CelloBello

Check out "The Viola and 2nd Violin (The Unsung Heroes of Chamber Music Groups!)" a CelloBlog by Thomas Rosenberg. "When violinists are asked what part they prefer to play in chamber music, there are often just two answers. I wish more often that there were three common answers, but more on that later. Some like to feel like they are the star, and so they want to play 1st violin. Others are either unwilling or unable to take on the 1st violin part which often features the most virtuosic part writing in the strings and so they choose 2nd violin. The irony in that decision is that playing 2nd violin well in a chamber ensemble requires a skill set that is in many ways more difficult than what the 1st violin is required to do. And, it is very different than in orchestra, where the individual player can and often should blend into the section. In a chamber ensemble, the second violinist has tremendous responsibilities. Here are some examples: Setting the tempo. Although the tune at the beginning of a piece may not be in the 2nd violin, the inner rhythm is often in the second violin. In those situations, that player controls the actual tempo of the piece. A great example of that is Beethoven’s Quartet in F, Opus 59 #1, where the cello has the tune, but the 2nd violin and viola have the eighth notes under the tune, and therefore are really in control. By the way, the 1st violin doesn’t play anything at the beginning of that piece! Having a very strong personality from the stage. In a good group, all the players have distinct and interesting personalities from the stage. But, because there is another violinist who sits in front of the 2nd violin, AND who has their part written in a better register for projection than the 2nd violin, AND whose part is often more “showy” than the 2nd violin, the 2nd violin needs to play with more character and power than would possibly make sense if they were playing the 1st violin part. A great example of this occurs in the last page of the finale of Beethoven’s Quartet in C, Opus 59..." Read more: https://hubs.la/Q039ChBr0

Join us for an Ensemble Chat with the Balourdet Quartet! Sunday, April 20 @2pm EDT. Live from Bloomington, IN! Learn more at https://hubs.la/Q039vG-p0! The Balourdet Quartet is acclaimed for their vibrant energy and masterful blend of technical precision and emotional depth that brings a fresh perspective to both beloved classics and modern compositions. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned it the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. With more than 70 concerts per season, recent highlights include the Balourdet’s debuts at Carnegie and Wigmore Halls, and new string quartets by composers Karim Al-Zand, Paul Novak, and Nicky Sohn through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Foundation (2023). They are currently the Graduate Quartet in Residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and are recent graduates of the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. Highlights of the 2024-25 season include performances at the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, the Kennedy Center, What Makes it Great at Merkin Hall, and a weeklong residency at Stanford University. Recently, they have performed at La Jolla Music Society, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Northwestern University Winter Chamber Music Festival, and Chamber Music Houston. During this season, they continue their position as String Quartet in Residence with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in North Carolina where they curate the Up Close Chamber Music Series, serve as principals in the orchestra, and engage with the larger community of the Triangle region. The Balourdet journey began in 2018 in the mountains of New Mexico at the Taos School of Music, where violinists Justin DeFilippis, Angela Bae, and cellist Russell Houston first bonded as friends over long evenings of chamber music, luxurious Peppermint Schnapps and extravagant meals created by chef extraordinaire Antoine Balourdet, a renaissance man with an exceptional love of life and music.

CelloBook of the Month! "Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces" by Laura Turnbridge. Uncover a fresh, human portrait of Beethoven in this acclaimed biography. Instead of a traditional life story, this book explores nine key compositions, revealing how his music, relationships, and historical context shaped his legendary career. Praise for the book: “Illuminating… a biography presented through the focus of nine different compositions.” – The Guardian “Rewarding… a lot of information is packed into her musical portraits.” – Financial Times Go beyond the myth of the lone genius and discover Beethoven as a musician of his time, navigating politics, friendships, and artistic evolution. A must-read for music lovers and history enthusiasts alike! Explore and find your next great read: https://hubs.la/Q039vwhf0 #BookOfTheMonth #Beethoven #ClassicalMusic #MusicBiography #CelloBello

CelloBello is free, accessible to everyone, providing world-class lessons, masterclasses, interviews, and interactive live-streamed chats with renowned artist-teachers from the solo, chamber music, orchestral, and teaching professions. Our website is particularly valuable for both students and professionals who may be resource deprived. The site also provides articles, information on jobs and competitions, repertoire and book listings, and additional educational, career, and professional resources. Visit https://hubs.ly/Q039vtBl0 today!

Enjoy "How to Stay Motivated: The Power of Discipline and Consistency" by Joanna Latala of Performance Mindset! "Recently, I’ve been talking to my friend. She was very happy when I told her she had done some nice things on her Instagram, which I liked very much. She was grateful and thanked me for sharing this positive comment with her. She said, "Thank you for your words – they give me a lot of motivation." Her response got me thinking. Over the past few days, or maybe 2-3 weeks, my motivation has been low, or I couldn’t find any at all, or I found it very hard to come by. Her words made me reflect on this because she has been in a good mood, feeling motivated to create the next video and keep going with her work because of my encouraging words. "Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do something you don’t necessarily want to do, to get a result you would really like to have." Living Forward by Michael Hyatt & Daniel Har When we look at athletes who win the Olympic Games, they have been practicing consistently for 4 years or more. Each of them probably has both good and bad days. If you have a goal as significant as the Olympic Games ahead of you, it’s probably easier to keep going. Let’s consider a great tennis player who has achieved so much in their career. They are still fighting through injuries and setbacks. What keeps them practicing every day? Passion? Love for the sport? Probably, but the question still lingers… Sometimes in life, we experience periods when things don’t go as planned, or we don’t see immediate results. We audition and fail, compete but don’t reach the final. We’re making progress, but the rewards of hard work aren’t apparent yet. What then? On rainy days when we don’t feel like going through our routine, practicing scales, pieces, excerpts, and difficult passages for the nxt week’s project? Sometimes we feel sick, tired, or simply demotivated by life’s challenges. I found myself practicing and pondering these challenges instead of focusing on the tasks at hand. Do you remember when I..." Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q039vvTL0

CelloBello is free, accessible to everyone, providing world-class lessons, masterclasses, interviews, and interactive live-streamed chats with renowned artist-teachers from the solo, chamber music, orchestral, and teaching professions. Our website is particularly valuable for both students and professionals who may be resource deprived. The site also provides articles, information on jobs and competitions, repertoire and book listings, and additional educational, career, and professional resources. Visit https://hubs.ly/Q038x8n80 today!

Get to know March's featured cello works composer. Learn more about Daijana Wallace! Daijana Wallace is a composer and educator based in Wichita, KS. Her music is an outward reflection of her own introspection, drawing inspiration from any and every thought that crosses her mind–sometimes it’s the mundane aspects of daily life and other times it’s about a particularly percussive upstairs neighbor. Because any one event, photo, or brief interaction can serve as inspiration for a piece, Daijana's music is often described by close collaborators and audiences as vibrant, colorful, and dramatic. Wallace’s compositions have been heard globally at venues such as the Wichita Art Museum, MASS MoCA, OPERA America’s National Opera Center, and the beautiful concert space that is the basement of Hotel Oasi-Neumann in Cortona, Italy. Her recent collaborations include new pieces for violist Sam Berman and soprano Carrie Henneman-Shaw (Minnesota Orchestra, Quince Ensemble), cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman (International Contemporary Ensemble), cellist Dan Ketter (Springfield, MO Symphony Orchestra), bassist Will Yager, as well as ensembles Loadbang and Sputter Box. She has a small but mighty discography being featured on albums by cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman (Sumna), tubist Jasmine “Jazzie” Piggot (Revolution EP), and ensemble Sputter Box (Sputter [SHRINKS THE] Box). Daijana holds Bachelors’ Degrees in Music Composition and Cello Performance from Wichita State University and a Master’s Degree in composition from Michigan State University. When she’s not busy composing, she’s teaching music in the greater Wichita area, hanging out with her dog and two cats, and trying new recipes with her partner. Daijana is pronounced Day-on-a, like spending a day-on-a beach. Start working on a new and inspiring cello work at: https://hubs.ly/Q038xdvH0 #cellobello #cellocomposer #composer #cello #newmusic #cellowork #newcellowork #violetarcher #canadiancomposers

Enjoy "If it Ain’t Baroque, Don’t Break It? Thoughts About Playing Bach Today…" A Blog by Inbal Segev "When I decided to record the Bach cello suites a couple of years ago, I started not by playing but by reading. I read Bach’s biography, and then a few Baroque practice books (extremely dense and quite boring) and then I became inspired to change almost everything about the way I played Bach. I eventually came back to doing things the way that had been a part of my DNA after years of playing Bach the “modern” way (but improved), and I’d like to share some of my experiments with you. I never played from a manuscript copy before. The notes are difficult to decipher and so the work is slow and cumbersome. Worth it! Playing from copies of the surviving manuscripts by Anna Magdalena and Kellner taught me so much. There is really no way of knowing if a particular bowing works unless you actually practice it. Not only calculate it in your head, and not only read it a couple of times, but REALLY practice it. And that’s what I found I had to do. I focused on Anna Magdalena’s copy because making a hybrid of Kellner and A.M. didn’t make sense to me. Her copy was just too different from his and I felt I gravitated towards hers. Experimenting: I tuned my cello to 332=A, then 334, 335, 336 and 338=A. Having absolute pitch, this was mildly painful, but one can get used to anything over time. I found, though, that my sound quality deteriorated. The colors and sonority that I thought would change for the better, did not. It turned out that you can’t go half way on this. A whole different set up is required, and gut strings sounded awful on my 1673 Ruggieri. Why? The instrument was set up for modern playing. In order to change the setup I would have to give up playing the Shostakovich concerto on this cello and I was not willing to do so. I could possibly have played on a different cello, but there is a bigger issue: the whole concept of Baroque sound and the stylistic changes that I tried to emulate required permanent changes in my playing technique. Not something you can snap in and out of, but rather a commitment..." Read more: https://hubs.la/Q038xf8N0

Looking for Your Next Cello Opportunity? CelloBello’s Jobs Section connects cellists with exciting career opportunities—including this per-service Section Cello position with the Sarasota Orchestra! Don't miss your chance to perform with a prestigious orchestra in a vibrant musical community! ?? Explore this job and more at: https://hubs.la/Q037r-HX0 #CelloBello #CelloJobs #OrchestraAuditions #CellistLife #SarasotaOrchestra

CelloBello is free, accessible to everyone, providing world-class lessons, masterclasses, interviews, and interactive live-streamed chats with renowned artist-teachers from the solo, chamber music, orchestral, and teaching professions. Our website is particularly valuable for both students and professionals who may be resource deprived. The site also provides articles, information on jobs and competitions, repertoire and book listings, and additional educational, career, and professional resources. Visit https://hubs.la/Q037r_PC0 today!