I just watched this movie from 1988 “The Red Violin” and it was so good!! It was a very inspiring story about a violin built in Italy in 1681.
The journey it takes across 400 years is amazing: going to a monastery in 1700’s Germany, to a virtuoso in Oxford, England, to communist China in the 1960’s (where it is almost destroyed for being Western), and then all the way to an auction house in Montreal where it sells for 2 million dollars.
The music was mostly performed by the great Joshua Bell. I highly recommend!
I’ve played so many weddings (hundreds?!) and there is definitely a sweet spot for the ceremony length.
Imagine that you are invited to a wedding and you spend time shopping for the perfect outfit, clear your schedule, get dressed with hair and makeup and all the wonderful things.. you arrive early, everyone looks beautiful.. and then the actual ceremony is super short!!
No one wants to be bored by a 3 hour long ceremony but you definitely want to give your guests and family a feeling that they are witnessing a deep and love filled unity of two people. This means a feeling of ceremony and ritual even if you are not religious.
For a small intimate wedding a good length is 20-30 minutes. This will give you time to walk down the aisle, exchange vows, perform a meaningful unity ceremony, exchange rings, KISS!… and then walk down to the aisle to everyone clapping and cheering and crying!
There are always opportunities for music when you add unity ceremonies since they don’t have any speaking. It’s a time for everyone to slow down, take in the moment, be present, enjoy your love.. and remember you two forever!
Love this Irish folk song.. it’s so fun to play!! One day I would love to have a St. Patricks Day concert and get some Irish dancers involved.. maybe 2027!?
I’m very excited to be organizing this April 25th cello recital for my students from Northfield and New Prague.
We are going to have about 13 wonderful performances including a few duets! Everyone has been working on their pieces for about 2 months and it’s all coming together. I’m super proud of them 🙂
A huge thank you to Emmaus Church in Northfield for being so gracious. They are very supportive of musicians and I feel very blessed!
And of course, there will be treats at the reception 🙂
The deadline to apply is coming up so definitely take advantage of this opportunity as there aren’t many in the area!!
Another great option is the Dorian Summer Music camp for middle and high schoolers in Decorah, Iowa a little over 2 hours away. These are sleep away camps where the musicians stay in dorms on campus.
I actually went to a camp like this on the east coast and it was such a great experience! This is a very affordable camp considering it is a week long. I would definitely check it out!
It’s for two cellos but I added the third because Smokey made an appearance! Excerpt from Allegro from Concerto in G Minor for Two Cellos, RV 531 by A. Vivaldi
I recorded this on a cool March day, the moody piece matched the moody day 🙂
A lot youth symphonies, orchestras, and music camps will ask students to audition so that they can be appropriately placed. This is naturally a very stressful event!
I think it’s comforting to know that everyone feels stressed by this but that in the end, you’ll be glad you practiced, went out there, and tried your best. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!!”
You may get first chair, last chair, not get in at all, or walk out with a full scholarship.. but you won’t know until you try. The process of auditioning does indeed make you a better player!
You want to have your scales ready and a solo prepared. I found this list of acceptable solos from the New Jersey Youth Symphony and they have the Suzuki pieces highlighted. They are organized by skill level.
If you need music you can always find it for free if it’s in the public domain. This is music that is over 100 years old, which is so much of classical music.. We are so lucky! You can search theInternational Music Score Library Project IMSLP for thousands of piece.
I thought that these two links were also very helpful to see the types of orchestral excerpts you may be asked to play:
