Alicia Keys, are you reading this? Here is a cellist for you. Marc Christian Miranda started out the conventional cello way but has for the past several years explored a niche that is in high demand.

When he sets out for a gig his car is packed with cables, mixers, speakers and his electric cello.

Inspired by his own wedding, he's on a mission to make your special day, whether it’s a wedding or something completely different, as beautiful and memorable as possible.

Marc's homepage: https://www.marcchristiancello.com/

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Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast

Send me an e-mail? Go to https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/contact

Does conducting an orchestra entail more than waving one's arms? Yes it does and Tigran Arakelyan is more than happy to share a number of the things you have to keep in mind as a conductor standing in front of an orchestra.

Among Tigran's many credits is the historic feat of facilitating the Pacific Northwest's first orchestral concert at a bar. Tune in to hear his story from growing up in post-Soviet Armenia and Belarus, to finding his way as a musician and conductor in the United States. A way that still has a long way to go. Careerwise, is Tigran where he wants to be?

And by the way, have you heard of Avet Terterian?

Tigran's homepage: https://www.tigranarakelyan.com/

photographer: K. Kowalski

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Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast

Send me an e-mail? Go to https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/contact

Lexi Nguyen is only in her 20's but is dead serious about her music. You can listen to her singles on streaming platforms while she's working on her first EP.

We talk about The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, the importance of physical exercise, boundaries as artists, hateful comments, and whether or not to inhale in a recording...

Featured song by Lexi Nguyen: Fever

Lexi's homepage: https://lexinguyen.com/

photographer: Danny Miranda Carillo

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Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast

Ragnhild catches up with her previous teacher, Nicholas Jones, for a talk about playing and teaching the cello.

Being a cellist often goes hand in hand with being a cello teacher. Here we talk about how our cello practice and our teaching keep on affecting each other.

We touch on

-key moments of enlightenment in our playing and teaching

-how all students are different from each other

-what 'work-life balance' might mean as a musician

-the fact that our practice never ends

"We need to play what we want to hear."

And don't forget to listen to the Cello Concerto by Lutosławski.

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Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer.

She is singing and playing a drum with her foot while playing her cello. How did Diletta Fosso's journey in music begin?

The songs featured in this episode are:

7 years (Lukas Graham)

Makeba (Jain)

and

Counting Stars (One Republic)

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Diletta on Instagram

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Everybody's story is different - why does someone spend countless hours on making cover videos for Instagram? Why not choose a job with a steady income?

In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Madeleine Ladore -a cellist who has been working on her business only for a few years but who has managed to grow a loyal following.

"People like to hear the music that they like."

Madeleine Ladore has walked the path from deciding to play the cello for a living, to make content for social media platforms, to learn about marketing and video making and how to get your songs into playlists on Spotify...

It's a road that demands consistency and dedication before it starts to pay off, and after about 3 years the ball is definitely rolling.

Madeleine’s homepage

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Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer.

Have you heard of the music box? Could a nebula in space have anything to do with a composer's research?

In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Wilma Pistorius -a cellist, composer and Alexander Technique teacher who is based in Amsterdam.

As a composer today, how do you make connections?

Wilma talks about her approach to this, being herself on the introverted side and would be happy to spend the evening with a book rather than being out socializing.

Being a composer today involves making oneself visible (and audible, of course!), doing one's own PR, taking initiatives and being proactive, and being able to step in at a short notice.

For the past several years, Wilma has walked her path piece by piece, e-mail by e-mail, concert by concert, insta post by insta post... and the ball is rolling.

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Wilma's website

Secret Compartment (toy pianos and music boxes) trailer

Mandarin (two cellos, voice, and (toy) piano)

Wilma’s instagram

Wilma’s Youtube channel

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Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer.

Kaja Draksler has spent the past several years composing, rehearsing, touring and recording.

Early in 2023 she became a mother and thus a new chapter has begun.

The featured music:

'Trboje' from the album Zürich Concert with Punkt.Vrt.Plastik

'Danas, Jučer Sutra' from the album Out for Stars with Kaja Draksler Octet

'Away!' from the album In Otherness Oneself

Kaja's Website

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Everybody's story is different - why the cello? Where did we start? What were the challenges and how did we overcome them?

In this episode, Ragnhild talks with one of her cello students about learning the cello as an adult.

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Podcast soundtrack by Ani Amer.

Is there room for more books about composers? Yes. 'Iconic Composers' is not just children friendly, but it sticks out in the way that it features lesser known female composers and composers of different skin colors.

In addition, each of the 50 composers is illustrated by David Lee Csicsko.

Boiling down countless hours of research into 250 words per composer was quite a challenge, but the authors found a useful approach:

"How can we make people excited enough to go and learn even more about them?"

Emi's love for research on composers is contagious. Throughout her research she has come across plenty of biases and censorship. How can she trust a source at all? -is my question.

"It's hard to separate the myth of the person from who the person was, and I'm not sure we ever will be able to. What we can do is to get to the spirit of what they were trying to do."

If you, like I do, find research do be rather overwhelming, you might appreciate Emi's take on it:

"I think that distraction is a good thing. I've always followed the distractions because what's the worst that can happen? -That you learn something cool."

I don't know about you, but after my interview with Emi I felt inspired to find a wormhole on the internet and learn something cool.

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[00:00] 'Prelude in C Major' by Emi Ferguson, from the album 'Fly the Coop'

[04:12] Meet Emi Ferguson

[13:13] You might not have discovered your favourite composer yet! On the book 'Iconic Composers'

[21:55] How can you trust what you're reading?

[30:37] Emi's love for composers is contagious

[34:52] 'Mignonne' from the album 'Amour Cruel'

[38:10] 'this composer is SICK!' - a WQXR podcast series about composers and syphilis

[45:10] You can be a historian

[52:48] The best job, New York, TedX and sleep

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Emi's Homepage

Order a copy of 'Iconic Composers'

Emi's TedX talk - 'Your Ears Deceive You'

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