It's been an interesting year and despite the pandemic, I was able to make a lot of cool music in 2021. Here's a little recap of some fun things I did this year. Shoutout to all the amazing musicians I worked with this year and to my students for keeping me inspired!
I'm really happy to share a very positive review of my String Jams books by the esteemed American String Teachers Association.
I'm proud of these books and I'm glad that more string teachers will be introduced to them! Many thanks to ASTA for the kind review and I look forward to teaching my workshop at the national conference in Atlanta in March!
I'm very excited to play some new pieces, including some new comedy songs, this Saturday April 24th at 8:30 PM EST at the Cello Madness Congress.
I'll be sharing the stage with some extremely talented and creative cellists, Jake Matthew Rivers and Michael Fecskes.
Follow the link to grab a ticket and support these amazing artists.
Here’s a link to the Facebook Event: Cello Madness Congress Saturday April 24, 2021 at 8:30 EST
I am very excited to hear the cello I recorded for composers, Ryan Rapsys and Scott McRae, for the series, Red Pawn! I'm featured in the opening sequence and throughout the score. Many thanks to the composers for the great music!
I had the immense pleasure to collaborate with the amazing multi-percussionist, Georgie.
We were recording for a concert and the vibes were good so we decided to do some completely improvised numbers. I really like how this one came out.
To be able to play with someone who has such a deep sense of groove and musicality is a true gift.
This was recorded in the very beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Enjoy the music and check out Georgie, he’s the real deal!
The đàn bầu is such an incredible musical instrument, but it's otherworldly when in the hands of a master like Ngo Tra My Trà My - Đàn Bầu. I am humbled and honored to have been able to collaborate with her.
This piece is dedicated to all of the people who have lost their lives in this pandemic. This week in the USA, we reached more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. I've been trying to not focus on the virus just to maintain sanity, but after improvising over what Trà My had sent me and listening back, it was apparent that subconsciously there was no real escaping it.
I hope you enjoy the music and that the spirits of those lost to this virus can live on.
One of my all time favorite people from college, the amazingly talented pianist and composer, West Troiano, wrote a hauntingly beautiful piece for me. I had such a great time helping bring his composition to life (not that it was that hard to do since it's such a cool piece).
One of the most talented, inventive, and dedicated musicians/composers I know in Vietnam is nguyễn đức minh. He is part of Phù Sa Lab, which is an arts institution of the highest caliber that combines Vietnamese and ethnic minority traditional music with contemporary elements.
Minh plays a million different instruments (and makes his own too). He recently posted a short video of him playing the sáo (flute) and it was so beautiful I wanted to collaborate with him. I composed some cello parts to support his flute and slightly alter the context of what he intended.
Upon listening to it, he told me it brought to mind the words, Hoài Niệm, roughly translated as, nostalgia. I think it perfectly fits because though Vietnam is much further along in terms of returning to 'normal' since containing the virus, the USA has a long way to go. There is certainly a nostalgia here for the way things were and a definite sense that things will never really be the same as before.
I'm very honored to be able to work with Minh and I hope that this small piece of music brings you some sense of peace.
One positive aspect of this time has been my ability to collaborate with wonderful artists from around the world. My friend, Duyệt Thị Trang, is a master of the đàn tranh as well as an expert craftsmen of Vietnamese musical instruments. I was very lucky to be able to play many concerts with him while in Vietnam and I've missed playing with him.
We decided to collaborate from afar and I am really happy with how this came out. The song is called, Lý Tiểu Khúc. and is dedicated to all the people separated by the COVID-19 virus. All the weddings that can't take place, all of the new relationships that have to wait, and all of the friends and family that can't meet.
I hope you enjoy it and hopefully this brings some peace and comfort to those far apart.
I had the great honor of collaborating with Tuấn Hoàng on this project. Tuấn and I met at a music residency that we participated in Hanoi, Vietnam. He plays the Đàn nguyệt and is highly trained in the royal court music from Huế, Vietnam, which is the ancient capital of the country.
Even though we live on opposite sides of the planet, we decided to improvise and trade ideas back and forth in the spirit of creating something to give back to all the frontline heroes combatting the virus. Vietnam has done an absolutely amazing job of containing COVID-19, while unfortunately the USA continues to struggle with high rates of infection and fatalities.
The title of this piece is Lưu Thuỷ and it means water flowing. We sincerely dedicate this piece to everyone risking their lives to help others in Vietnam, the USA, and across the globe.
Since the pandemic started and everything got shut down, I have been running free Online Improvisation Workshops for String Players. With the release of my new books, String Jams, I wanted to give people a glimpse at what the book offered, but also to give them concrete steps they could use to practice improvisation. Let’s face it, I’m not a doctor, nurse, or grocery store worker fighting for the safety everyday out there. Nevertheless, I did want to give something back to help boost people’s morale and the only real skills I have are cello and teaching, so I thought it could at least be a drop of positivity in a seemingly endless stream of scary news.
I have done 3 workshops so far and have been blown away by the support from the participants. Essentially, I give everybody the sheet music for a piece from my Advanced String Jams book as well as the improvisation loop track that comes with it. I then outline about ten different ways that they can go about improvising such as doing nonstop improvisation, limiting note choices, leaving space, etc. Everything I’m saying is detailed in the beginning portion of both String Jams.
It really is humbling and inspiring to have a workshop with people from across the globe in one Zoom meeting. I’ve had participants from Finland, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil, USA, Germany, and more. This past workshop I had my grandfather attend. He’s a saxophone player and like I mention in the book, he’s the reason I started music and the inspiration behind creating these books. At the end of the lecture, he told a story about the first time he taught me how to improvise when I was around 9 or 10 years old. It was a story I hadn’t thought about in a long time and it was really special to have him remind me and the other attendees.
It’s been a really positive experience for me to run these workshops and connect with string players from across the world. It’s a very strange time and I doubt that live music gigs will return this year. Nevertheless, having the ability to connect with others virtually and offer something useful has been helpful in keeping me focussed and grounded.
I’m going to try to offer more workshops, concerts, collaborations, and music in the future and hopefully we will pass through this time safely.
Thank you all for the support.
