With us today is Kate Burns, duo partner of our very own Ben Charles.  They stopped by JMU during a Virginia concert and masterclass tour.  Though there were shenanigans in the forms of cooking, card games, and sight-seeing, we found time to record an episode. Topics: Keiko Abe, musicians' anxieties and ways to cope with them, commissions Watch here. Listen below. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element 0:00 Intro and hello 1:05 Megan’s percussion/dance collaboration project 5:45 Kate and Ben’s duo project 8:02 David Pegel duo commission, communication in the commission process 17:52 Ben: Keiko Abe 22:47 Kate’s experience studying with Keiko Abe 25:07 Favorite Keiko pieces, pedagogical value, etc. 32:55 Chamber music playing 38:55 Laurel: Nervousness vs. anxiety / techniques for overcoming them in music 55:08 Visualizing and playing in a new space 1:01:13 Pre-performance rituals 1:04:49 Lucas Garner: Do you own a marimba? If so, how and when did you go about purchasing it? When do you recommend a student purchase an instrument of their own? 1:13:19 Wrap