Bridge & Bow - Oregon Cello · PDF fileBridge & Bow — Fall 2006 Events Calendar October 8: Oregon Cello Society CELLO DAY! Join your fellow cellos for an afternoon of FREE....

PRESIDENT Katherine Schultz (‘06)

503.312.4444 [email protected]

SECRETARY

Barbara Smoody (‘08) 503.249.8300

[email protected]

TREASURER Wayne Nutsch (‘06)

503.371.3002 [email protected]

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

David Keyes 503.997.8179

[email protected]

NEWSLETTER EDITOR Laura Saddler 503.771.9347

[email protected]

WEBMASTER Joe Harchanko

[email protected] 503.838.8874

Board Members

Naomi Blumberg (honorary)

503.252.7543

Jess Dishman (‘06) 503.226.4551

[email protected]

Nancy Ives (honorary) 360.590.1872

[email protected]

India Jobelmann (honorary) 503.524.0789

[email protected]

Dorothy Lewis (‘08) 503.699.1337

[email protected]

Bruce McIntosh (‘07) 503.585.4298

[email protected]

Una O’Riordan (‘07) 503.287.0669

[email protected]

Sherill Roberts (‘07) 503.472.7286

[email protected]

Lynne Roe (‘08) [email protected]

503.675.1942

Joan Sargent (‘07) 503.223.5687

[email protected]

Charlene Wilson (‘07) 503.691.1196

[email protected]

President’s Message The 2006-2007 season of Oregon Cello Soci-ety events finds us both honoring the past and cele-brating the future. We were deeply saddened by the loss of our President and friend Bud Armstrong last spring. His intelligence, wit, and charm, not to mention his dedication to OCS, will be greatly

missed. We will be honoring his memory this spring with the first annual Bud Armstrong Scholarship audition, open to high school cellists 16 and older. Read on for information on how to donate to the scholarship fund. Our biennial Fall Cello Day will be taking place on the afternoon of Sunday, October 8 at Marylhurst University, and this has involved delv-ing into the unknown for many of us. One of our featured programs will be Electronics and the Cello. This has been challenging, as most of us classically trained cellists have been pulled out of our comfort zone on this topic, but we think we have put together a diverse and entertaining program on this new facet of cello playing for you. There will be three separate presentations by local artists with a Q&A period at the end. Our second program involves a topic unfortunately unknown to many: how to play injury-free. Sherill Roberts will present her seminar What Every Cellist Needs to Know About the Body. The afternoon will close with a recital given by the 6 winners of the OCS Scholarship Audition held last April. (At the beginning of the recital there will be a very special presen-tation honoring a person very special to OCS, but you have to show up to find out who it is!) There will be plenty of time between programs for perusing the booths of local instrument and bow makers, music stores, and artists, and also for participating in our Music Exchange. We were fortunate to re-ceive several large donations of cello sheet music, and would like to share it with our whole cello community. Bring music you have but no longer want, and exchange it for something new. Whatever is left at the end will be donated to musicians in poor countries who can’t easily afford new music. Last but Definitely not Least, Cello Day will now be free to all OCS members. It doesn’t get any better than that. We hope to see you all at Cello Day and at the annual meeting directly following.

— Katherine Schultz

Bridge & BowBridge & Bow Oregon Cello Society — Fall 2006

Bridge & Bow — Fall 2006

Events Calendar

October 8: Oregon Cello Society CELLO DAY! Join your fellow cellos for an afternoon of FREE learning, camaraderie and fine performances by young cellists. Marylhurst University, 1:00—5:00 PM. See Presi-dent’s Message on page 1 for info, and watch for more details online at www.oregoncello.org. October 17: Robert Hladky birthday celebration con-cert, Beall Hall, University of Oregon. Time TBA (see article on page 14). October 19: Miami String Quartet and Arianna Zuck-erman, soprano. Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, 8:00 PM. October 25: Hamilton Cheifetz and Susan Smith in a recital of sonatas. OHSU Auditorium. 12 noon. Free admission. October 26: Members of the Emerson String Quartet and Wu Han, Reed College Kaul Auditorium, 8:00 PM. www.cmnw.org or 503 294 6400 for tickets. November 11 and 12: Carol Sindell and Hamilton Cheifetz perform the Double Concerto by Brahms with the Vancouver Symphony, Salvador Brotons, conductor. November 18: Gabriel Cabezas plays the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto with the Portland Youth Philhar-monic., Schnitzer Hall, Portland, 7:30 (see ad p.7). November 19: Florestan Trio celebrates their 30th Anniversary Season. 4 PM at the Old Church. Janet Guggenheim, piano, Carol Sindell, violin, and Ham-ilton Cheifetz, cello. November 20 & 21: Pražák Quartet with violist Roger Tapping plays Haydn, Martinu, Brahms, Smetana, Schulhoff and Mozart. Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland State University, 7:30 PM. For tickets call 503-224-9842 or visit www.focm.org. January 11, 2007: Tokyo String Quartet Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, 8:00 PM.

January 15 & 16, 2007: Takács Quartet, Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland State University, 7:30 PM. 503 224 9842 or www.focm.org for tickets. February 7, 2007: Heidi Grant Murphy and Kevin Murphy with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Reed College Kaul Auditorium, 8:00 PM. www.cmnw.org or 503 294 6400 for tickets. February 11, 2007: Amelia String Trio. Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, 3:00 PM. March 4, 2007: Cuarteto Casals with Thomas Gal-lant, oboe. Beall Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, 3:00 PM. March 5 & 6, 2007: Borodin Quartet, Lincoln Per-formance Hall, Portland State University, 7:30 PM. 503 224 9842 or www.focm.org for tickets. April 8 & 9, 2007: Pacifica Quartet, Lincoln Per-formance Hall, Portland State University, 7:30 PM. 503 224 9842 or www.focm.org for tickets. May 5 & 6, 2007: Alban Gerhart plays the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Oregon Symphony, Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, 7:30 PM. Second Tuesdays: The Music Workshop—Adults perform classical chamber music with and for each other. 10:00 AM, Community Music Center, 3350 SE Francis Street, Portland.

2

PUBLICATION INFORMATION Bridge & Bow is published three times a year. To be added to the cello teacher list-ing or to purchase advertising space, con-tact OCS treasurer Wayne Nutsch at 503.371.3002 or [email protected]. To submit articles or photos for publication, contact Laura Saddler at 503.771.9347 or [email protected].

Two Days with A Master

By Hamilton Cheifetz

On April 4 and 5, 2006, Janos Starker heard twelve cellists in eight hours of master classes at Portland State University, and everyone there was treated to an amazing two days of teaching, playing, advice, and a tremendous amount of food for thought. At the age of 81, Starker has incredible energy and enthusiasm, and he was also gracious and kind to all the musicians who performed for him. His cello playing was also phenomenal, characterized by his trademark refinement and intensity, along with a great deal of humor and warmth.

The participants ranged from a gifted 12-year-old student to three professionals, including two members of the Oregon Symphony. A wide selection of repertoire was covered, from Bach to Debussy, with Haydn, Popper, Elgar, Boccherini, and Brahms also included. The advice given each cellist was Starker's uncanny insights into the areas needing work, musically and technically, and he com-municated with clarity and compassion in each case. All in all, it was an unforgettable two days, and I am very grateful that he traveled all this way and gave so much to us. The participants: Elaina Kim, Boris Papadiuk, Katherine Schultz, Adam Esbensen, Úna O'Riordan, Alex Chung, Eric Allen, Sarah Stone, Amy Kwon, Lauren Shin, Ashley Peck, and Mark Cox, as well as Jill Coykendall, clarinet, and Douglas Schneider, piano. Janet Coleman accompanied six of the cellists with con-summate skill, and Eiko Nakao and Angela Carlson also accompanied. Six teachers from around the Pacific Northwest were represented by their students. The event was sponsored by the Symphony Orchestra at Port-land State University and was the first in a continuing series of master classes which are being presented at PSU.

Janos Starker shows his trademark technique while illustrating a point of teaching.

“My master class with Mr. Starker was truly a 'once-in-a-lifetime' op-portunity. He was a very thoughtful teacher and explained his instruc-tions very clearly. For the master class, I played the Fauré Elegy. I sometimes struggle to capture the passion in the composition, in addi-tion to all the technical difficulties implicated into the piece. Mr. Starker helped me focus on the details concerning the sound I was producing with my bow, and vibrato. He was able to teach me in a completely different and unique style all his own. I thoroughly en-joyed his inimitable enthusiasm and charisma as I got to listen to my corrections. This class was truly an enjoyable experience, and will stay with me for the rest of my life.” —Elaina Kim “It was quite a neat experience to be playing for such a legend as Starker. Although I avoided reading his bio before playing for him--knowing all of his accomplishments would probably make me too nervous to walk onstage--I had heard sev-eral of his great recordings, including the one he and Gingold made of the Kodaly duo. His technique is still impeccable: After watching me play a run, he played it back to me immediately, adding that he had used my fingering... after which he replayed it, using (and promoting) his own fingering. The quality of his tone is also beautiful, and so round! Perhaps the most enduring point that he made to me was that I shouldn't "scratch" so much. Thanks to the Oregon Cello Society (especially to Hamilton Cheifetz and Steve Pologe) for arranging this opportunity.” — Amy Kwon

Starker gives Elaina Kim some coaching on bow technique.

3

Oregon Cello Society


Six $200 scholarships were awarded to the fol-lowing students: Keahi Horowitz-14, student of Dorothy Lewis (Faure Elegy); Elena Kim-12, student of Hamilton Cheifetz (Faure Elegy); Julia Kim-8, student of Hyun-Jin Kim (Breval Sonata in C); Jinn Shin-13, student of Dorien deLeon (Bach Courante and St-Saens' The Swan); Abby VanLeuven-13, stu-dent of John Hubbard (Lalo Concerto in d, mvt. 1); and Megan Yip-9, student of India Jobelmann (JC Bach Concerto in c, mvt. 1). The winners of the scholarship awards will per-form on a recital at this year's Cello Day, Sunday, October 8, at Marylhurst University. The following students were winners of gift certificates generously donated by local music stores: • $50 Store Credit at Paul Schuback in the Pearl-

Mackenzie Ray (Charlene Wilson), Jennifer Shim (Hyun-Jin Kim)

• Certificate for Multi-Colored Music Stand at David Kerr-Jesse Dammann (John Hubbard)

• $25 Store Credit at Day Music Company-Daniel

On Sunday April 9, 2006, the 11th Annual Scholarship Audition sponsored by the Oregon Cello Society took place at the Community Music Center. 23 cellists between the ages of 6 and 15 participated in the audition, each playing one or two short solo pieces with contrasting styles. This year's judging panel consisted of Katherine Schultz, Jim Smith, and Georgienne Young, all local professional cellists. This unique audition is designed to identify students who show outstanding talent but are not necessarily the most advanced players in their age group. Its purpose is to help those students who demonstrate exceptional promise at varying levels of proficiency fulfill their potential.

2006 OCS Student Scholarship Auditions

The Bud Armstrong Memorial Scholarship

Bud Armstrong, our recent past-president, felt very strongly that OCS should provide as many opportunities as possible for students, and he al-ways showed up to help at each student event and was wonderfully sup-portive. So early last spring, when Bud realized that he was not going to win his fight against pancreatic cancer, it was suggested to him that per-haps a scholarship could be set up in his name. He very clearly wanted it to go to a high school student, whom he felt might not have many more opportunities to win a scholarship. The board of OCS, and Katherine Schultz, chairman of the Scholarship Auditions the past two years, agreed to donate $300. Each spring to a student who was in high school and age 16 or above. The competition for this award will probably take place the same day as the Scholarship Auditions, which are for students age 15 and

under. Gretchen Armstrong, Bud's wife, asked me if it would be appropriate to suggest that donations in Bud's name be sent to OCS and ear-marked for his scholarship. Bud passed in his sleep early one morning toward the end of May, a week after he had watched the Trojan nuclear tower imploded. At the present time the donations have amounted to over $1,800. This money will be invested, and the interest added to the Bud Armstrong Scholarship each year. Donations, of course, are still being accepted. They can be sent to the Treasurer, Wayne Nutsch, at the OCS PO Box. Or they can be sent to me, Charlene Wilson, at 22275 110th Place, Tualatin OR 97062. Please make them out to Oregon Cello Soci-ety, and note that they are for the Bud Armstrong Fund. This is a wonderful way for us to honor Bud, and all he did for his cello colleagues, and especially for stu-dents, in Oregon and southern Washington. He is already terribly missed. —Charlene Wilson

Vernon “Bud” Armstrong.

4


An Opportunity for Cellists! The ASTA Concerto Competition is scheduled for April 22, 2007 at Mt. Hood Community College. Cellists who study with teachers who are mem-bers of ASTA are encouraged to apply. First prize is a performance with the MHCC orchestra in the following year. The ASTA String Certificate Auditions will be held on Saturday May 19, 2007. Information for this program can be found at http://www.asta.net/cps.htm. The certificate program for strings pro-vides a standardized set of criteria for evaluating progress and achievement.

Choo (Hyun-Jin Kim), Eugene Lee (Dorien deLeon)

• $25 Store Credit at Sheet Music Services-Jason Evans (Kathie Reed), Daniel Moon (Dorien deLeon)

• Gift Certificate for a Collapsible Music Stand at Geesman Fine Violins-Luke Copko (Jane Day), Adrian Lowman (John Hubbard), Galen Nahas (John Hubbard), Daniella Ohnemus (Charlene Wilson), Gabriel Simek (John Hubbard), Gabriel Zinn (John Hubbard)

• Cakes of rosin donated by Paul Schuback were awarded to the remaining contestants.

The Oregon Cello Society would like to graciously thank the following for their generous gift certificate donations: • Geesman Fine Violins • Paul Schuback • Day Music Company • Sheet Music Service • David Kerr Violin Shop —Katherine Schultz Excerpts from the winners' essays: "I was first drawn to the cello because of the reso-nance of the open strings. I wanted to learn how to make more than the four tones of the strings. As I improved, I found myself participating in a begin-ner's orchestra. As I developed further skills, I felt that I could handle more complex pieces. I audi-tioned for another orchestra, and when I was ac-cepted, found myself further challenged. I enjoy playing the cello because of the opportunities I now have." -Keahi Horowitz, 14 (now 15) "I remember very clearly the day I heard a cello con-certo on the radio and asked my Mom about it. I loved the rich, mellow and deep sound, and was im-mediately in love. The feeling I have when I play the cello is one I cannot put into words-it is deep and fulfilling. My friends and family see me as an emo-tional person, and I feel privileged that I can play the cello to blow off a little steam or find a relaxing state of mind." -Elaina Kim, 12 (now 13)

"In my family, my sister in high school plays the vio-lin, my brother in high school plays the viola, and my brother in college plays the piano. I wish someday that we will play together for our mom and dad. That is why I like the cello." -Julia Kim, 8 (now 9) "I know that playing a string instrument will help me in the future. Such as when I go to college or when I get a job. It's always good to be artistic because people will notice you and then your future will be the way that you always wanted it to be." -Jinn Shin, 13 "I like playing the cello because I really like per-forming, learning new pieces, and perfecting new techniques. I like performing because I like the rush of excitement and being able to play well in front of an audience. I also like to perform in front of people I don't know or a large group of people because it gives me a sense of accomplishment." -Abby VanLeuven, 13 (now 14) "For me, the sight of a beautiful cello is something that strikes me and makes me want to play it. The lovely F holes look so elegant. Also the scroll, it is like a sculptured piece of art. The bridge certainly does look like a bridge. I have to include the finger-board. Many notes can be played on it. Flat notes, sharp notes, high notes, loving notes, and more." -Megan Yip, 9 (now 10)

5

Ask Dr. Cello Ask Dr. Cello practical advice for cellists from guest columnist Anna Schaum

Dear Doctor Cello, I just had an audition and got so nervous. My heart was racing, my hands were sweaty and my bow was really shaky. I didn't play nearly as well as I do at home, and I am so mad and frustrated with myself. What should I do? —Nervous Chelly Dear Nervous, Dr. Cello can completely understand how you feel and applauds your courageous inquiry. Yours is a topic rarely addressed openly in music forums, and yet affects most of us to some extent at some point in our musical endeavors. In fact, Dr. Cello believes that because there has traditionally been so little public support for the common experience you describe, many, many musicians end up feeling alone and ashamed of their playing. Some even quit playing because they find performing so stressful. Others turn to adrenaline blocking drugs like Inderal in an attempt to control their uncomfortable and sometimes debilitating performance experi-ences.

As musicians we have such a lot riding on our performances, and the feelings gen-erated can be over-whelming! It can be challenging to play for others, especially in an audition situa-tion where your play-ing is being judged

and compared to others'. Most of us play music be-cause we love it, and it is very difficult to expose what we love to potential criticism, no matter how healthy that criticism might be. Just know that the fact that you felt the way you did in your audition probably has nothing to do with how good a musi-

cian you are.

In helping you address your concerns, I want to first of all ask you to seriously consider changing your name. One of the issues here is that you are calling yourself Nervous. Performers also like to call reactions like the ones you describe "stagefright," or "performance anxiety." In my pro-fessional opinion, framing these normal, albeit uncomfortable feelings as such just adds to their inten-sity. I suggest that you start thinking of these feelings as nor-mal signs of "performance en-ergy." The fact that you feel so many sensations when you play simply proves that what you are doing is important to you, and you are generating a lot of energy for it. That's a good thing. If you felt nothing I'd probably tell you to find something else to do that you can get excited about! The extra energy that comes up when you per-form is neither good nor bad in itself, but how you work with it can either make or break your per-formance. Think about electricity for a minute. Electricity is a powerful form of energy. When electricity is run carefully, channeled and grounded, it is an amazing resource! It powers our lights, our heaters and our stoves, and makes our lives so much more comfortable. But if electricity gets out of control, like in the case of a downed power line, look out! Then it is extremely danger-ous and destructive. This is very similar to the way performance energy works. Once you learn how to channel and ground your performance energy, it becomes less scary and out of your control. Then you can use it to focus and electrify your perform-ances!


6

So, how do you learn to channel your perform-ance energy? Here are a few strategies. Accept and allow it. First of all, accept that what you feel is just energy and is normal. Notice when the energy rises. You'll learn to recognize your own signals that your energy is rising. It might start as a little hiccup in your chest or a butterfly in your stomach. When you feel it come up, instead of tell-ing yourself. "Oh no! I need to stop this! I'm getting out of control" practice saying to yourself, "This is just performance energy and I'm learning to chan-nel it!" Dr. Cello just received an audition notice in the mail and after all the auditions she's taken, she still felt her performance energy rise up. She re-minded herself that this is normal and natural and just means she still cares about playing well and wants to do her best. Breathe. The yogis and martial artists have known for thousands of years how important breathing is to channeling energy. Our Western science has fi-nally figured out that there are physical reasons for

this! When you breathe long and deep and slow you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, the calming, balancing part of the nervous system. The more you practice breathing deep, slow breaths all the way down into your belly, the more relaxed and balanced your performance energy will become. Your heart rate will slow, your hands will become dry and warm, and your butterflies will calm. I sug-gest adding at least five minutes of long, slow, deep breathing to the beginning of each of your practice sessions. This way it will become a regular part of your performance routine and your body will remem-ber its grounded state even when your performance energy starts to rise. Breathe in deeply to the slow count of five, and on the exhale imagine your breathe running out the bottoms of your feet. Empty your lungs completely, but don't strain. Of all the things you can do to balance your performance energy, this one is the seemingly most simple, yet most important and effective. Try it! And remember, it may take up to 12 minutes of deep breathing to switch your body into its parasympathetic mode, so experiment, be pa-tient and don't shortchange yourself. Dr. Cello al-



ways allows a few minutes before every performance to close her eyes and do some long, slow, deep breathing Practice positive self talk. It is easy to get frustrated with yourself when you haven't

known how to channel your performance energy and your performances have suffered from it. Studies show, however, that for every criticism, a person needs to hear FIVE positive statements to continue feeling accepted, appreciated and motivated. Criti-cism is powerful stuff! So be honest with yourself about the places you could improve, but don't berate yourself. For instance, instead of telling yourself, "I am so stupid for missing that run. I'm a terrible player. I'll never get anywhere with this cello," try being kind to yourself. You will probably feel much better about continuing to work with your perform-ance energy if you tell yourself, "It's pretty amazing what I've accomplished so far, even with that mis-take. I mean, this is a really hard piece! I can talk to my teacher about that passage in my next lesson and address this. I'm definitely improving, even though it feels slow sometimes. And, hey, I did play better in tune this time, and I nailed the double stops!" There's no substitute for preparation. OK, so you don't need a doctor to tell you that if you can't play something in the safety and comfort of your practice room, you won't be able to play it in Carnegie Hall with a packed audience. But it is amazing how many of us don't really listen to ourselves and pay close enough attention to our preparation until we are on stage listening through someone else's ears. A very reliable remedy for this is to borrow or invest in a mini disc recorder and as you near a performance or audition record yourself playing through your pieces. Then go back and listen to yourself and take specific notes about what you want to improve or try differ-ently. Practice those spots for a few hours or over a few days before recording and listening again. This will really get you listening honestly to your trouble spots, as well as allow you to appreciate and relax into the places where you really shine. Try to record yourself until you can play through everything just the way you'd like to in performance.

Mock it up. In addition to practicing the music

itself, it is extremely important to make practicing performing under pressure part of your routine. It's one thing to play through your concerto for mem-ory in the comfort of your living room for your cat, but that's not giving you the opportunity to play un-der the conditions of a real performance in order to practice channeling your performance energy. Ar-range mock auditions or run-throughs for yourself. Invite a few people who you'd really like to im-press. Really use your imagination to put yourself in performance mode. If you can, arrange your mock audition or run through in the actual place the performance will take place, or pretend that you are really there. Ask someone to spontaneously attempt to distract you by coughing a lot or crackling a candy wrapper so you'll have a more realistic ex-perience. Use your imagination and what you know will get your performance energy churning to cre-ate a virtual reality performance environment. Play around with your performance energy. You might even report out loud what's going on inside such as, "I feel my heart starting to race, so I am taking a

8


Robert Hladky Birthday Celebration! On October 6, 2006 Professor J. Robert Hladky will be 80 years old! On Octo-ber 17th, 2006 (at a time to be announced, probably 8:00 p.m.) his former cello and bass students of the School of Music at the University of Oregon will honor him with a concert of cello and bass ensemble music, followed by a reception. The event will be held at Beall Hall in the School of Music at the U of O in Eugene. Those cellists and bassists (who have previously studied with Robert Hladky)

who would like to perform should contact one of the organizing committee who include John Gibbens '63, Susan Rockey Bowles '75, Georgienne Puls Young '77, and Ken Finch '79. Rehearsals for the perform-ance will be during the day of the performance, October 17th, at Beall Hall. All friends, fans and former students are invited to attend the performance and reception on October 17th. They are also invited to contribute personal memories, a story, message or photo to be included in a memory book and photo-video/PowerPoint presentation. All of these should be e-mailed or sent by post to Ken Finch. For further information please contact: John Gibbens: [email protected], (541)548-3724; Susan Bowles: [email protected], (303)850-7323; Georgienne Young: [email protected], (503)362-1525; Ken Finch: [email protected], (503)629-9124, 2966 N.W. Telshire Terrace, Beaverton, OR 97006.

few extra deep breaths between the movements." And remember, this stuff takes practice over time just like learning your instrument, so be pa-tient with yourself. You may need a number of mock performance experiences before it be-comes more natural, comfortable and even fun to play under pressure. They probably want you to succeed as much as you do. Really think about this. When you take the time and energy to attend a perform-ance, you arrive excited to be transported by the music. You're not thinking, hey, "I'll be really satisfied if they make a big ol' mistake or play really out of tune." The same is true of audition committees or judges. They want to hear you play your best so they can offer their award or position to someone whose playing they really appreciated. Before you go on stage actively re-mind yourself that the audience or committee is really rooting for you to play your best. Act as if. A very powerful way to make some-thing happen in your life that you want is to act as if it is already true. We run our lives out of what we believe our possibilities are. So start acting like someone who's already confident about their playing and who knows how to chan-nel their performance energy. How will you

walk on stage? How will your posture be? How might you feel on the morning of your next audi-tion? Use your imagination and let yourself play the role of the performer you'd like to be. Imagine what thoughts a confident performer might be thinking, and practice thinking them! Acting "as if" will allow you to physically and emotionally step into a new way of experiencing yourself, and the results may really surprise you! Before long you may realize you're no longer acting. You are the confident performer you've wanted to be! — Anna Schaum, MA, was a professional sym-phonic violist (Oregon Symphony) and chamber musician for 18 years before becoming a profes-sional counselor and performance coach in pri-vate practice. She works with both student and professional musicians on any issues of concern related to music or their musical environments, and also maintains a general practice with a fo-cus on relationships. Anna can be reached at 503.282.3800 or through her website at www.annaschaum.com.

9


What Every Cellist Needs to Know About the Body—Part 3 Have you ever suffered from tendonitis of the wrist or el-bow? Have you had problems with finger control? Have you experienced carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow? If so, you may have incorrectly mapped the structure and function of your forearm. In a previous issue of Bridge and Bow, Nancy Ives gave an excellent description of the forearm in her article about vibrato. Go online to www.oregoncello.org and reread it. Meanwhile, the facts are so important that I am going to repeat some of them. If the only movement we ever did at our elbow were to open and close our arm, we would only need one bone in the forearm. We also, however rotate our fore-arms. (Turning a door knob or doing the beauty queen wave.) This takes two bones, the ulna and the radius. The ulna goes from the elbow to the wrist on the 4th finger side of the hand. The radius goes from the el-bow to the wrist on the thumb side of the hand. Misunderstanding the rotation can cause a lot of trouble. You can feel the ulna with your opposite hand, all the way from the wrist to the elbow. The radius is more difficult, since it is covered by thicker muscle as it nears the elbow. If you place your palm up (supinate) and feel both bones, you can tell that they are parallel. Now turn your palm over (pronate). What happened? The ulna is still in the same place as before, but the radius has crossed over the ulna at the wrist end. This simple fact is tremendously important. The radius rotates around the ulna - not the other way around. If you have it backwards, and try to make the radius be the axis of rotation, you will tense your forearm and eventually put a dangerous strain on the elbow and wrist. How can you tell if you are mapping it incorrectly? One way is if your forearm is chronically tense. Another way is to look at the relationship of your hand to your arm in rest position. Look at your hand in your lap, or hold your hand up in front of you. If your 4th finger is lined up along your forearm, you are in true rest, or neutral position. If your thumb, however, is lined up along your forearm, you probably need to correct your map. True neutral position is the place from which movement is easiest in any direction. When we play the cello, we move all around, but we always come back to neutral position. Having a chronic mis-alignment of the hand can cause connective tissues to shorten over time, pulling bones closer together and constricting the nerves that travel through the carpal tunnel. And no-body needs that! In future columns I will continue to share specific information about body use that has been helpful to me and my cello students. If you have a question you would like ad-dressed, please contact me at [email protected]. — Sherill Roberts is principal cellist of the Portland Opera Orchestra. She teaches cello at Linfield College in McMinnville, and has a private cello studio. She runs a monthly sup-port group for her adult beginners (mostly

women) called the Yo-Yo MaMas.

Sherill Roberts

10

Ashland Beth Goldstein 541.482.7709 [email protected] Beaverton Corey Averill 503.526.3908 Corvallis Ann Grabe 541.758.0638 Nancy Sowdon (also Scio) 541.451.3348 [email protected] Eugene Dale Bradley 541.607.0246 [email protected] Robert Hladky 541.746.0135 David Straka 541.485.0923 Gresham Jane Day [email protected] 503.665.5850 Marshall Tuttle 503.618.8655 [email protected] Portland / Northeast Katherine Schultz 503.312.4444 [email protected] Portland / Northwest Jerry Bobbe (also Beaverton) [email protected] 503.626.1075 Fred Nussbaum 503.292.5549

Portland / Southeast Collin Heade 503.775.2894 [email protected] Tim Scott 503.774.4231 [email protected] Portland / Southwest Hamilton Cheifetz 503.725.3185 [email protected] Dorien de León 503.246.0093 [email protected] Salem Bruce McIntosh 503.585.4298 [email protected] Tigard India Jobelmann 503.524.0789 [email protected] Kathie Reed 503.639.3795 [email protected] Tualatin/Lake Oswego/West Linn Dorothy Lewis 503.699.1337 [email protected] Charlene Wilson 503.691.1196 [email protected]

Cel

lo T

each

er L

isti

ng

Teachers: what a deal! Your name, telephone number and e-mail address can appear here for regular member dues plus an additional $5.00 per year.



All classes listed below are offered through the Community Music Center, 3350 SE Fran-cis Street, Portland. For more listings, visit www.communitymusiccenter.org or call 503.823.3177.

Parent Orientation to Suzuki - Age: 18 & Up— Build harmonious connections at home! Discover the important dynamics of student, teacher & parent/guardian in this method. Observe demonstrations, get in-sightful information & find the confidence needed to help beginning violin, viola, & cello students succeed. $29 fee for materials (book and student's first Suzuki CD). Choose one two-class session. This class (or Every Child Can, below) is required for placement with a Suzuki instructor.

209257 Th 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Scott 9/14/2006 - 9/21/2006 $26 209258 Sa 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Scott 9/23/2006 - 9/30/2006 $26

Every Child Can© - Age:17 & Up—Explore the history, traditions and philosophy of this time-tested, in-ternational method. This one-day course is ideal for all music educators, and highly recommended for par-ents as a way to meet CMC's orientation requirement. It is also the Suzuki Association of the Americas' prerequisite for continued Suzuki teacher training. 200242 Su 12:30 - 6:30 pm Shackford 9/17/06 $98 Suzuki Teacher Training - Cello—Age: 18 & Up- Take string mentoring to the next level with an in-depth examination of the philosophy, principles & teaching points of this world-renowned method. Expand horizons & gain insights that can enhance any instructional style. This is a one year class covering Books 1-5. Instructor is certified with Suzuki Association of Americas. See above for requirements. Scheduled payments available ($100 deposit required). Required materials and SAA registration not included in regis-tration fee. Observation in addition TBA. Participants are to have read "Nurtured by Love" and "Ability De-velopment from Age Zero", and attended Every Child Can© by the first class (see page 14 - barcode 200242). Applicants must be proficient on chosen instrument(s). Minimum age: 18 or six months from high school graduation. A background check will be required prior to the supervised teaching phase. The highest level of attendance is expected and required. Acceptance requires video tape of applicant compe-tently performing Breval Sonata in C (Allegro) or Tchaikovsky Chanson Triste and a contrasting movement from Book 5. Participants are requested to obtain "Teaching Suzuki Cello" by Charlene Wilson (available from the instructor). 209227 W 10am-1pm Wilson, starts 10/04-6/06 $990

Upcoming Classes & Workshops

www.artmusicbywhimsy.com Karen Bates-Smith,

Composer TEL 503-347-0692

Music for Violin/Cello duets & String Trios

12

BOOK REVIEWS The Soloist by Mark Salzman. Vintage Books, 284 pages, $13.00, paperback. So what could be wrong with a murder-mystery written by a cellist with a professional cellist as the protagonist (a member of the jury, not the perp or the victim), a cameo appearance by Yo-Yo Ma, references to Casals and inter-woven with discussions of music, concertizing and teaching? To this reader there was a banal story line, two-dimensional characters and enough clichés to merit at least honorable mention in a bad writing contest. So, unless you are anticipat-ing a lengthy plane trip or recovering from a lin-gering illness, best spend your money on a good CD. — Jess Dishman, OCS Board Member

The Countess of Stanlein Restored: A History of the Countess of Stanlein Ex Paganini Stradivar-ius Cello of 1707 by Nicholas Dellbanco. Verso Books, 98 pages. This charming little book provides a behind-the-scenes look into the arcane world of high-end instrument restoration. It recounts the painstaking process undertaken by elite luthier René Morel in restoring this paragon of craftsmanship from Stradivari’s “great period” (1707-1720). The author provides rich details about the in-strument and its fascinating history, which in-cludes is being “discovered in a barrow on the way to a municipal dump, owned by Paganini, and applauded in hall after hall.” As the son-in-law of Greenhouse, Dellbanco is uniquely posi-tioned to provide an insider’s perspective on the process. He includes high-quality photographs of many artists associated with the instrument over the years. The book is a “must-read” for any cello aficionado. — Laura Saddler, Bridge & Bow Editor

Calling All Traveling Cellists!

In an upcoming issue, Dr. Cello plans to

tackle the topic of traveling with a cello. In addition to discussing cases (how much they cost, where to buy, what to look for), we’ll cover airline restrictions and how to deal with them. If you’ve had notably positive (or negative) experiences in this arena, please share your wisdom with your fellow cellists! Drop a line to Dr. Cello by email at [email protected] (be sure to put “Ask Dr. Cello” in the subject line to avoid getting trashed by the spam filter) or by mail c/o OCS at PO Box 4035, Portland, OR 07208.

13


Oregon Cello Society Spring ’06 Board Meeting Minutes

other business bring to board meetings. David doesn't plan on organizing a Cello Day for fall of 2006, but we are all happy to hear that he will still maintain the mailing list and do printing of the B & B. (Thanks, David!!). 10. Hermann Jobelmann suffered a heart attack sometime in the past several weeks, reports Katherine (she heard it thorough the musician's union). He is at home, we think. The Portland Youth Philharmonic is soliciting donations for an honorarium in his name, listed in their spring concert programs (is this an award in his honor? the secretary doesn't know and didn't ask in time, sorry). 11. Adult recital brief review, six groups performed (all well done, comments Barbara, who was there) and Student recital (six teachers represented, eleven pieces performed) Three most nota-ble performances had been scholarship audition award winners. 12. Board vacancy. Since Bud has resigned there is an open spot on the board. No one knows if our by-laws require us to fill that spot, so we will table this until next meeting, or perhaps until fall meeting when board terms expire. 13. Next meeting either 21 May or 4 June, to be decided by emailing, adjourned at 4:30, minutes taken by Barbara Smoody.

Minutes of the Oregon Cello Society 19 March 2006 meeting at Charlene Wilson's home. Meeting called to order at 3:20 pm by president Katherine Schultz. Members attending Charlene Wilson, Katherine Schultz, David Keyes, Jess Dishman, Joan Sargent, Dorothy Lewis, Lynn Rowe and Barbara Smoody. Charlene reports that Bud misses us, sends us his "Cheers!" and appreciates our rec-ognition of his presidency, and board plans to start a scholar-ship in his name. 1. Minutes of previous meeting approved. 2. Treasurer's report, Wayne reports by email that all invoices are paid up, deposits made and balance is $9,012.78. 3. Bridge & Bow update. Jess sent 18 notices to area amateur orchestras soliciting their audition and performance schedules, half replied and half didn't. Several groups' information will be included in the next B & B. David thinks there are 25+ groups in the Portland metro area, and that David Kerr has a listing of groups on his website. 4. The Don Quixote open rehearsal will be managed by Laura, 1 April 9:15 am. 5. Scholarship auditions will happen on Sunday 9 April at the Community Music Center, about noon to 4 pm. Charlene will be there all day, Bob will help with the end of the day judge's coffee run, Dorothy can help 2 - 4, Joan and Jess 12 - 2. Schu-back will donate rosins and two $50 gift certificates. Barbara will contact Sheet Music Service for 2 x $25 gift certificates (as they have given in the past) and Joan will contact David Kerr for bow re-hair certificates. Total cash awards will be $1200, m/s/c to increase judge's pay from $100 to $125 for their day's work. 6. Scholarship in Bud's name. We plan to initiate this scholar-ship in the 2007 student competition, for students age 16 and older (so as not to compete with existing competition's age limit). Amount of award is undetermined as of this meeting, as gifts or endowments are not known. Limit of two students per teacher may compete for the award. Bud is commended for his excellent leadership of OCS, and commitment to student-centered cello events and opportunities. 7. Heather and Beethoven recitals status. The concerts will be held at the CMC, probably the last two Wednesdays in May, so their budget is lower than first feared, and they will not need our financial support. It wasn't clear if they wanted to use our bulk mailing permit to reduce their postage costs, but the offer stands. 8. Website. Joe was unable to attend, but he is working on up-dating and improving the website. 9. Other business. David turned over the remaining post office box to Joan. The box should be re-keyed so we aren't relying on just one. She will check the box every couple of weeks and re-distribute contents as needed (most volume after membership renewals, with checks for treasurer and undeliverables get re-turned), special events usually go to organizer's address, any

For Sale Victor Gardener cello, full size, built in 1985. Victor Gardener was a violin maker from Southern Oregon. He passed away just this last spring. www.pavm.org/. Here is a web page showing a very similar instrument for sale: http://www.violinshop.com/instruments/instrument_display.php?id=23 . With hard case, no bow, excellent (maybe even mint) condition. $4000. Great in-strument for advancing high school or college performers. Julie Samudio 503-892-6277 (h) or 503-449-7449 (cel) Ti-gard. Local cello composer Gideon Freud-mann has six new sheet music compo-sitions for Cello Ensembles - 4 quartets, a trio and a quintet. Most of these pieces have some easy and some challenging parts so they are ideal for a group with a mixed range of players. Stylistically they range from melodic, to jaunty to bluesy. For sale at: www.cellobop.com/musicshop.htm

Oregon Cello Society Board Meeting 5/21/2006 Called to order by president Katherine Schultz at 3:20 pm on the deck at Charlene Wilson's home. Members present--Katherine, Charlene, Laura, Joe, Wayne, Jess, Sherill, Joan, Dorothy and Una. Treasurer's report from Wayne-current balance is $7,877.28. All advertisers have paid, scholarship checks have been sent, report accepted m/s/c. We briefly discussed that we could af-ford to spend some of this money. An adult cello orchestra concert in 2007 would be a possibility. Funds for a scholarship named to honor Bud Armstrong will include $300 of OCS funds. OCS website and newsletter update-Joe aims to make weekly updates of the OCS website (now that the school year has ended, and other things are settling down), with a monthly arti-cle linked to the Bridge & Bow. A quarterly feature of member (with photo) would be a nice, but ambitious, feature (i.e., will people be asked to write their bios? Or will this be an interview arrangement?) . Charlene mentioned that she has made contact with new student who found her by Googling "Oregon Cello". Joe also suggested that a Yahoo group/list serve could be useful for membership contacts and quick event notification. Laura plans to compose and print an OCS brochure. She was inspired to do this project while at the recent master class, and wished she had something to hand out at the door to folks at-tending this event. Upcoming newsletter items include an Ask Dr. Cello piece written by Barbara Connabel on performance anxiety. Deadline for the Fall newsletter is approximately 1st August. Cello Day tentatively planned for October 2006. (Note: this has become a firm event on 8 Octo-ber, Sunday, 1 to 5 pm at Marylhurst Univer-sity). Before the event was scheduled we talked about where to have it and what kind of room(s) are needed. We need a stage (and piano??) for the April scholarship winners, also possible panel discussion, and room for vendors (luthiers, music dealers, etc). Barbara agreed to make ini-tial contacts at Reed, PSU and Marylhurst. Past events were held at Multnomah Arts Center, which cost more than the $100 agreed to for the Marylhurst space (old library and Wiegand Re-cital Hall). Mr. Ron Paul said that the initial $100 amount could be pushed up if vendors are doing business, or if the event is making money for OCS. The board agreed that we would try to honor Bud Armstrong's request that Cello Day should be free to OCS members.

National Cello Institute: www.creativeharmony.com/members/nci Cello Festivals: www.cello.org Chamber Music Northwest: www.cmnw.org Friends of Chamber Music: wwww.focm.org Camerata Musica: www.open.org/~camerata American Chamber Music Players: www.acmp.net Internet Cello Society: www.cello.org Salem Youth Symphony Association: www.youth-symphony.org fEAR nO MUSIC: www.fearnomusic.org Four Daring Celli: www.apocalyptica.com New Directions Cello Association: www.newdirectionscello.com Los Angeles Violoncello Society: www.lacello.org Violoncello Society of London: www.loncellosocietylondon.org

Cello Resources on the Web

Oregon Cello Society Summer ’06 Board

Meeting Minutes

Fall Board Member Elections. Jess and Katherine will stay on. There are one or two vacancies on the board, Bud's place and maybe Wayne's, though he offered to continue doing the treas-urer's job if he could be allowed to miss board meetings (Independence OR is a long drive from Tualatin!). Katherine reported interest in making "official" recognition of our founder Naomi Blumberg's leadership in the first 14 years of our existence. The next "official" way to do this will be at the aforementioned Cello Day, so there's one more item for the program. Next Board Meeting, probably the weekend after Labor Day, Sunday, 10 September, and assuming Charlene continues to host these get-togethers, we'll see her and Bob here then. Meeting adjourned sometime after 4:30.

Reminder: Renew Your Membership by October 1!

Annual Rates Students - $15.00

Adults - $25.00 Teachers - $30.00*

Don’t let your membership expire—renew today. *Includes $5.00 for cello teacher listing.

15

The Bridge & Bow Oregon Cello Society P.O. Box 4035 Portland, Oregon 97208

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT No. 6003

Return Service Requested

OCS Membership Form Please send to: Oregon Cello Society attn: Treasurer PO Box 4035 Portland, OR 97208 I wish to: ____ become a new member ($25.00) ____ renew my membership ($25.00) ____ become a student member — I’m a full-time student ($15.00) ____ renew my student membership ($15.00) ____ begin or renew my membership with OCS published teacher status ($30.00) Signed _____________________________________________________ Date ____________

Name ___________________________________________ Phone _____________________

Address __________________________________________ City ___________ State _____

Zip Code ________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________

Student members please provide parent’s name_____________________________________

Note: The short code above your name shows the status of your membership. If your code is not PD06, ST06 or TC06, please take a moment to return this form with a check for your 2006 dues. This will guarantee that you receive your newsletter regularly.

OCS prints an annual membership list in the fall newsletter, and occasionally shares our mailing list with other organizations. Check the box above if you prefer to have your contact information omitted from these lists.

� Membership list opt-out

Bridge & Bow - Oregon Cello · PDF fileBridge & Bow — Fall 2006 Events Calendar October 8: Oregon Cello Society CELLO DAY! Join your fellow cellos for an afternoon of FREE....

Documents