Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine

Episode 41: Life without a conductor: a conversation with the New Century Chamber Orchestra. - Inquiries from my Inbox: Larry Samuels asks, "What makers and qualities do you look for in your violin bows?" - Random Musical Thought: Pop musician John Mayer compares Guitar Hero to "one of those amusement park cars on a track" whereas playing a real instrument is like driving "a Ferrari." - A conversation with members of New Century Chamber Orchestra, a conductor-less ensemble in California's Bay area. For more information, please visit www.ncco.org. For information about the documentary "Freeway Philharmonic," please visit www.freewayphil.com.

total playing time: 31:37

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 40: So you want to start a festival do you?

- Inquiries from my Inbox: a violinist from Wisconsin asks, "When you said to practice the same amount every day, does that mean I shouldn't ever do any extra practicing?"

- Random Musical Thought: Being "in" the music or being "above" the music.

- Denis Brott, artistic director of the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, talks about how he started his festival, his programming ideas, what it takes to run the festival each year, combining Bach and hip-hop (!), and how he founded the Canadian Instrument Bank.

For more information about the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, please visit www.festivalmontreal.org. To read articles by Denis Brott, including "So you want to start a Festival do you?," please visit www.festivalmontreal.org/denisbrott/main.php?page=6.

total playing time: 38:30

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 39: Music for Life! A revolutionary idea for classical concert presentation. - Upcoming Events: June 20 - benefit gala for Chicago's Suzuki-Orff School - Inquiries from my Inbox: A violinist from Wisconsin asks, "Is it better to sit or stand when practicing?" - Random Musical Thought: Are arrangements of rock songs performed on acoustic string instruments chamber music? - A conversation with Ars Viva's Alan Heatherington and Gayle Heatherington and the Music Institute of Chicago's Ted Rubenstein. Music for Life! is a unique new program which makes classical music concerts a family activity, accessible to parents and beneficial to children. For more information, please visit www.arsviva.org/musicforlife/index.html.total playing time: 19:38

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 38: Tips for making audio and video recordings for auditions - Upcoming Events: June 10 in San Francisco - works by Chevalier de Saint-Georges, George Walker, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Brahms as guest leader of the New Century Chamber Orchestra; June 14 at the Amelia Island Festival in Florida - German and French Baroque Sonatas with Trio Settecento and the Rheinberger Concerto for violin, cello, and organ

- Inquiries from my Inbox: 11-year-old Nancy asks, "Do ever have any trouble with tendonitis?"

- Random Musical Thought: How widespread is the practice of "solfege-ing around?

- Rob Waller of Windy Apple Studios, producer/engineer of Violin Adventures, shares his advice about what to do and what not to do during an audition recording session.

total playing time: 23:37

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 37: Containing your clutter - tips for storing your sheet music - Upcoming Events: works by Chevalier de Saint-Georges, George Walker, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Brahms as

guest leader of the New Century Chamber Orchestra: June 5 in Berkeley, June 6 in Palo Alto, June 8 in San Rafael,

and June 10 in San Francisco

- Inquiries from my Inbox: 11-year-old Nancy asks, "What do you use for a shoulder rest?"

- Random Musical Thought: What if there canned music was played before and after classical concerts like at rock and

folk music concerts?

- Tips for storing your sheet music: ideas for categorizing your music, putting your music into a spreadsheet, and

where to buy good shelves and storage boxes for your music.

total playing time: 24:10

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[email protected] and listen for you answer on Inquiries From My Inbox!

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www.rachelbartonpine.com

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 36: Plucking and bowing at the same time - one violinist sounds like two! - Inquiries from my Inbox: 12-year-old Becky asks, "How do you learn to pluck and play at the same time?" - Random Musical Thought: The unanswerable question, "How many concerts do you play each year?" - One of the coolest violin techniques ever invented - left-hand pizzicato and bowing simultaneously. Includes musical excerpts from Paganini's Caprice No. 24, Paganini's Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento Variations, Ernst's Last Rose of Summer Variations, Paganini's The Witches, Mark O'Connor's Caprice No. 4, and my own Birthday Variations and God Defend New Zealand Variations.

total playing time: 26:40

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 35: Kirk Muspratt's innovative ideas about demystifying classical music - Upcoming Events: Montreal Chamber Music Festival: May 20 - Martinu Madrigals for violin and viola; May 21 - Bach's Goldberg Variations for string trio; May 22 - solo recital "From Mozart to Metallica": May 24 - Beethoven Marathon including the "Archduke" piano trio, Op. 95 string quartet, "Kreutzer" sonata, and Septet - Inquiries from my Inbox: Caitlin asks, "How can I fix my left-hand pinky?" - Random Musical Thought: Oscar Shumsky says, "It's not the bowings you do, but how you do the bowings." - A conversation with Maestro Kirk Muspratt, Music Director of the New Philharmonic, DuPage Opera, and Northwest Indiana Symphony. Kirk shares his thoughts about making orchestra concerts into special events for the whole community and talks about his creative programming ideas.

total playing time: 33:45

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Would you like to be featured on Violin Adventures? Just send your question via text or as an MP3 attachment to [email protected] and listen for you answer on Inquiries From My Inbox!

Thanks for listening!

www.rachelbartonpine.com

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www.youtube.com/RachelBartonPine

Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 34: Tips for preparing for orchestral auditions

- Upcoming Events: May 17 - Bruch Scottish Fantasy with the Puerto Rico Symphony

- Inquiries from my Inbox: Bruce asks, "Is it unusual for a soloist like yourself to have put in a lot of time as an orchestral player?"

- Random Musical Thought: Theologian Marcus J. Borg said, "Being part of a community that hears words and music from hundreds and even thousands of years ago delivers us from the provincialism of the present." - Tips for preparing for orchestral auditions: highlight things like accents and dynamics to make sure you don't miss any, be sure to learn the entire pieces that your excerpts come from, buy inexpensive orchestra parts from Luck's Music Library (www.lucksmusic.net or 800-348-8749), get new clean parts, listen to a few different recordings of each piece, practice each excerpt at a variety of different tempos, play along with the recordings to get the other instruments in your ear, make yourself an excerpt mix tape or playlist and listen to it over and over again, look at the orchestral score for each piece, talk to colleagues about their experiences, play for a variety of different coaches, try to play for someone from the orchestra you're auditioning for.

total playing time: 21:23

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Would you like to be featured on Violin Adventures? Just send your question via text or as an MP3 attachment to [email protected] and listen for you answer on Inquiries From My Inbox!

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www.rachelbartonpine.com

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 33: Tips for the day of a competition or an audition

- Upcoming Events: May 10 - performance at benefit gala for Chicago's Ars Viva Symphony

- Inquiries from my Inbox: Bill asks, "Why did you choose to change the tempo between the AC/DC and your own pieces??

- Random Musical Thought: Why weren't any classical musicians included in the recent internet gossip story about musicians caught picking their noses?

- Tips for the day of a competition or an audition: concentrate on playing your best rather than worrying about what the judges will think, don't worry about hearing a competitor who sounds amazing in the warm-up room, be sure to arrive early, bring plenty of healthy snacks, don't ever leave the building, don't ever leave any of your stuff unguarded especially your instrument or sheet music, bring a portable listening device and some good books or magazines, don't feel obligated to chat with others if you're not feeling sociable, bring along a designated buddy to keep you company, don't wear yourself out in the warm-up room, play an old favorite piece or listen to loud music on your I-Pod to get in a performing mood, if you're allowed to find your own warm-up spot a bathroom might be a good option, take time to center yourself rather than rushing to start playing after the judges tell you which piece to play, make sure your piano accompanist is ready to play before you give the cue, don't be fazed if the judges are writing a lot of comments (they might be writing compliments!), don't draw any conclusions from the judges' tone of voice, don't take it as a bad sign if the judges stop you more quickly than you expect, don't peek at the judges while you're playing, thank the judges after you finish if that would be appropriate, ask for feedback if you get a chance, be sure to show your comment sheets to your teacher, don't compare judges' numerical scores to each other.

total playing time: 23:14SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST ON I-TUNES!Would you like to be featured on Violin Adventures? Just send your question via text or as an MP3 attachment to [email protected] and listen for you answer on Inquiries From My Inbox!Thanks for listening!www.rachelbartonpine.comwww.myspace.com/rachelbartonpinewww.youtube.com/RachelBartonPineViolin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 32: Tips for preparing for competitions and auditions

- Upcoming events: April 25 and 26 - Beethoven Concerto with the New Philharmonic in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, April 27 - recital with pianist Matthew Hagle in Lake Forest, Illinois (music of Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Ravel)- Inquiries From My Inbox: A violinist from the Columbus (Georgia) Symphony asks, "What's that fuzzy stuff on your chinrest?" - Random Musical Thought: Albert Schweitzer says "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life; music and cats." - Tips for preparing for competitions and auditions: get your application form in on time, don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need to, get extra copies of the music and mark measure numbers if required, experiment with different warm-up strategies and orders of repertoire, get used to playing your repertoire in a random order, practice while wearing your complete concert clothes and go through your entire stage routine, practice introducing your repertoire, videotape your practice performances if you can, prepare your entire repertoire even if the audition timeslot is short, decide which piece you want to play first, be sure to practice playing your delicate pieces right after your loud pieces, practice your repertoire at various times of day, be sure to get basic maintenance done on your instrument before the concert, make a list of what you need to bring with you on the big day (snacks, music stand, rosin, shoulder bar, mute, accompaniment part, page turner, books and I-Pod, shoes), get to bed on time the night before and rest and relax even if you can't fall asleep.total playing time: 30:34SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST ON I-TUNES!Would you like to be featured on Violin Adventures? Just send your question via text or as an MP3 attachment to [email protected] and listen for you answer on Inquiries From My Inbox!Thanks for listening!www.rachelbartonpine.comwww.myspace.com/rachelbartonpinewww.youtube.com/RachelBartonPineViolin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com