Upcoming Concert - the Cello!

Where did I go wrong that I don’t play the cello?  Such a beautiful instrument.  So resonant, so sweet, so soulful.  In the talented hands of our principal cellist, Lara Turner, it flows like liquid and sings like a human.  I might even love it more than the oboe, a little.   

I tried a friend’s instrument once, though, and was disappointed to find that the cello is not as snuggly as it looks.  Cellists look so comfortable with the instrument in their laps and the scroll nestled in their hair - but in reality it is a big nobbly piece of wood that doesn’t fit me as well as I had imagined.  It's hard to hold the bow properly.  The tuning pegs poked me in the ear.  My fantasy second career went up in smoke before my eyes.

At least this week, though, I can live vicariously.  Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations is a pleasure to play, mostly because it’s not particularly hard work for me.  With our small chamber orchestra in the lovely acoustics of the  DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, I can pay deep attention to Lara’s beautiful and thoughtful playing. I can make music with her and with my other gifted colleagues in an intimate way that was quite impossible during last week’s Symphonie Fantastique extravaganza, fun though that was.   Here in this small space I can use my quiet voice, and make and react to delicate nuances, and be supportive AND heard,  and daydream about the cello. 

Our concert is Sunday afternoon.  Details are HERE.  This will be a sweet one.