Collaboration in Musicianship

“I really learned the essence of collaboration: pack up the car and go! The result was a fun and successful tour….”

Several years ago when I first approached my father about a professional collaboration with another violinist in Western North Carolina (about a 3 hour drive from our home in Greensboro) I really learned the essence of these kinds of relationships: pack up the car and go! The result was a fun and successful tour in Cincinnati including the Steinway Dealership, the Cincinnati art Museum, and perhaps most importantly the Ronald McDonald house.

Now I have an exciting partnership with cellist Carlene Soderberg from Tennessee. I’ve just returned to Greensboro from the Volunteer State following 3+ days of intensive rehearsal with her on the Shostakovitch D Minor Sonata for Piano and Cello, and she will be coming here in March to continue our work. Intensely supportive teachers, parents, and of course the musician him or her self (they’ve got to work on their part during the “away” time so that time spent together is rehearsal, not practice time!) is critical for these collaborations to work. But as we sat in her kitchen Sunday morning and planned out our tour there was a mutual feeling of exhilaration that all the effort was worth it!