Sara Stalnaker reports that she has been performing this month as part of Montana’s annual Chamber Music Festival in Bozeman. She most recently performed Mendelssohn’s Octet with members of the Muir and Cascade String Quartets at Georgetown Lake. She regrets that she has no photos to send in at this time!

Meanwhile, Heath attended his first concert at Marlboro Music School and Festival in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he ran into old friend and CMW artistic advisor Jonathan Biss. What an incredible environment, where young professionals of immense talent share the stage with master teachers and performers (Richard Goode, Charles Neidich, Arnold Steinhardt, Kim Kashkashian). The combination of the creativity and enthusiasm in the performers and the receptive appreciation of the knowledgeable audience was rejuvenating.

-Heath Marlow, CMW staff

This is my first time here in Banff, Alberta
where I’m participating in the Banff Centre’s Master Class session. I’m getting
lessons for the first time in three years, which is refreshing, and playing
lots of BRAHMS. Can’t get enough.

The faculty is all very
forward thinking in their ideas on the future of classical music, which is also
refreshing. It seems very clear to them that our audiences will dwindle if we
do not make some real changes. We can build our future in other ways other than
following the “traditional” route. You cannot expect to simply win an orchestra
job or become a soloist
anymore, or to always aspire to play a ‘certain way’, or to become the next
Jascha Heifetz. WAKE UP! It’s not going to happen for all of us. We have to
spend the time discovering our own voices. We have to reach within ourselves
and our communities and learn how to share music on a ground level so our
audiences can continue to grow and feel connected to what we are doing. 

I’m
learning how to trust my musical instincts, to define them and make clear
decisions based on them. I’m learning to be honest and not go on automatic
pilot in performance (oops!). I find myself daydreaming about the character of
the beginning of
Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 or the second theme of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet.
There is just a whirlwind of ideas floating around here!

This
has been a truly inspiring experience so far and I’m looking forward to the
rest of my summer…(Apple Hill, rock on!). I’ll be glad share more with you
all when we get back. Best wishes to all the CMW community. I hope you are all
finding things that inspire you this summer so we can come back revitalized and
ready for new challenges.

-Jessie
Montgomery, Providence String Quartet

Tai and I knew that there would be plenty of chamber music at our June 17 wedding in Ithaca, but we were not quite prepared for the highlight of the pre-wedding party: Jeff Louie’s faithful rendering of "Vision of Love" with a back up band comprised of the Providence String Quartet, Minna, and Chloe. Move over Mariah!

In case you are not as devoted a Mariah Carey fan as my wife, I’m including a sample of the (subtly altered) lyrics:

"Treated Heath kind
Sweet destiny
Carried Heath through desperation
To the Tai that was waiting for Heath
It took so long
Still Heath believed
Somehow the Tai that Heath needed
Would find Heath eventually…"

It was wonderful to have my CMW family so much a part of the festivities.

-Heath Marlow, CMW staff

On the Thursday after the coaching with Timothy Eddy [see "Coaching with Tim Eddy"], the PSQ met up in Ithaca, NY for a concert at a vineyard several miles from the site of Heath and Tai’s wedding two days later. (The wedding was incredible by the way, but that is another blog entry perhaps?) It was the first time we had met since the coaching with Mr. Eddy and we were eager to try out the new approach.

The vineyard was packed, as many old friends of the Ruth family came to see Sebastian and to learn more about this crazy project he had developed down in Providence since leaving Ithaca for Brown University back in 1993. Also, many of Heath and Tai’s friends and family had rolled in early for the weekend wedding. The energy and vibe in the room was tremendous, and the crowd boisterously welcomed Sebastian and the PSQ. After greeting everyone and offering a brief explanation of the Janacek “Kreutzer Sonata,” we took a few moments to get in character for the first movement before pulling the trigger. 

In fact, for both the Janacek and Smetana, we tried to take a few extra moments to “change costumes” before each movement. The performances of both quartets felt alive, dramatic and gripping for us and (we hope) for the audience. Past just trying to play together and in tune, we were focusing on bringing out the drama of these passionate works to the best of our ability. The result was incredibly satisfying and the audience was enthusiastic and grateful. Ithaca’s native son had returned and delivered the goods!

-Jesse Holstein, Providence String Quartet

On June 12^th, the PSQ drove in Loretta (my graffiti-adorned Chevy) down to New York City for lunch and a coaching with Timothy Eddy, esteemed cellist of the Orion String Quartet. 

We got there about an hour early for our lunch at a noodle house next to Lincoln Center so I headed over to Mecca, a.k.a Tower Records to kill some time. Fifty minutes and 100 dollars later it was time to head to the noodle house. (It’s a good thing I don’t live in Manhattan!) Mr. Eddy was easy to spot–he was the friendly guy with the cello case. Lunch was fascinating as he explained to us how he correlates performing and even practicing with method acting. He won’t start a performance or a practice session before he feels that he “is” whatever emotion or feeling that particular piece is trying to convey. I don’t remember anything about the lunch other than what he was saying, as it was riveting.

After lunch, we strolled over to the rehearsal studios for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for a coaching on Smetana’s “From my Life.” Mr. Eddy sat and listened as we ran the first movement for him, uninterrupted. His response was most humbling. I am paraphrasing, but it went something like this:

“This is a passionate, stormy movement, is it not?” Being the good Boy Scout that I am, I pulled out a copy of Smetana’s letter that explains what the piece is about. I was feeling pretty good about things.

Mr. Eddy quietly scanned the letter and told us calmly, “When I listen to you guys, I get none of the fire and energy!” At this point I felt like crawling into Sara’s cello case and asking Sebastian to latch it up and to throw it out the window. He then recalled the ideas we were discussing at lunch: musical decisions with regards to tempo, articulation, and rubato all are dictated by the emotion and drama of the movement, NOT the other way around.

He urged us to try again, “once more, with feeling” if you will. He encouraged us to “be” stormy and fiery. As a side note, the PSQ has been working a lot this year on our intonation and our ensemble playing, and our first run through for Mr. Eddy had been perhaps too careful. We let it rip the second time and it felt great! Sure, it might not have been as polished as the first time, but it had some guts and some soul. The difference was striking, and both the PSQ and Mr. Eddy were pleased.   

The coaching was amazing. In two hours together, he had helped us to “free the beast” and we were playing true chamber music, not just four people trying to play together with good intonation. We left the coaching on a serious high, ready to try this new paradigm at out next concert. 

What distinguished Mr. Eddy’s coaching from many other excellent coachings I have experienced is that he started from the center and then moved out. What I mean by the “center” is that he started from the emotional core and unique meaning of the piece of music and used this core as the basis for all decisions made about tempo, articulation, tone color, etc. It was an incredible experience that will never be forgotten and certainly will be a guide for the PSQ next season and beyond! 

-Jesse Holstein, Providence String Quartet

Hello to the CMW community. I am reporting from Guangdong, China, where I am enjoying a summer of picture taking, food tasting, and a general appreciation of all that is new. As I explore the streets, I am continually surprised with all the different activities I can see in one day; a mother and child playing, a man selling watermelon slices, rusty old bicycle taxis, sidewalk artists, a group of men gathered around a table playing cards and the occasional miracle glue salesman.

Once in a while I see a street musician and a crowd of people gathered around him or her listening the performance. From all of the things I see here in the course of a day, street music never fails to stop me for a few minutes in my busy life. When I see this, I always think of the efforts of CMW. No matter what language one speaks, everybody can appreciate the beauty of music. For a few minutes of the day, the talents of the street musician gathers strangers, brings them into an experience—an experience that, through sound, silently bonds. As we leave, we all know we have shared and understood something together.

As Community MusicWorks approaches its 10th year, I wish you continued success and I am happy to be a part of your team.

-Don Tarallo, graphic design consultant

I was thinking this morning—Yes alert the press, I was thinking—but I remembered an email I got from you (or you from me) that you were going to put that picture of me sleeping with my cello up on the blog. So in case you weren’t joking:

Practice, Practice, Practice, then take a break and practice some more. I was preparing for my upcoming RIPYO auditions and it was on a piece that I didn’t have completely down, so naturally, I worked my fingers to the bone. That paired with the stress of the fast approaching audition, I had to take a rest, and so did my cello. I AM ONE WITH THE CELLO.

Auditions are one of the most nerve-racking experiences ever. You go to the place at your appointed time, then wait around a bit since they always run late. Then when you get in, you sit in front of 3 or 4 people, and your play for them then they ask you questions, poking and prodding into every little aspect about your musical life. Then they might ask you to sight read (which is always a pain), and then the scales. They mention scales that you, until that point, didn’t know existed. When they’re done, they shoo you off to pack up your instrument and say they’ll contact you.

-Carolina Jimenez, Phase II

For anyone who is a fan of Ira Glass, here is a link to a radio piece that he created in order to document arts programs for teenagers, the kinds of programs that can often fall through the cracks for many funders. He cites the compelling evidence from Shirley Brice Heath that these arts programs are perhaps the "single most effective kinds of programs to help kids develop."

Community MusicWorks is grateful for the continued support of many foundations and indviduals this season. Maybe if everyone took a moment to listen to something like this radio documentary, there’d be more than enough money to go around for all the deserving programs like CMW.

Ira, a Brown University graduate, created this piece to present at a Grantsmakers in the Arts conference in Chicago some years ago. Enjoy!

-Heath Marlow, CMW staff

Saturday’s Performance Party in Olneyville Square brought to a close a fantastic semester of performances and hard work by Community MusicWorks students. Sebastian handed out certificates to each of the graduating seniors who performed, including Vanessa (violin) who will attend Rhode Island College and Joe (cello) who will attend the University of Rhode Island.

Joe was in the program for about a year and a half, and at seven years, Vanessa was one of the CMW stalwarts who have seen the program develop almost from the beginning. [You can read more about Vanessa in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine profile found in the Media section of the CMW website.]

As is always the case, the end of the year brings both recognition and change to the Community MusicWorks family. Among many people who were recognized and appreciated, Sebastian singled out Sara and Jesse for their five years as Resident Musicians and members of the Providence String Quartet. (Can it really be five years already?) Also, Anne will be leaving CMW at the end of the summer, and she will not be an easy person to replace. As Sebastian told everyone at the Performance Party, Anne was integral to almost all aspects of the program and is responsible for many positive and important developments over the past three years. She will be missed and we wish her well in her next job.

Along with two new fellows TBA, Minna Choi will be re-joining Community MusicWorks after the summer as the coordinator of the new fellowship program and additional violin teacher. Having three new teachers for our tenth season means that we can take 35 students off of our long waiting list, something that we have been looking forward to for several years. Congratulations to Minna for completing her Masters of Violin Performance at The Hartt School of Music this month!

-Heath Marlow, CMW staff

This was no ordinary shoot. This was a shoot for VW magazine. No, not Violin World… not Viola World… that would be VW as in Volkswagen!! (Yes, that’s right – Volkswagen.) In case you’re wondering, none of the quartet plays a Volkswagen instrument… but they do love VWs! Cellist Sara Stalnaker describes the shoot:

For our VW Magazine shoot on Tuesday, we spent the afternoon lazy-ing up against cars, widening our pupils, and chatting CMW-style. CMW-style chatting is a collage of healthy sarcasm, pressing concerns, and broad considerations and that go something like this — Oh, Jesse, can I get those summer rental forms to you by Wednesday? Question: Do we help pay for non-music related summer activities for our students? Sebastian, you’re channeling Keanu Reeves particularly well today." They told us to start interacting for the camera then, I believe, quickly regretted the request, because they couldn’t get us to stop!

-Sara Stalnaker, Providence String Quartet