that I most remembered fragments of, though not quite at that speed. I do love the first movement too, and the fourth is not bad either.

Haydn's London Trios

For those not familiar with Haydn's London Trios, here are performances of the first and third (of four) trios by Cesar Peredo, Javier Rodriguez, and Marco Oiveros. The cello seems subdued in this, at least compared to when I played it (on flute) with another flute and cello. Our cellist was our most accomplished player, and he played so vibrantly that I felt like I was playing in a "cello forest." I liked it that way.

Haydn, London Trio no. 1.



Haydn, London Trio no. 3.

Flute as Cello

A few years ago, I played Haydn's London Trios (2 flutes and cello) as first flute, with another flutist and a cellist. I love these trios (especially playing with the cellist, who was very good, despite not having changed his strings in 30 years. Well, ok, that part annoyed me, but my hints that his tone might be even better if he bought new strings fell on deaf ears).

I am working on the cello parts now, hoping to play the trios with the flute quartet (all flutes). I play both flute and cello in the group, but have not played cello with them all winter, because sometimes it is just easier to leave my big bulky instrument at home and take only a flute.

So, I found a version of the London Trios for 2 C flutes, alto flute and bass flute. Alto and bass play essentially the same part, the cello part. We have an alto flute in our quartet, but no bass flute, so, right now, I am playing the bass flute part on my C flute, which makes it an octave higher than it should be, but it sounds fine. I am also enjoying doubling the alto, I who generally prefer not to play doubled parts.

Oddly enough, the flute/alto flute is a reasonable substitute for the cello. It is also helpful in terms of reminding me of the tempos, the rhythms, etc., and so my playing of the music on my cello is benefiting. Eventually, the weather will warm up, and I will bring my cello to play with the group. I will still be doubling the alto flute, but, this way, all four of us get to play these lovely pieces, and it can be comforting to hear someone else playing the same part.

The cello parts are both relatively easy and interesting, and I love the flute parts; and it is fun playing a piece that I know the other parts to. Sometimes, in sightreading unfamiliar music with the other flute quartet (flute/violin/viola/cello), I am so intent on my part that I can't appreciate the others (or even recognize the piece from the upper parts), so I am enjoying this.

Memorization, more or less

I finally finished Suzuki Book Three. Yes, it has taken me years, in part because my teacher not only insists on my memorizing each piece, but also my performing, from memory, all the pieces in each book with a pianist (at the same recital) before moving onto the next book. And memory means the ability to start at any point in a piece, know all the notes, etc., not just play it by rote. Memory is the first step in learning a piece; after that, you polish and refine. This is the way she teaches her young students, and it is the way she teachers her older ones. One is supposed to keep all previous pieces current, and I try.

It is difficult for me, all this memorization, but not memorizing is not an option with my teacher. On the one hand, I do think I learn the music better than someone who learns a piece and moves on, never to play it again. I think I am probably better off than people who skip around, or skip quickly through the books, not remembering earlier technique. It's not a race, I say, to reassure myself.

On the other hand, sometimes I think 98 percent of my mental powers and practice efforts go into memorization, and other crucial things about playing the cello, say intonation or vibrato, do not always get the attention they deserve. So, I tend to define success as "getting through the piece," not playing it musically.

Other factors conspire to slow my progress. I play two instruments and have limited time to practice; I play in numerous ensembles playing widely different types of music; I have big recitals, not just the pieces in the Suzuki books, but numerous ensemble pieces so that I can also perform friends (and so they can enjoy being part of the recital, not just suffer through my performances).

The memory thing, for me, has its pros and cons. I do like being able to play pieces from memory, not only the Suzuki pieces, but also fiddle tunes and other music, and my memory capacity much better than it used to be. But, memorizing can be very frustrating for me, and sometimes I feel that my head can only hold a certain amount of music memory (a lot more now than when I started, but still a finite amount), and trying to perfect one phrase causes another one to escape. I had a difficult time getting all the pieces in Book 3 to stay in my head at the same time, so I finally split the pieces into two recitals.

So, to get to the point of this post, I am delighted to say I don't have to memorize the Breval Sonata (because it is a sonata, not because it might be helpful for me to try to learn a piece before memorizing it, rather than the other way around). And, after a week with it, I am thrilled at my progress. The old (memorization) way, I would be two lines into it by now. But I am playing it straight through, with my teacher accompanying (sounds good that way). There are still parts to smooth out, and I have to get it up to tempo, but gosh, this is a nice change of pace.

I have to admit I never cared for the Breval until I started playing it, but was determined to learn it because it is often selected as the junior (grades 7 to 9) audition piece for state orchestra competitions. I do enjoy it now, and I am so delight to be finally playing, somewhat musically, at the 7th grade level (if not quite yet at the winning-the-audition level).

Slow month, blogwise

This has been my slowest month, postwise, since I started this blog. This will be my ninth post this month, much fewer than usual. It's not that I don't have anything to say; it's just that I have no time to say it. Or maybe that I have nothing bloggable to say.

On the other hand, according to Sitemeter, this shortest month is my highest month ever, in terms of people dropping in to read what I have to say. Perhaps there's a strategy there. Thanks for reading!

A quick update on my musical activities: I have a cello recital coming up soon. My good friend and violinist Laura is playing piano for me and coaching me, and I thank her!

My flute performance at church went well (the one where I slept through the rehearsal). I have another flute performance at another church (my own) on Sunday. This time, I am accompanying the choir, which I love to do, but I have not gotten all the entrances down yet. There is a final rehearsal just before the performance, when, I am sure, everything will fall into place. We have a wonderful conductor, and I need to rely more on him instead of my thus-far-ineffective combination of watching him, the vocal line, the flute line, and counting. (I don't have separate flute music for this, so am reading off the vocal score.) Going with the flow is the best option for this piece, about caring about the person whose hand you take at church.

There is a women's fiddle session on Saturday. I enjoy these because we are working on a limited number of tunes, we allow sheet music, and we generally play slower than with the larger group. It gives me a chance to try and work out some appropriate cello lines, though I never have enough time.

I need to practice! But, first, back to work....

Self-portrait, with cello

I attended a wonderful art show yesterday featuring many unique and creative self-portraits of 55 Cape Cod artists. (For those of you on the Cape, it is at the Cotuit Center for the Arts through February 9.)

One self-portrait stood out for me: Cherie Mittenthal's hot wax painting of herself on the beach playing a cello. The inscription on the painting said: "I always wanted to play the cello because you get to sit down."

I was with a group of fourth-graders, on a tour, and at least half the group burst out that they always wanted to play the cello too, and everyone commented on the rich, warm sound of the cello.

A heart-warming moment, so I forgave the artist her inaccurate representation of the cello. It was her creative vision, after all, and it made me smile.

Movies, and Concerts, and Plays, Oh, My!

I went a little crazy this past weekend and saw two movies, a concert, and a play. I used to have no time to attend such entertainment events, but now my job almost requires it. I am having so much fun. I reviewed the play (a variation of "A Christmas Carol") and will write a short review of the concert. I may wait to see another movie before writing a shortish article on Christmas movies for kids. Tomorrow, I am interviewing a choral director.

All of which, plus Christmas (which I have been thus far mostly ignoring, except musically) have left me little time to blog. One little update: I took the transposed version of "Gesu Bambino" to my cello teacher today, and she gave me magical new fingerings. I'm feeling pretty good about it now, provided I allow enough time to practice between now and the performance on Sunday.

Please pass the honey

It's interesting how little things you do or say can have a lasting impact on others.

Several years ago, I was coordinating a concert with a friend of mine. We used to sing in a women's chorus together, and she also directed a chorus at the nursing home where my flute choir rehearses. Her chorus members are members of the Alzheimer's Unit at the nursing home, so her job was challenging, yet rewarding. We decided to do a joint concert for the other nursing home residents: some songs with just the chorus, some pieces with just the flute choir, and some with all of us together. We chose "Sound of Music" for the joint pieces because we have an arrangement for flute choir and vocal choir.

My husband helped us set up for the concert, or brought me something I forgot (a music stand, perhaps?), and then had to leave. I called out to him, "Thanks, Honey!" as he left.

Skip ahead a few years to yesterday when my friend and I ran into each other again at a cello concert given by a husband-and-wife cello duo (their two children are talented cellists too). My friend happily introduced me to her new male friend, and she told me that, when I called out to my husband that day, her thought was "I want a 'honey' too."

So she set out to find one, and after a couple of years, found a very kind and loving man, her "honey." They are both well into their retirement years, but young at heart and enjoying the cello concert--and life--together. It is heart-warming to have unwittingly nudged her in this direction. :-)

Oh, the cello concert was great, too. Beautiful cello duets, set in an historic mansion (now arts center), festively decorated for Christmas, with views of gently falling snow through the large windows. That gently falling snow quickly became quite a mess, but it sure was lovely at the time!

Grumble, grumble

I went to rehearse my Christmas cello pieces with the organist and vocalist yesterday. The vocalist, who used to play the violin, wanted me to lower the pitch of the cello one whole step because there is a note in Gesu Bambino that is too high for him to sing. Either that or transpose the piece from the lovely key of G to the key of F. Not so bad, except the middle section is now in four flats, just like "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I am going to have to transpose the piece now, and I was reading it so well in treble clef!

I did try, briefly, to lower the pitch of the strings, but quickly decided against it. I have two pieces to play and no way to leave the front of the church to tune in between pieces. I do have two cellos, but my new one sounds so much better than my old one that I am reluctant to use the old one for such an "exposed" performance, when I need all the help I can get.

The vocalist/ex-violinist tried to convince me it would be easy to change the tuning, but I think this must be an entirely different matter for a violin vs. a cello and think it would loosen the strings too much. I am curious though whether anyone else has tried changing the pitch of the strings to accommodate a singer or for some other reason.

Christmas Carols

I love Christmas music, and, over the weekend, I discovered that Christmas carols sans sheet music can be a great learning tool for those who want to improve their ability to play by ear. I'm usually working on memorizing fiddle tunes, but playing fiddle tunes by ear is different. When you are playing by ear, you know where the next note is and your fingers know how to play that note. When you are memorizing a tune, I am more apt to think of a series of fingerings and patterns than the actual melody. The two processes are related, but playing by ear has some advantages over relying on memory.

The Fiddlers played at one of the downtown historic homes yesterday, after the annual Christmas Parade. To prepare for that, we rehearsed some Christmas carols by playing them by ear. (We don't use sheet music in our performances and we didn't have any Christmas music on hand.) It was surprising easy. We picked easy keys, of course: G or D, an occasional A. No four flats for us! It was great fun, and you could concentrate on playing the notes, rather than on remembering the tune.

I heard that Sunday's fiddle performance was very well-received by an enthusiastic and dancing audience. I was not able to go, as my daughter had a Christmas choral concert the same afternoon (which was also wonderful), but I think I will add "playing Christmas carols by ear" to my practice schedule this month.