Cello Class

After Wakuwaku concerts today, our cello section scheduled a small cello class in which we had the opportunity to play for one another and give feedback.  I'd been hoping to do this for awhile, realizing that we have some incredible resources of experience and pedagogy backgrounds among us, and that it would give an opportunity to share with one another.  We can learn so much through teaching and offering what we have learned; sometimes giving another person advice is a great way to ingrain it more clearly within oneself.  And it is also a way for us to understand one another's playing, to know where we are coming from, what sorts of things we hear and think about.  Musicians go through so many cycles of searching, of doubting and looking for answers, of trying and then trying again.  Every once in awhile the clouds clear and something beautiful happens, but it can be hard to remember how to do this alone when so much time is spent working with the orchestra.  Quite often those miraculous moments occur with 50 other people, and while there is something extremely beautiful about this, it can mask one's inability to cultivate and realize it alone, for oneself.  It's a skill that needs practice, and orchestral playing, as wonderful as it is, does not give this to string players.  It was nice to be able to play for others, to hear what they had to say.  I feel very fortunate to have such wonderful colleagues.