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/ ` INTERNET CELLO SOCIETY ©
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\ _/ 'TUTTI CELLI' Newsletter, September/October 1997
TUTTI CELLI CONTENTS -- volume 3, issue 5
New Members' Message
ICS News and Announcements 2500 members from 59 countries!
John's Jabber Help! Tutti Celli Editor Wanted
Letters to the Editor
New and Old Member Letters
ICS Forum/ Cello Chat Board Screenplay about young
cellist
Music Festival Watch
ICS Library and Reference
Activities and Announcements alt.fan.yo-yo_ma
Other Internet Music Resources "First Notes
for Cello" software
ICS welcomes Guinea-Bissau (west coast of Africa)!
Countries represented by our membership include Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Finland , France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,
Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania,
Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States,
Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
http://cello.org/The_Society/stats.htm
**ICS could still use volunteers to serve as TUTTI
CELLI Editors, Reporters, Writers and Reviewers; ICS Fundraisers; and Forum/Cello
Chat Hosts
JOHN'S JABBER
Okay, I am getting desperate. TUTTI CELLI, the ICS bi-monthly newsletter,
has been in existence for almost three years and serves our 2,500 members
and the Internet music community. It offers updates on the ICS website,
announcements of events and other new related websites, and feature articles.
Every newsletter features an interview with prominent cellists; most of
the interviews are exclusively done for the Internet Cello Society by Tim
Finholt. The newsletter is the most vital and important part of our present
organization. I have tried to maintain high quality content. I can no longer
serve as ICS director and publish the newsletter as well. I really need
help to make the continuation of TUTTI CELLI possible. Please let me know
if you, or someone you know, might have the experience and interest to help.
Thank you all for your encouragement and a special thanks to those who have
contributed to the TUTTI CELLI newsletters.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
***If you would like to respond to something you have read in 'Tutti Celli',
write to director@cello.org and type "Letter
to Editor" in subject field. (Letters may be edited.)***
<<I just discovered your web site. It's full of great info. and interviews!
It is inspiring and will be a site to visit frequently when I need a dose
of inspiration to keep my cello going. Maybe articles regarding cellist
in rock bands bridging age gaps in listening audiences would be a nice addition.
Something about breaking down the barriers and misconceptions the younger
population has about the potential use of classical instruments in rock
/pop music.etc...>>
Thanks!
JMPrimalair1
**I whole-heartedly agree and encourage members to submit information on
all musical styles using the cello!**
John Michel
We were surprised and pleased to discover that our web page http://coastnet.com/dhouston/
was the winner of the ICS web page award. Through ICS we were able to
reach people who were interested in the current situation of Vedran Smailovic,
the "Cellist of Sarajevo". Our web page has just been updated
to include some more recent information, and since we are still working
on a way to allow him to visit Canada and perform here, we will continue
to maintain the web page, with new information as it becomes available.
Thanks to all the ICS folks who have corresponded with us. We hope to hear
more!
Deryk and Elizabeth
I would like to thank you for the Cello Internet Society. It has been a
great encouragement to me, an average cellist! I bought a cello 3 years
ago after a 10 year absence from playing and your web site has been a great
source for me... I found your repertoire page and grading page..(your levels
of ability and music to go with it) was a huge help. I have also received
many good tips from the chat page, especially in dealing with a wolf-note.
I just wanted to thank you for the web site, keep up the good work.
Yours sincerely
Mark S.
Part of the problem of being a private student is lack of having anyone
to talk to about it - not like doing a degree course where you can exchange
ideas. The ICS will give me the company I lack, it's so important to me.
Thanks again,
Maryanne
Embassy of Italy
NEW AND OLD MEMBER LETTERS
Please send me more information about your organization. Needless to say,
there are a limited number of cellists in the west Texas area. I would like
to participate in encouraging more people, especially young people to take
an interest in the arts. It was meaningful in my youth to have played such
a beautiful instrument. I would like to share my experiences with others
not only in my area but also across the nation.
Sam G.
I've just rediscovered the cello after a long hiatus. It was a real joy
to find your site, which has been very helpful in providing the materials
I needed to reestablish my technique again. One thought I've had is that
I would love to have some pointers to sheet music sources. The syllabus
that Prof. Michel put up was great, and I found I wanted to get some of
the music but didn't know any good sources. By the way, I do a lot of web
site design and am pretty critical, and I found your site easy to use and
truly interesting.
Great work, and thanks.
Steve B.
Victor Sazer is the author of New Directions in Cello Playing. His teachers
included Leonard Rose, Edgar Lustgarten, Claus Adam and George Neikrug.
After leaving Juilliard, he became a member of the Houston Symphony. He
later moved to Los Angeles where he enjoyed an active professional life
in the film, television, and recording industries and as a chamber musician.
Throughout his career, Mr. Sazer has been deeply committed to teaching and
is widely recognized for his innovative and creative teaching methods. He
served as an artist-teacher of cello and chamber music at the California
State University at Long Beach for more than twenty years. He is a past
president of the California American String Teachers Association and a founding
member of the Los Angeles Violoncello Society.
TF: How did your book, New Directions in Cello Playing, come about?
VS: About the time I began to write a long planned book about cello technique,
I became aware of the magnitude of pain problems among musicians from a
major study commissioned by ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony
and Opera Musicians). This study showed that over 76 percent of string players
acknowledge having medical problems serious enough to impair their performance.
In the light of this information, I realized that I couldn't write about
cello playing and not address issues of pain. The search for answers then
became my first priority. Is it inevitable that cellists sacrifice their
bodies for their art? Can performance-related pain be avoided? Are there
objective principles or criteria that can be used to distinguish healthy
practices from harmful ones?
TF: Did you find answers?
VS: I eventually learned that there are underlying principles and was startled
by their simplicity. They are observable principles of body movement, which
govern all human activity. We use the same body whether we are playing the
cello, doing brain surgery or chopping onions. We can gain tremendous insights
into our body's natural impulses by seeing how we use our bodies while doing
ordinary things. Increasing awareness of these impulses is the key to pain-free
playing. It enables us to adapt our technique to our body rather than the
other way around.
TF: How do you approach this in your book?
VS: Initially, the reader is guided through a process of self-discovery.
The best way to learn about your body is to observe how it feels when you
perform certain physical movements. The book asks you to perform a series
of simple movements, without the cello at first, followed by questions about
your reactions to them. Your body provides you with answers that deepen
your understanding about how your body works.
TF: Why make us do movements without the cello?
VS: Because it helps reveal the fundamentals of body movement with objectivity.
If you experiment with your instrument first, there is a tendency to revert
to ingrained habits. Of course, many demonstrations with the cello are included
further on in the book.
TF: Did taking this approach change your thinking about cello playing?
VS: It certainly did. No one could be more surprised than I by what I learned
and continue to learn by experimenting in this way. Many of my long-standing
ideas and assumptions about playing changed dramatically.
**The complete transcript includes photo**
Many of us have fantastic, creative inventions that we dream up but never
realize. Well as much as I would like to dwell on the point that I did think
of this invention many years ago, I am grateful that John Krovoza not only
thought of it, but actually pursued the idea and made it a reality. Recently
over the Internet I learned of the POSTURE PEG which is a patented, removable
key turning peg for the G and C strings of the cello. It is essentially
a standard peg cut in two and a metal key mechanism secured inside each
shaft. This allows one to tune the cello and then remove the bulky part
of the peg that protrudes from the peg box.
I and many cellists are constantly hindered by the C-string peg hitting
the back of our necks when we play. With the Posture Peg, slouching forward
at the neck was no longer necessary. Indeed many cellists avoid the problem
by raising their endpins high enough, but for those of us with shorter legs,
holding the cello securely is no longer feasible. Though I have only had
problems with the C peg, by replacing the G and C pegs, I was able to move
my head backward not only into a naturally balanced position but even beyond
without adjusting my entire playing position. Over the two months that I
have been using the Posture Pegs, I really have felt an incredible sense
of liberation of motion and have avoided all neck pain entirely! When playing
chamber music this summer I found my self looking at my colleagues much
more. I was able to lengthen by torso and felt several inches taller. By
opening up the body I was able to make larger physical motions and freer
musical gestures which boosted my overall confidence!
Initially I was very wary of detracting from the visual aesthetic of my
fine instrument by removing the two pegs. The luthiers were also very leery
of such modifications and what they perceived to be the latest transient
fashion. I decide not to bring attention to the pegs at the Icicle Creek
Music Festival, and none of the musicians or audience ever noticed the absence
of pegs. Because the instrument itself is not modified and the original
pegs can always be reinstalled, I see no reason why anyone should not consider
trying the new pegs. The only drawback is if you find yourself on-stage
without your key! My solution has been to keep the ring key with my other
keys and the peg key in my cello case at all times. If you are the sort
of person that has a second bow and set of strings in your case you probably
would never run into that problem. I hope that in the future John Krovoza
will realize a creative way in which to keep the key secured to the instrument
itself.
"Musicians are increasingly concerned with occupational health and
preventative medicine. In a 1989 study conducted by ISCOM, a staggering
76% of professional musicians reported enough pain to seriously affect their
performance. Cellists currently top the charts...75% of cellists reported
back disorders in a random survey of orchestral musicians by the New York
Times." appears on the informative Posture
Peg website . This simple invention has done more for my overall comfort
in playing than any other product since the Wenger cello chair. Cellists
identify with the hard-working, hunched over image of some of the great
cellists of the past, but the Posture Peg is one more advancement towards
a more ergonomic and natural approach to playing the cello of the future.
September/October Award Website:
includes information on Leonard Rose and a noble mission
**Please notify John Michel of interesting websites that you would like
to be considered for this recognition in the future. Websites will be selected
regularly based on their content, cello relevance, creativity and presentation
style!
ICS FORUM/CELLO
CHAT
*** If you would like to ask a question, discuss an issue or get some
expert advice, post a message to the official ICS message board called CELLO
CHAT . ICS forum hosts have been asked to check your posts regularly.
In this way not only do the forum hosts see your message but the entire
membership and Internet community! You are still welcome to contact the
forum hosts directly***
<<I'm working on a screenplay about a young cellist who hopes to launch
a soloist career. I need some good background on the business of competitions,
the best schools, the best cellists today/yesterday, etc. Any help you
and members of your organization could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Send e-mail to: wrighter2@aol.com>>
Thanks,
Michael
**Haha, it is very interesting that you are writing a screenplay about this
subject, because this happens to be what is going on in my life right now.
Well, I hope that I can help you and give you all the information you need.
If there are still any more questions, PLEASE ask. Now, if this is an American
Young Cellist who hopes to launch a soloist career, competitions are VERY
competitive for Cello. You might want to have him/her go to Juilliard School
(One of the finest music schools in the nation). Some other great schools
are Peabody Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman Conservatory,
Oberlin Conservatory, and the Manhattan School of Music. I would recommend
you having him/her go to Juilliard and then audition for a slot at the New
York Philharmonic because the competition thereis VERY high. Keep your
setting in New York City because that adds to the whole tone of the screenplay
in my opinion. Some wonderful cellists of the past would be Pablo Casals,
Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, and Leonard Rose.
Well I hope that I have helped you somewhat. Would you mind telling me
why you are doing a screenplay and what organization you are from. I am
just curious. But I wish you the best of luck with it and PLEASE reply
with any further questions.**
Scott Kaufman
- MUSIC FESTIVAL WATCH
***If you have announcements, comments or reviews of music festivals,
please contact Roberta Rominger at roberta@rominger.demon.co.uk***
16-19 Oct: Cello-Festival 3, Kronberg, Germany (in honour of Rostropovich's
70th birthday). Concerts and master classes featuring M. Rostropovich, Young-Chang
Cho, K. Georgian, D. Geringas, N. Gutman, G. Hoffman, M. Kliegel, N. Shakhovskaya,
m. Tchaikovskaja, W. Warner, and the Cellissimo Ensemble Frankfurt. Cello
and bow makers exhibition. Brochure now available. Email IKACello@aol.com.
If you know of cello society newsletters, bibliographies of music, teaching
materials, references, indices, lists or articles that should be added to
ICS Library, please send data to director@cello.org.
(Library contents will be available to all Internet users; please include
author and written statement of release for unlimited or limited reproduction.)
ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
<<I recently made a proposal for a new newsgroup for fans of Yo-Yo
Ma. You will find my article entitled "PROPOSAL: alt.fan.yo-yo_ma,"
under the alt.config newsgroup. I was hoping that if the ICS would help
to spread the word then enough of us 'net surfing cellists might head on
over to the newsgroup in order to give the proposal their support.>>
Sincerely,
Zachary Inman
inma0002@metnet.edu
**ICS will include this announcement and any other information on how members
can support such a cause. Please send specific instructions on how they
can support the new newsgroup idea as soon as possible.**
John Michel
***All members are welcome to post announcements or news that are pertinent
to our global cello society. Send information to director@cello.org***
"First Notes for Cello"
This is a new program to help beginner cello students to learn to read music.
http://www2.tscnet.com/~carner
or just tscnet.com/~carner
cklumsden@aol.com
The New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra
http://www.bobdevlin.com/orches.html
DrMoLarry@aol.com
Nordic Entertainment Worldwide
http://www.nordicdms.com
Downloadable Music Site: MPEG Music Archive, free mpeg audio players, vinyl
database, music links, web rings
adam@nordicdms.com
Cyber Symphony Orchestra:
"A meeting place for professional orchestral musicians from around
the world".
http://www.nettaxi.com/citizens/jgriff/music/cyberorch.html
The Smith Quartet
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~bluesnow/smith.htm
bluesnow@easynet.co.uk
Suggest other interesting cello related websites to our ICS
NET Surfers
