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Taking ownership
Last week I made my debut with the Cleveland Orchestra. For those of you familiar with the orchestra scene, you’ll know that the Cleveland Orchestra, along with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra, are one of the Big Five – historically the largest and most prestigious ensembles in the country. They were, as expected, fantastic, and it was an immense pleasure working with them. During the break between dress rehearsal and concert at the Blossom Music Center I was chatting with one of the musicians about the variety of music which takes me all over the world, and he asked me, unironically, if I…
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Positive payback
When I started my career as a conductor, I was fresh out of conservatory and newly married. I was teaching part time at Curtis and working for a small regional orchestra near Philly and doing the odd little gigs that came in. Paul and I made maybe $25K between the two of us, didn’t have health insurance and barely had two pennies to rub together. We were starving young musicians in all senses. I remember throughout those very lean early years that though money was tight, I didn’t want to completely curtail my social life, particularly the relaxing ritual of the post-concert drink. And on many occasions, after a cocktail…
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Solo adventure
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I travel a LOT. Often at the butt crack of dawn, or overnight, or whenever I need to get on a flight to make it to the next gig. I have platinum status on multiple airlines, which should give you an idea of how much of my time is spent on the road. Very occasionally I’ve been lucky enough to take someone with me on my journey, particularly if it’s a longer jaunt, and to a desirable locale. Husband Paul spent two weeks with me on a Japan tour a few years back. And my dear friend Lilly accompanied me on a memorable…
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Some trees would do you good
There has been quite a bit written about forest bathing in the last several years – and, no, it’s not about plunging into an outdoor spring (although that’s actually pretty awesome), but rather bathing in the atmosphere of a forest. A Japanese movement that began in the 80’s, shinrin-yoku is a timely reminder for us city dwellers of the importance of connecting to the natural world. Time spent in nature has shown to boost the immune system, decrease stress and blood pressure, and to contribute to a better overall sense of wellness. Wellness is something I could use these days. As you’ve probably gathered from my previous post, I’ve been…
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Let Us Be Well, Part 2
I hadn’t intended on posting again on this topic so soon, but the universe has somehow conspired to bring this to the forefront of my mind in the last few weeks. Tuesday I read with a heavy heart about the suicide of designer Kate Spade; this came on the heels of the devastating news two weeks ago that the father of a dear friend here in San Francisco had taken his own life. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming nearly 45,000 lives annually (to put this into perspective, according to CDC reports, homicide deaths in 2016 were 19,362) and is the fourth leading cause…
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25 and Counting
I just returned from my 25th college reunion (yes, for those of you who recognize the large banner in the background, I did my undergrad at Harvard) and it was eye-opening. I can think of few other gatherings where everyone is basically of the same age and shares a powerful common experience. I had forgotten the sense of kinship and community this can create, and while we may have been clique-y during our college years, the passage of time and a certain maturity have softened the edges. Harvard puts on a great show for 25th reunions – 3 1/2 full days of barbecues, panels, cocktail parties, memorial services, fancy dinners…
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What time zone am I in?
I travel. A LOT. I’ve frequently had months where I have concerts every weekend in a different city, which means I’m home Monday-Tuesday, swapping out suitcases and musical scores before heading to my next gig. One memorable week last year had me doing a 36 hour turnaround between weeks in Brisbane, Australia and Montreal, Canada. Good times. I’m frequently asked how I deal with jet lag when I’m on that kind of crazy schedule crossing multiple time zones and spending, at max, 5 days in any one zone. So I’ve compiled a list of tips to of what keeps me (mostly) functional and (somewhat) sane: Hydrate like you’ve just…
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Thank you Winston
Not anything big today, just that I watched Darkest Hour last night (worth it for Gary Oldman’s tour de force performance alone) and was reminded how I’ve always appreciated not just Churchill’s exquisite mastery of the English language, but his pithy insights as well. My favorite: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Good words for all!
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Let us be well
I awoke to heartbreaking news this morning of the death of one of my favorite singers; Scott Hutchison, the lead singer of the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit was found dead at Port Edgar, Scotland. Although the cause of death was not determined, from the response of his family and bandmates (and indeed anyone who listened to his music, and knew his struggles), it was clearly suicide. Mental health among performers and artists has been in the news lately, and Scott’s death feels like a devastating but timely reminder of both the toll it can take and its prevalence in modern society. Yet it still feels like a taboo topic…
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My favorite Ben
One of the coolest things about being a conductor who specializes in the Pops side of orchestral music is that I work with an incredible diversity of artists from all kinds of non-classical genres. And while it’s amazing working with all of them, I have a special place in my heart for Ben Folds. (Holy crap we looks so young…) We first worked together at the Mann Center in Philly in 2005 and it was a watershed moment for me – here was an artist whose music I loved and we were performing onstage in a way that seemed to be bringing together the best of piano-based alt-rock and the…