Growth Archives

Wellness Retreats for Musicians: Why Are They on the Rise?

I knew there was no way I could practice the amount I needed and not just completely destroy my body. I wondered how other people did it. It never occurred to me in college that it was something I could learn - University of Denver, USA, 1989 On line, or off, pandemic or no, wellness retreats for musicians are all the rage. With so much more now on offer in music colleges and schools in terms of a holistic approach, I set out to find out why so many young musicians are drawn to finding alternative support. In a survey I recently conducted about wellness as experienced by students in music schools and colleges over the last fifty years, it became apparent that, from the beginning of this period, horror [...]

By Ruth Phillips|2024-07-24T19:25:38-04:00June 18th, 2020|Categories: Playing Healthy|Tags: Practice, meditation, yoga, breathing free, stage presence, breath, wellness, inspiration, Growth, power|

Finding Purpose and Growth as an Adult Amateur Cellist

Growing up, I never really wanted to be a cellist. I liked to play the cello and I could hold my own, but I just didn’t have the passion to see it through past college. Instead, I became an elementary teacher and now a district administrator. From that time, I played in several chamber and community symphonies; just cruising along with an incorrect mindset, a secret envy of my music major friends, and not really bettering my skills. I was busy with a teaching job, a young family, and cello was a bittersweet diversion...Time marched on. Several years ago, I had an incident in my life that very abruptly indicated to me that I needed the cello in my life and that I needed to start improving my [...]

By Tyresha Hale|2024-07-24T19:33:35-04:00January 3rd, 2020|Categories: Adult Cello Learning|Tags: Growth, Habits, learning, purpose, mindset|

Presence on Stage (Part 2 – Power vs. Strength)

Power versus Strength ‘When you have attained complete relaxation, you are able to be flexible and agile in your movements.’ - Zen master Yang Cheng Fu “To relax is not to collapse, but simply to undo tension….There is nothing to be done. It is not a state of passivity but, on the contrary, of alert watchfulness. It is perhaps the most ‘active’ of our attitudes, going ‘with’ and not ‘against’ our body and feelings.” - Vanda Scaravelli - Awakening the Spine. Building strength through force only promotes the shortening of muscles as they contract, causing fatigue and strain. That strain goes against rather than with our body. Developing power is another matter entirely. Power is a natural state. It involves movement generated from our core, a great deal of relaxation and a [...]

By Ruth Phillips|2024-08-05T12:55:30-04:00September 13th, 2018|Categories: Performance, Playing Healthy|Tags: tensegrity, inspiration, Growth, power, Practice, stage presence, power vs. strength, core|

Presence on Stage (Part 1 – Introduction)

Introduction Many people ask me on Breathing Bow retreats if stage presence is something we can practice, if it is possible to find a way to be exactly where we are - in a concert hall with an audience right here and right now, about to share what we love? I believe that the answer is yes. Musicians’ preparation on a concert day can range from taking beta blockers to eating bananas. However, as soon as we are on stage we feel fear. Fear of losing control or mental focus, and above all fear of judgement. Our muscles contract, our heart rate speeds up, we go blank, our bow shakes, we sweat….the list of symptoms for ‘stage fright’ is endless and for many of us, coping with them simply isn’t [...]

By Ruth Phillips|2024-08-05T12:55:58-04:00September 12th, 2018|Categories: Performance, Playing Healthy|Tags: stage presence, breath, inspiration, Growth, power, Practice|

The Britten Cello Suites (Part 4): An Interview with Colin Carr — by Aron Zelkowicz

Two of my favorite recordings of the Third Britten Suite are both by Colin Carr, with whom I studied during a summer in high school and then years later as a doctoral student. On both occasions I brought the Third Suite to my lessons. You first recorded the Third Suite on an album for GM Records, “Unaccompanied Cello”, with solo works by Kodaly, Crumb, and Schuller. Was this your solo debut album? I had a recording made as part of the Naumburg competition prize, Franck and Debussy sonatas and a few little Faure pieces, but this was my first commercial recording. Why did you choose to include the Britten with these other works? I wanted it to be all unaccompanied and didn't want to play Bach. That meant a [...]

By Aron Zelkowicz|2019-05-27T00:34:29-04:00November 21st, 2013|Categories: Interviews, Performance|Tags: Menuhin School, Growth, Suites, microphones, cello, Benjamin Britten, Music@Menlo, cellobello, Britten, solo debut album, performance, cello suites, analysis, composition, Colin Carr, Rostropovich, differences in performance, live-performance, interview, recordings, live recording, Aron, Menlo, Bach, Zelkowicz|

Self-Motivation and Summer Vacation — by Brandon Vamos

As I helped my students over the last few weeks in preparation for their juries and looked through my calendar to discover how many recitals I will be attending before the middle of May, it suddenly hit me. The end of the school year is upon us once again. That time when there’s one final burst of juries and lessons, tests and papers before summer vacation hits. And after a long academic year, summer vacation can offer a welcome change. I remember those summers I was attending summer programs, and had three or four weeks off, or those students who sometimes have the entire summer devoted to working or relaxation. But regardless of what your summer plans may look like this year, I’d encourage you to remember one very important [...]

By Brandon Vamos|2018-03-14T04:34:06-04:00May 5th, 2011|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery|Tags: focus, cello, motivation, cellobello, practicing, Experience, scales, Practice, improvement, Brandon, recording, arpeggios, scheduling, student, school, career, success, Summer, Growth, challenges, Performing|