Just began a 3-part tour of Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat” and a fabulous septet (written for the same instrumentation) by Stockhausen, arranged by Caroline Shaw. After some lecture/demonstrations at several of Penn State’s classes, we performed on their Classical Coffeehouse and Performing Arts Series. Getting to know these iconic composers and these works in a new way is deeply inspiring (and sweat-inducing)…now it’s off to Washington D.C. to take the program to Dumbarton Oaks…hopefully the hurricane won’t sweep us away =)
Deep in rehearsal conversations @ Penn StateIt’s devil time…Stravinsky “L’histoire”-style
I experienced one of the craziest and memorable nights last weekend — a benefit for Musicambia (a non-profit that brings music to U.S. prisons) — that was also a club-style dance party with a live band playing Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” Danced by GroupMuse members who were perplexingly familiar with the score, the hot and humid evening at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple gave way to savage, visceral, and glow-necklace-laden dancers making their way through this iconic piece of music. The deafening screams of appreciation transitioned into audience members lying amidst the orchestra for an encore of Schoenberg’s “Farben” from his “Five Pieces for Orchestra.” The sacrificial lamb survived…this time.
Pre-Show @ Brooklyn Masonic TempleGroupMuse on the frontlineThe audience then came to join us, literally sitting and lying at our feet onstage, for the encore…
As I opened my office door at Cornell for the first time this year to welcome the Class of 2019 (yes, the incoming college freshman class was born in 1998…yowza), I couldn’t help but pause and look back at the wonderfully wall-to-wall summer of music making I just finished. Here are some highlights…
The summer began with a Knights tour of Germany and Austria (which concluded with a performance in the incomparable Musikverein), and unexpectedly continued onto Italy where I joined Brooklyn Rider and percussionist Ian Rosenbaum for an exhilarating concert at the American Academy in Rome featuring quartets by Andy Akiho and Paula Matthesun…
Pre-concert @ the Musikverein, ViennaRome, from the balcony at the American Academy in ItalyAn underground cistern that was the inspiration for Paula’s 4tet…Post-quartet concert in Rome with Brooklyn Rider + AK in the gorgeous lemon garden
June brought our final concert of the 2015-2016 season with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota featuring music by Paul Schoenfield, then the glory of Arvo Pärt’s double violin concerto, “Tabula Rasa” (which I had the pleasure of learning alongside the fabulous Tessa Lark), and a visit from my incredible parents, Ellen and Young-Nam (we had a lovely evening with two of my favorite ladies, Ieva and Alma, and even found time for a beach day!)…
Beach Day @ the beautiful Greenwich Point Park in Greenwich, CTDinner with the fam to bid farewell to the lovely Ieva & Alma
July was packed with another Knights tour to the Ravinia Festival, serving on the faculty (for the first time – it was divine!) at the Crowden Music Center’s Summer Chamber Music Institute in Berkeley, CA (where I even had a bit of time to catch up with old friends and family), album editing (albeit at a glacial pace), a little “Spanish immersion” as The Knights explored a program of Latin music, and a couple of great birthday hangs…
Ladies’ day out – a sushi lunch to celebrate Mama Kim & Auntie Susan’s birthdays!Birthday balloons @ Peter Lugar for Shane & Kaoru’s birthdays!Post-Peter Lugar digestion & decompression with the adorable Shinobu…An unexpected day in LA with my fabulous cousin Eugene and his lovely wife LibertyMy super cute and crazy talented Dvorak trio group @ CrowdenA little Mozart K. 174 is always a beautiful thing – post-concert @ CrowdenAn East Bay lunch break with my dear friend Christina’s little ones, Carsten & Sammy
August began with one of my favorite weeks of the year, PACO Camp! It’s an intensive chamber music festival out in the Redwood Forest in California where talented and dedicated Bay Area students come together to eat, sleep, and breathe quartets. With a few days off in-between to get some record editing done, it concluded with 8 special days up in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota for the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute, where I played, coached, and made my “debut” as a “percussionist” playing a little cajon (whoa, boy) with the kids on Colin Jacobsen and Siamak Aghei’s “Ascending Bird”….
Coaching Haydn’s “Emperor” quartet outside under the magnificent RedwoodsHand-crafted and personalized PACO hoodies made with love by Tessera & DelennPost-concert with my Haydn “Emperor” crew
I said goodbye to summer with Labor Day weekend 2015 spent with two very dear friends, Larry and Trudy Rankin in Lakeland, FL; with an evening at the sea and a house concert to honor our beloved Corry Rankin, a classmate of mine who passed away in 2002, it was a beautifully powerful time of remembrance and fellowship. I made my way back to Ithaca to finalize the details of having 71 violinists (!) on campus this year and hit the ground running with my fabulous new studio of fiddlers and chamber ensembles…
The healing waters of the sea and a gorgeous sunset in Sarasota, FLWith Larry Rankin, Corry’s fatherWith Trudy Rankin, Corry’s mother
