General Course Descriptions

General Course Descriptions

Electro-Acoustic Workshops

Part 1: The Discovery

Electro-Acoustic is the interaction between any acoustic source and any electronic media. In these days of ever changing new technology, there are many new paths for our young musicians to take in expressing themselves through music and sound. In my workshops, I give an overview of the possibilities that are available and which ones are practicable for various applications, live or recorded.

We start at the source of sound and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various pick-up systems and microphones. From there we will discuss the routing of that sound through multi-effect processors, mixers. pre-amps and sound systems. My specialty being looping, we will explore this avenue as well.

The next question is how to control and program the machines themselves. Here I will explain the deep, dark secrets of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), and it’s routings and programming. Finally discussing analogue footpedals and electronic switches.

Part 2: Application

After some of the basics of the set-up are clear, we will go further into the application of these machines in making music. The integration of technology and our hearts. We will start to organize our thoughts in a way that our dreams can be brought into reality. With so many added electronic options, this type of structuring is absolutely necessary in creating integrity in what we will finally express.

Here we will work with the machines I already have in my Roadcase and any others that are available. I will show the process I go through, and discuss some of the other ways I know composition has been realized by some of my friends and colleagues. We will also delve into the interaction between various forms of media, i.e. Dance, Film, Theatre and Multi-Media Productions.

Performance Master classes

Part 1: Improvisation

After 20 years of Classical Interpretive Study, I found something was missing in my life. I began to try different ways to play the cello. I would often play in the orchestra and instead of reading the cello lines, I would play lines that just fit in the music. I began to realize that I was not necessarily limited to what was on the page in front of me. I began to get even closer to the composer and see, even more clearly how the music was put together. This finally led me to exchange my classical performance career for a study of Composition and improvisation in my own style. It took several years before I became really comfortable with who I was in all this.

Now, after 17 years, I feel I have achieved a sort of understanding of how I would like music to be put together, using what I learned in the Classical World and integrating it with improvisation and electronics. This is my own style that I will not impose on others who are searching. Since it is a difficult job to evolve from an interpreter to a composer, the time, patience, space and respect necessary, must be given to achieve this end. I am there to help others use my knowledge as a guide in realizing their own path.

So, my improvisation workshops will be very personal and relate very much to who we are individually, and where we would like to go musically. There are various exercises and techniques I can give to help in becoming at ease in these new situations, all depending on which styles are discovered at our meetings.

Most of the workshops I have led are with people who are just thinking of breaking away from their Classical Paths. This is because the Cello is known as one of the most Classical of all instruments and still, there are only a handful of “different” cello players in the world. As for the other instrumentalists, there is always plenty to discuss and try when it comes to improvisation.

Part 2: Classical Master classes

I spent much of my life as a free-lance musician in New York City, playing in all sorts of Chamber Groups, Chamber Orchestras, Full Orchestras, Broadway Shows and giving recitals in most of the major halls. I have had many well-known masters who have generously guided me on my cello and musical path, whom I am very grateful to. These accumulated experiences have, I feel, given me a good foundation to teach anyone interested in learning Classical Music and The Art of playing the cello.