Sally O'Reilly

Today is the birthday of my hero, mentor, and inspiration, Ms. O'Reilly. 

(she always says that's what her favorite students call her, and I would bet my bottom dollar that we all want to be in that exclusive group).

Everyone has that one teacher in life they revere more than anyone else, and for me, she is that person. She taught me so much, and not just about how to play the violin.

When practicing, faced with awkward professional situations, or working with my students I always think: "WWSD" as in, "What Would Sally Do?" 

I learned the benefits of combining hard work and humor and aspired (and still aspire) to be as equally well versed in art, history, literature, and politics as I am in music, just like Ms. O'Reilly.

When I veered off the beaten path of classical music and dipped a toe in playing with rock bands and touring all over Europe, she simply invited me over to her home to discuss places to go, things to do, and people to call. She publicly celebrated my success. I thought that playing in a band was like a dirty secret in a music school, but she told me that if nobody else was doing it, I should be proud of my success....but she still made me practice my scales and etudes even when galavanting around like a rock star. 

When things went south with a different violin teacher during my doctoral degree (that's a long story for a different time), she was the person I turned to for advice, and she was my wholehearted advocate. Having her support gave me the courage to make some difficult decisions because she made clear what was right, and what was not acceptable. I was so comforted by her absolute commitment to me and the success of her students. I knew I could depend on her support even after years of not seeing her, or having a lesson with her.

Being one of her students is like being in an elite club. It is an honor to be counted as one of her students. She has taught some of the fiercest most badass players and teachers in this country.

For years I worked hard to do precisely what she asked, and now, I work hard to emulate her teaching. I am still learning from her all these years later. Genius!

I count her as much as a friend as I do a teacher.

Happy Birthday Ms. O'Reilly! Thank you for everything.

(I cannot believe I have absolutely no pictures of us together. How embarrassing!) 

Music Mondays - Noam Faingold + TRQ

Happy Monday!

I hope nobody was too offended that I took Memorial Day weekend off from blogging and escaped to the mountains with my family. It was a much-needed vacation with (conveniently) poor cell phone reception and Wifi connection. What a welcome break from the daily grind!

photo by Andrew Fassbender

Anyways, I'm back now, and I hit the ground running! This week Music Mondays is a shameless plug for TRQ's 'Brown Bag It' concert at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, this Wednesday at 12:10 pm. For more details check the website at http://tulsapac.com/

This concert will be full of Rock 'n' Roll classics arranged for string quartet. Noam Faingold will also be joining us to perform two of his songs, recorded by his band Burning City Orchestra (BCO), and arranged for string quartet.

Here's a little something about BCO (from their website www.burningcityorchestra.com) 

We take orchestral rock song-writing where it's been a long time coming. Praised by Anoushka Shankar for our “gorgeous” strings and “wonderful” lyrics (BBC), Burning City Orchestra celebrates traditional chamber music-style intimacy, while incorporating powerful rock, jazz, and punk influences. BCO is run by composer & singer/songwriter Noam Faingold whose “lyrical” (New York Times) music has been called “A tour de force of Jazz melded with classical,” (Downbeat Magazine), and an “outside-the-box perspective” (Dennis Cook). 

WHO

BCO is comprised of renowned contemporary musicians including members of The Royal Ballet Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, The American Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and the Bang on a Can festival. Members of BCO can be seen performing at venues ranging from The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, to Le Poisson Rouge NYC and The Stone. Our collaborators are among the most accomplished artists and ensembles in NYC and London's contemporary music scenes.

Below is one of the songs we will play on Wednesday. 

Enjoy and we hope to see you there!

Music Mondays - monolux

Happy Monday!

On Sunday, I found out that a musical project that I had contributed some violin playing to, was finally finished and avialable to the public.

Last Spring, I recorded some long tones and drones in Tulsa and sent them to monolux (aka Erik Appelwick and Matt Kretzman) in Minneapolis to use in their musical creations. I popped off the tracks via email, then sat back and waited to hear how they were put to use. Sometimes I love technology.

The album, Kurami, is finally available for purchase and streaming and it is my pleasure to share it here. http://www.monolux-usa.com/#new-album-section

The drones I recorded are used in the track Janvier (#4 on the album).

You can also hear/watch their first album below:

Welcome to my yoga practice playlist for the next several months! This album makes you loose track of time. There is no tension, just space. I'm into it - It feels like a musical vacation from stress, and mania, and the daily grind. In fact, the band's description says:

Sublime sonic meditations. Your soundtrack to another dimension.

Enjoy!