The Mind Over Finger Podcast

In this week’s episode, I wrap up this series on the main teachers in my journey as a violinist with an interview with Northwestern University Professor Gerardo Ribeiro, with whom I studied during my doctoral years. Mr. Ribeiro talks to us about his experience studying with Ivan Galamian, how he uses mental practice, why we must develop the awareness to truly hear our own playing and assess critically what we are doing, and about the importance of taking ownership of our learning experience! 

I’m really happy to continue this series on the pedagogues that shaped me as a violinist with a discussion about another giant in musical journey, Zvi Zeitlin. I had a wonderful time talking about him with Michael Klotz, violist with the Amernet Quartet and Senior Instructor at Florida International University in Miami. Michael and I were colleagues in the Zeitlin studio at Eastman and we discuss our experience studying with Mr. Zeitlin and his lasting influence on our lives.

I’m really excited about today’s episode! I speak with Canadian violinist, teacher, and conductor, Jean-François Rivest, who was my teacher from the age of 9, when I began Conservatory, all the way to the age of 20, when I graduated from the University of Montreal! Jean-François and I have an amazing conversation about learning to listen to ourselves, paying attention, nurturing our imagination, live passionately, and broadening our horizons as humans and musicians!

Percussionist Cameron Leach and I have a great show for you today!  In addition to some great practice tips, Cameron elaborates on some very important topics, including how to clearly communicate to our audience through intentional and empathetic performing, why students must take ownership of their own learning experience, and why musicians need to be great friends to each other! I love Cameron’s perspective on those topics, and I hope you enjoy our discussion!

I’m very excited to have the talented, brilliant, funny, and (as you’ll see) engaging Tessa Lark to the show to talk to us about joy in practice and music-making! In this episode, we discuss her views about tackling work with the right mindset, the ways she sparks joy in her practice, and how getting in that joyful headspace not only makes it more gratifying for her, but also helps increase her productivity!

In this episode, I’m really excited to speak with cellist David Eby about the powerful effects meditation and consciousness tools. Among many things, you will hear about the importance of adopting unprejudiced mindsets, how you can bring more flow and joy in your playing, develop and effective automatic response mode when facing challenges in performance, and create inspired connection in your playing by accessing a higher consciousness using David’s 4-step process.

In this episode, I have a wonderful conversation with Dr. Immanuel Abraham. Immanuel talks to us about his path to a professional career, all things mindful and efficient practice, and the importance of learning to compose in enhancing your performance on your instrument! Immanuel has a wonderful approach to practicing and music-making and I hope you enjoy his story and find yourself inspired by his dedication and determination!

Today, I’m really excited to have Canadian pianist David Jalbert on the show! David is an extraordinary person, a brilliant artist, and a very dear friend! We have a great conversation and cover many topics, from finding yourself as an artist, to the importance of confidence in our progress, and how to learn and memorize music. David is incredible (and hilarious!) and I know you will really enjoy his approach to all things music and find tons of value in this episode!

In this episode, Amy Beth Horman discusses guiding young musicians toward a professional career and, more specifically, the mindsets and practicing habits she thinks they should acquire in order to reach their goals. Amy Beth has wonderful wisdom on the dispositions that can make a huge impact on the progress of young (and less young!) musicians and you will find this chat highly valuable!

In this episode‬, I chat with with Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist with the NY Philharmonic. ‬‬ We have a great conversation about attention and presence, in both practice and performance. Among other things, we discuss his journey to the NY Phil, the importance of absolutely loving music in choosing it as a career, how to nurture focus and make practice more efficient, and how to work towards having more flow in performance.

In this episode, I speak to Nick Plattoff, Associate Principal Trombone of the San Francisco Symphony since 2016. He and I talk about the audition process and how he went about to prepare for his SFS audition, how audition day was like, and how he prepared to step in to his new life as a professional musician in one of America’s top orchestras.

I’m so excited to start 2019 with a wonderful guest, violinist Chloe Trevor! Chloe and I discuss practicing and performing from several perspectives. We talk about dealing with injuries, practicing mindfully, how making practice videos can really help us progress faster, how to prepare for performances, and many other things! She has many wonderful tips and tricks in store for you, and I know you will enjoy this episode!

In this episode, I’m very excited to be talking to someone who’s had a tremendous impact on my performance abilities: none other than Dr. Don Greene. If you don’t know who Dr. Greene is (or you do but you’ve never checked out his work), this episode might just change everything about the way you prepare for concerts and auditions! He is THE authority on performance success for musicians! This is a value packed episode from the best of the best, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

This episode shows a different type of musical journey and approach to music-making outside of the classical world! I speak with bass player Kaveh Rastegar about his journey building a successful and varied international career, and his hands-on approach to creating music and to practicing. And, later in the episode, Kaveh delivers inspiring insight on how to continue growing after college, going after your dreams, and keeping your enthusiasm and spark for music alive.

Today, I speak with composer Jim Stephenson. Among many other topics, we discuss his transition from performer to full-time composer, why it’s important to look inside and listen to our instinct, why we need to have the right mindset in building a career we love, and how to harness focus in our work. Jim’s story is as testament of the incredible things that can happen when one follow’s a calling and takes a leap of faith forward, and his approach to following a path is highly inspirational.