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So proud of 4 of my students for their hard work in auditioning for and being accepted into their District Honors Orchestras! The audition and preparation process is definitely a challenge and I’m so glad their hard work paid off.
I got to catch up and play with several of my beloved graduates of the studio from years past, going back as far as the class of 2020! It’s so much fun to hear about the wonderful things they’re doing (pursuing graduate degrees, playing in their University orchestras, even becoming music teachers themselves!), and of course to get to play a little bit of music with them.
As students return to school today after what was hopefully a restful and relaxing (and somewhat cold, here in the DC-area!) winter break, I’m just reflecting on our winter recitals that kicked off the season at the beginning of last month. We had some lovely collaborations and other fun music selections, both holiday-related (selections from The Nutcracker) and not (S.O.S. by ABBA)! As always, I am so proud of all the musicians for having the courage to share their music with the audience!
One of my favorite end-of-the-lesson rituals is sight-reading duets with all of my wonderful students (a tradition I carry on from lessons with my own teacher, Mr. Johonnott). This time of year, we all love to sight-read Christmas music. Here’s a clip of student Jacob and me playing The Christmas Song at yesterday’s lesson.
i came across this Ray Chen video recently while searching for supplemental content to share with my students. Ray Chen is so down-to-earth, and his recommendations for working on vibrato technique here are spot on! Thought I’d pass this along.
I performed some very fun and exciting works a couple of weeks ago as part of the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association’s Summer Chamber music series. The concert was titled “Piano & Friends,” and this annual concert always features chamber music works that include piano with varied instrumentation. My friend and collaborator John Sutherland Earle (the “piano” in Piano & Friends) leads the show and assembles the chamber ensembles. The most recent concert featured Bach’s Musical Offering BWV 1079, a Mozart Wind Quintet, and the Ravel Trio for piano, cello, and violin. Chamber music is near and dear to my heart ,and I love having the opportunity to share this wonderful music with others!
I switched things up a little bit this summer and headed down to Vero Beach, Florida for the Mike Block String Camp. This is an all-ages and all-levels weeklong program where string players gather to attend tune classes, form bands and arrange tunes for a performance at the end of the week. My band, Burn it Down, was an absolute blast to work with. We were all freelance players and teachers from all over the US AND Switzerland. We performed a tune called “Flickflach” by Henriette Flach. I always find that I can improve my own teaching when I learn new things. The camp itself was a super fun and enriching experience with awesome, friendly, gifted faculty who were so enthusiastic about coaching and sharing their knowledge.
It’s so hard to believe it’s almost back-to-school time! I’m fondly looking backing on a wonderful 2025 summer, which was kicked off in June with my students’ lovely recitals. It’s always amazing to see how much they progress and mature over the years. I said goodbye to one senior, Toni, whom I will miss so much. (But I’m so excited for her to attend an Ivy League university in the fall!) The recitals included performances of a Mozart Sonata for Violin & Piano, Bach’s E major Preludio, as well as tunes by Adele and ABBA. A wonderful variety of music!
I had a lovely “double header” evening of concerts recently when I performed Beethoven’s lovely “Spring” Sonata for Violin & Piano with Master’s student Hannah Pierre at George Mason University, immediately followed by a performance of the Brahms Piano Quintet at a senior community in Alexandria. Both such gorgeous and fun pieces of music! It’s been a great year performing some amazing chamber works including the Dvorak Piano Quintet, Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2, and Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2. Looking forward to more!
Beethoven’s Spring Sonata
We had a special guest appearance at our most recent recital during a violin duet performance of John Williams’ Imperial March.
Love those smiling faces!
This year I have been enjoying working with some wonderful adult students. It is so rewarding to have a hand in teaching someone the ins and outs of music making. Learning an instrument can be a wonderful hobby to take up as an adult - it’s an excellent practice that is so challenging for 4 out 5 of our senses and requires intense focus. I always tell my adult learners that developing the skills to play a string instrument can take a lot of time and a lot of patience, but it is so worth it! I was delighted that all 3 of my adult students performed in our most recent recital. Just having the courage to pick up an instrument as an adult takes a lot of courage, but performing in front of an audience is a true feat! Pictured below are two students collaborating on a violin duet arrangement of Imperial March from Star Wars!
Everyone did a lovely job performing for our Winter Recitals last month! We had a few first-time recitalists who did an awesome job bravely sharing their solos with the audience. There was an awesome performance by student Timmy of “Bosun Bill,” who was accompanied by his grandmother on accordion (!) and also a lovely rendition of the first movement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto by Brianna and Richard, seen below, before (during a joint lesson) and after (post recital)!
I so enjoyed arranging string parts and playing violin and viola (along with my cellist comrade April Maddox) AND singing backing vocals on this latest release entitled Falling Forward by Brian K & the Parkway!
I was thrilled to get the chance to perform one of my favorite chamber music works of all time this month, the Brahms Piano Quartet in C minor. I’ve loved this piece since I first heard it as a college student. It was wonderful to collaborate on it with wonderful musicians John Earle, Helen Fall, and Kenneth Law. (Photos by Angela Anderson.)
Everyone shared stellar performances at our end of the year recitals back in June, though I was sad to say farewell to 4 (!) graduating seniors whom I will miss so much. 😭 Some highlights were student collaborations of the slow movement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto and a quartet performance of the perennial classic, Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
Such a fun show recently joining Jukebox the Ghost for one of their sold-out performances at The Atlantis DC. They are the nicest trio of guys, and their fans were fabulous!
Adulthood
All for Love
Man in the Moon
I had a wonderful time performing the Brahms Piano Quintet at the Fairfax Old Town Hall with some friends back in February!
I was delighted to bring some of my high-school age student violinists, violists and pianists to the local senior home to deliver some holiday tunes to the residents! Students performed duos and trios together. It was so fun to see and hear the residents singing and nodding along to the music.
Very proud of these wonderful students for being accepted into their respective Senior and Junior District Orchestras! Special commendation goes to Zoë B. for getting 1st chair viola in her orchestra!
I had the pleasure of performing one of my fave pieces from one of my fave composers recently - the Brahms Piano Quintet. It was a blast!
Alexandria, VA
