Inspired...

March 31, 2006 at 9:21 PM

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.

From Jesus Contreras Espada
Posted on March 31, 2006 at 10:27 PM

not only the dutch ones...
Sita sang "Le chemin" with the french group Kyo. It's a nice song. Olivier Girard made me listen to it in Neuchatel.
Thanks Olivier!

From Karin Lin
Posted on March 31, 2006 at 10:47 PM

Where in Texas? Which orchestra?

From june rhee
Posted on March 31, 2006 at 11:31 PM

i'll be in the orchestra in TX. i'm looking forward to hearing you play.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 1, 2006 at 10:22 PM

Are you coming to vist the Washington DC area? I'd love to meet you and hear you live.

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