March 2006

Inspired...

March 31, 2006 14:21

Today I had a complete new experience. I went into a studio to play the violinpart for some tracks on a CD of Dutch panflutist (Noortje van Middelkoop) and for a sample of a new song about the inspiration we receive as artists from God. It was an amazing experience. I always felt a little bit too good to be playing pop-music or for that matter anything that was not classical (did I feel too good or maybe too inadequate?).
The arrangements were made by Henk Pool, who most of you won't know. But I'm sure you have heard of the song "Testify to love" from Avalon... well, he wrote the music. And for the Dutch readers among us, he also wrote songs for Sita and Marco Borsato. He wrote a beautiful violin part and it was really good for me to once go in a studio and do things, but not directly hear them. Because I had headphones on... so I'd feel what I wanted to do, did it and the sound I heard was the way other people would hear it. All violinist should have the oppertunity to practice like this once. In your ears your vibrato choice might be great, the microphone picks it up completely different and so you have to change what you're doing. Puts you right back with your feet on the earth. Sometimes my intonation would be flat, I would play higher and it would feel wrong, but it would be exactly right. Our ears are way to often guided by the way we feel something. I realized once again that my impression of what I do is so incredibly subjective.
Today I found out (yet once again) that I love playing praise and worship music. When I first came to the US I played on sundays at church and I really enjoyed it. It gives you a kind of freedom that you don't have when playing the typical "classical stuff". You can really hang into the sound of hte instrument more and you don't need to think as much about technical stuff. Maybe I should try to do that more in my daily playing as well.

This month brings me a lot of leading small orchestra's and I am preparing to play the Tchaikovsky concerto in Texas. I am excited to come back (when only for a week) to the US. I miss it truely and I'm glad I'll be seeing a lot of friends.

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Hi from Holland

March 24, 2006 13:57

After about a half year of no contact, I thought it would be time to write again. I moved back to Holland, found a great place to life, in a city just outside Amsterdam. And I'm finally finding my way around here. I have to say I love it to be back in the Netherlands. In general the music life is very diverse and of high quality, just as is most of the cultural world. With the Rembrandt year, there is an amazing exhibition at the van Gogh Museum with Rembrandt and Carravaggio, about the usage of light. A must for every musician, you learn a lot about color!

Besides freelancing, playing lots of chambermusic and preparing for some solo concerts, I am still taking lessons once in a while. Today I had a lesson with Alexander Kerr, the concermaster of the Concertgebouworchestra, but not for long, he is moving to Bloomington in a couple months. This is a great loss, both for the orchestra and the conservatory (not to mention for his friends, he's a great guy, with a good sense of humor!)
this guy has the most amazing sound. His g and d string sound so beautiful. His vibrato makes the fiddle sound like a voice. I can't help but think that he is some form of reincarnation of Mr. Gingold, he gives one the same feeling when you play. He completely respects who you are, but is not afraid to tell you how to do it different. Kindness combined with good violinplaying.

So now i have a laptop, i can keep up with my blog again.

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More entries: April 2006 • November 2005

March 2006

Inspired...

Hi from Holland

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