Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2016, 9:41 AM · Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States, so I wanted to thank all of you for your enthusiasm for the violin, viola, cello and bass; for the music those instruments have inspired; and for all those beautiful efforts we make to share it with each other and teach it to a new generation. May you have a wonderful day, and a wonderful season of music-making!

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This time of the year always makes me think of this music, an excerpt from Copland's Appalachian "Spring." Copland derived it from the Shaker song "Simple Gifts," and here are the words:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right