I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! This is my favorite day of the year for many reasons. First, it is always near (or on) my birthday. Second, I get to eat turkey and watch football. Lastly, it is always with people that I love, in this year’s case, my wife of two weeks.
Please be safe, eat lots, and try as best you can to get through the Lions’ game without sticking your head in the oven.
Now that I’ve explained the lack of updates here, I can get everyone up to speed on a couple of new projects I’m working on. Before I do, let me first say go Jayhawks as the football team prepares for a bowl game, and the defending national champion basketball team starts their season.
Of course, I’m currently updating the site with some new graphics and videos on the home page. I’m also trying to get the links page to be a little more complete. It seems that a few people are actually reading this site from time to time, so I guess some effort on my part would be prudent.
I have a couple of composition projects in the works. read more…
Well, it’s long time no post again here at Sempre Violin. This time, I have a really good excuse; I went on vacation and got married. This entire enterprise (the getting married thing) strained both mine and my wife’s ability to keep a secret. You see, we told no one except for a few work people and a few online acquaintances. We eventually told our families a few days before we left for our cruise, and they seemed to take it well. As I say, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Jenna and I had been engaged for over two years and after many delays and issues, we planned on finally marrying this November. read more…
Well, this latest photo pretty much tells the story of today’s work on the violin. I’m still working on the bass bar, and there’s a good chance I’ll glue some purfling on the back of the violin tonite. Or, maybe I’ll just soak my finger and go to bed.
Yesterday on the way home from work, I heard the beautiful Romance in f minor by Dvorak played by Itzhak Pearlman. While the piece is gorgeous and the performance competent, I always cringe when I hear this work because I consider it one of my biggest failures as a violinist.
You see, like any other musician, there are some works that “agree” with me and there are some that absolutely positively do not. The reasons for this remain a mystery to me, but the facts are there. In most cases, the works with which I struggle are those that would normally fit my technique and temperament, while some of the works that I play very well have been a surprise, not only to myself but to the teachers with which I studied them. read more…
