Category Archives: Teaching

Performing, Teaching

Wonderful week in Columbus

I had a better time than I thought I would in Columbus, Ohio last week.  I played with the Columbus Symphony for an all Shostakovich program, and with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra for a different set of concerts.  It was a lot of fun, though a ton of work.  I thought I would be completely exhausted and unable to enjoy playing, and I was completely exhausted (one day I had three rehearsals plus a concert)…but I seemed to be able to always find energy to a) play Shostakovich Symphony no. 10/Mozart Symphony no. 25 and b) hang out with friends.  Weird how that works!

I’ve been busy since I got back as well.  I’m playing with the Quincy Symphony this week, in addition to teaching and preparing for our upcoming quartet concert (Mozart d minor quartet, Villa Lobos no. 5, and Piazzolla’s Four for Tango).

Being busy is great–it makes me feel alive!  I am not that busy here generally, but I have lived a busy lifestyle before (in Cleveland, for several ridiculously busy years.)  I am hoping I will just continue to be more busy the longer I live here.  A colleague suggested it takes seven years to really become a successful freelancer in a city.  I’m only 1 1/2 years in, so I suppose I need to be patient.  (Patience is not my strong suit, except while teaching others…)

My friend had a DMA recital tonight–I wish I had been able to be there, but she lives in Arizona, which is a bit far to travel.  I hope she did well!

Performing, Teaching

Overthinking it plus viola

I recently started teaching a viola student.  I am having a lot of fun with it!  I don’t really play viola, nor do I own one, but I decided today I know exactly what I want.  Her viola is the same size as my violin–that’s what I need!  A viola the same size as my violin.  Then I can play the Walton Viola Concerto easily, without undue stretching.  (I can just imagine my boyfriend Chris’s reaction to that statement…NOT pleased–a bit of  a viola snob, he is…silly!).  My younger sister became a violist the other year (from violin) and I believe the Walton was her primary reason.  (Also, I think, doing something a bit different from her two older sisters).  I’ll add “small viola” to my list of instruments to buy!  (Mandolin being the other on the list, and of course, ultimately, a piano…)

I was really touched by the story about the Haitian violinist Romel Joseph today.  Here’s a link to the story.  I have no real words…just wow.

Follow up thought from earlier post:  No matter how I act, not everyone is going to like me.   Since I work primarily in a service oriented field (music for hire, or music lessons for hire) I spend much of my day acting in a way that I perceive to be “appropriate.”  I want people to want to hire me to play, and I want to do that by acting in a most professional manner.  Then I see other people (primarily Males, of course) who don’t worry in the slightest about being easy to get along with or nice, and having success in their lives…ugh, what a pain to have been born a middle child female who always just wants people to get along and wants people to like her, or at least well enough.  Naturally I am ALWAYS going to be willing to work with people professionally and meet the needs of my clients, but perhaps it’s okay if not everybody agrees with me at all times (or for that matter, it’s okay if occasionally I might inadvertently do something or say something that someone else miscontrues or is mildly offended by?).   Okay, now I’m definitely overthinking this whole thing!

Teaching

Group Class Observation

I get so freaked out by the idea of teaching [Suzuki] group classes.  I’m sure it’s because I just haven’t done it very many times (once, really, to be official).

This morning I observed the class I will be teaching for my videotape (in the next few weeks, evidently).  The teacher was wonderful with the group, and the kids were both very cute and pretty responsive as well.  I took tons of notes (as usual!) and got several new ideas of things to do.  I started feeling more confident about the class since the teacher made it look so easy to teach them.  Of course,  it’s because she’s an experienced teacher, and has tons of ideas and THUSLY is able to seamlessly move from activity to activity, quickly moving on from something that doesn’t work before the kids notice a problem.  I also feel like I need more, new ideas, but probably at this point, I just need to really KNOW the ideas I have observed, and be able to pull them out of a hat, so to speak.  Like private teaching, I’m sure group teaching is a skill that just takes practice, and I just need more of it.

Performing, Teaching, Weddings

I have confidence?

2 Comments

From the Post Dispatch review of Winter Opera St. Louis’s performance last weekend (of Massenet’s Werther):

In the pit, Scott Schoonover offered rather choppy conducting of the lush score, but the 22-piece orchestra did a good job, with some really lovely moments.

I’ll absolutely take credit for those “lovely moments” as concertmaster, though I really don’t see how the reviewer was able to notice “choppy” conducting when the orchestra didn’t reflect anything of the sort.  Either I’m just that good, or really, reviewers have very little idea of what they are talking about and need to fill a certain amount of room?  I do think I should have been mentioned by name for my “really lovely” solos though 😉

I’m trying to bring a certain amount of aggression and confidence into my teaching, playing, and life.  (I was testing it out in the previous paragraph!) My trainer is encouraging me to be more aggressive in my workouts, and I am trying to bring my workouts into my life.  I could probably use a bit more aggression, or at least a bit more confidence and assurance, in my life…I guess I’ll add that to the list of “tweaks” I am trying to make!  This whole adulthood thing just keeps getting more challenging.  Or I just need to remember, no one is really paying attention to me after all, so no need to worry what they think.  (But…are people reading my blog?  Then YOU are paying attention, right?).

Save the date:  February 28.  Quartet concert at St. Margaret of Scotland Church.  With members of the SLSO in addition to a couple of just awesome freelancers (including me).  Time TBA but afternoon (baby steps, I know!).

Grand Ideas, Teaching

The semester begins!

I had my first Suzuki Pedagogy class of the year on Thursday.  Most of the class was spent settling on deadlines for various projects.  Lucky for me, I get to record another private lesson AND a group class…I don’t even teach group classes, so the thought of this makes me a WEE bit nervous.  My only redeeming thought is that the recordings from last year weren’t nearly as awful to do and watch as I thought they would be, so maybe it won’t be that bad.

I’ve (almost definitely) set a date for a Quartet recital at the end of February!  We will be playing at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, and I’ll keep you all posted as to personnel, repertoire, etc, as it unfolds.  I have so many repertoire ideas, it’s a challenge narrowing things down now, and making it into a (somewhat) cohesive program.  It should be fun for us and our audience as well.

Teaching

Snowy days, cloudy thoughts

It’s a snow day tomorrow for me!  And by that, I mean, I’m totally off anyway (except a makeup student) so I won’t have to go anywhere.  The first snow of the season really (take THAT, Cleveland!).

I’m doing a whole gym thing for my New Year’s.  Not  a resolution, just a new thing (to say otherwise would feel lame).  I’m getting a few (perhaps more, depending) personal training sessions as part of my sign up package, and it’s been fantastic.  I never participated in sports in my life, or any sort of athletic pursuit really, so it’s interesting to compare teaching techniques.  The one thing I was considering in my teaching today was making my students repeat things just a few times more than they wanted.  Or maybe I was just in a bad mood and wanted to make them miserable.

My trainer thinks that I give up on things before I’m actually fatigued, as in, my brain tells me I’m tired.  I wonder what, if any, truth there is to that statement, and if so, how that could affect my violin practice as well.  With violin, I’m always trying to be careful with my time as to avoid injury (which evidently I have been so prone in the past) and trying to remain relaxed.  At the gym, I am (evidently) meant to completely shred my muscles as to allow them to rebuild and become stronger.  So the approach is obviously different, but the idea of repetition and pushing oneself still holds.  Doing just a bit more than you think you can.

This can open up a whole can of worms involving my perception of my physical abilities (which I have always considered to be quite low, for the record).  It also makes me think about my learning style, and being a student.  I am a very “good” student, which means I am eager to please and do exactly what (I perceive) the teacher wants.

This blog might be a different style than my previous posts (or not…meh, who am I to judge, DEAR READER) but I think it’s time to kick things up a notch.  What do you think?

By the way, I am eagerly looking to acquire a few more students (South City, St. Louis or School of Ballet in Chesterfield), so if you or anyone are interested, please contact me for more information (hannah@hannahviolin.com).  No previous musical experience required, all ages!