We had a very good photo session on Friday with a pianist who is a graduate of New England Conservatory. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and high 70′s, but it was fairly windy. Maybe alittle too windy to be posing outdoors. Anyways I won’t give away too much—just a sneak peek of what we looked like from our perspective that day. The real photos will come soon!
That’s right! Our recent performance at the Bradford School of Music Faculty Concert (where Helen teaches) featured guest artist bassist Randy Wong, or as some students call him, “Mr. Helen!” With this unusual combination of string instruments, we played a nice rendition of Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz, which was originally written for either solo cello or violin.
It’s such a beautifully written piece that will erase all darkness, lift spirits and bring hope to all. There is just something about American music with its use of open strings, intervals, and harmonies that is attractive and uplifting to the ears and heart. Some of my favorite American composers include Copland, Corgliano, and Ives; they each have their own American idiom and compositional language, but there are many traits they all have in common with each other as well. As performers, it is our duty and desire to communicate the style of the composer, and in this piece, we shall continue to work towards achieving that sense of peace and calmness that is so tangible in performance especially for this piece. Hopefully that will transcend itself to the audience and as we let the music unfold through meditation and prayer….
Hello dear friends! After a couple weeks of intense rehearsing and re-learning our old “standards,” if you will, we were able to successfully record both the Martinu and the Passacaglia as well as do the obligatory cake and wine birthday celebration for Leewen the night before….
Here’s a close-up of our delicacies ~ vanilla bean cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory and a fruit tart from Whole Foods :]
It was a fun girls’ night eating good food and watching the Olympics… followed by a somewhat slow-ish rehearsal <– that’s me after having two glasses of wine.
Now, onto our next project: contemporary and under-performed, but beautiful duo, and possibly trio, music. More to come!