Two Teachers I've Never Met

I cancelled my home lessons today to go to  CelloFest in Fairfield, CT.  It was something I didn't organize, or have any obligation or even any real reason to attend, except that the teacher organizing seemed from different sources to be a good, caring teacher and I was invited and wanted to learn something about her community and this day she was putting together.  We exchanged several emails, asking one another for favors (I helped lead some things, and she let me use her carbon fiber cello).  One of the favors I agreed to do, to accompany a 13-year-old from NYC to CT, ended up getting returned such that the mother actually gave me a ride both ways.  The girl was a bit shy about making the journey with a stranger and since her mother would be driving her anyway, they offered to take me.

The day was really beautiful.  Over 60 cellists playing together.  There were some short rehearsals, improv sessions, luthier demos, a masterclass, and a final concert and improv demo.  It's just wonderful to bring different cellists from the community together, professionals, amateurs, different teachers, etc.

And the ride up and back home proved to be equally wonderful.  Not only did we share some common interests, but this girl, a student at a very special school in New York, studying with a wonderful teacher, played beautifully in the masterclass.  Several sources have pointed me towards the teacher with whom she works, and now there really is a pull to connect with this person.  It's funny how a person's vibrato, rhythm, phrasing and general approach can say something about the teacher with whom they work.  Already from interacting with them in the car ride, there was a sense of the established trust.  But after hearing her play, even more of a pull and desire.

And in the evening, the last of three Martha Graham programs.  I was very tired due to some late-night guests and an early departure for CT, but Andrew hadn't seen Maple Leaf Rag so we stayed to the end.  And I was so glad that we did.  I had seen it last week, and yet this time, perhaps because we were in the front row, the physicality of the dancers was inescapable.  And that was such a big part of the experience, a piece that quotes many of her works, laughs at herself and the paces through which she put her dancers, and the joy she found refuge in from her dear pianist friend when she felt despairing.  It was the last piece this serious woman choreographed, light-hearted after a very dramatic life.