violinist & educator

Wow. My tropical vacation in HI ended so abruptly that it’s hard for me to focus right now. I’ve been back in Boston for a week now, and the only thing that’s forcing me to be productive are my summer students. Sometimes, being a teacher is the most difficult job… but I love it.

The week at PMI started out slowly, but we ended up working so hard that time felt like it just flew by. I was very impressed with all the students there who exhibited focus, persistence, and determination, and maintained the high level in all the performances. I had the pleasure and honor of coaching the first movement of the Mendelssohn Octet (one of my favorite pieces of all time), and it was a learning experience for me and the students. It was a technically challenging piece for them, and I’m glad they pulled it off in 5 short days of coachings and rehearsals. I’m already think of the piece for next year… maybe Barber’s Adagio for Strings? This PMI was also special in that most of the clinicians performed alongside the students in the concerts. Thanks to them, I was able to recount all of my youth orchestra moments :) BRAVO to all the PMI students and it was great working with HYS and the coaches once again!

It’s wonderful to spend a holiday on the east coast.  There are many places to go, and so much to see.  This Fourth of July, Randy got a gig with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Pops, so that was a great excuse to hit Providence and see the fireworks.  Milton, my brother, was off-call that weekend, so it was great to hang out too.

Sunday started off with Randy and I playing in two church services where our good friend Greg works as the music director.  Both services were as different as night and day.  The first one featured a country/rock praise ensemble, which was hilarious in itself because the semi-serious congregational was punctuated by rambunctious, lively jamming from these guys.  The alternating contrasts was so absurdly shocking that I had trouble holding in some giggles.   The second service was more conservative; there was more classical music and a feeling of meditation over the congregation.  Both services ended with a national anthem of some sort to get everyone in the holiday spirit.  Chee-hoo!

We arrived in Providence around 1pm.  For lunch we stumbled upon Not Just Snacks, an Indian restaurant that received pretty good ratings on Yelp.   The food was yummy and cheap, though I think it’s a different style of Indian food.  I had my usual Palak Paneer, which was unusually creamy with stringy spinach, but tasty.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur: shopped at Providence Place, took a nap, watched Star Wars III…. Finally, we set foot to India Point Park for the concert and fireworks.  It was really nice out and not too many people on the lawn yet, so it was good soak up the scenery and chat with some friends in the orchestra.  The orchestra did a nice job and the fireworks were better than I expected.  It was a good day indeed!