Cellist of the Month: Stephen Balderston

While I was away, serving Marrowstone Summer Music Festival as their Student Life Coordinator this month, I had the pleasure of receiving a lesson from Stephen Balderston.  He frequently serves as a performer, and chamber and section coach for music festivals such as Marrowstone.  Mr. Balderston is a wonderful cellist and teacher. I could tell this even from just the brief time I spent with him. To read more about my lesson with him, click here.

Mr. Balderston plays with such a beautiful and confident tone! I'm super jealous and inspired, as I hope you are too, to practice even better to achieve this sound through my cello. Please take the time to watch the videos below, as I know you'll agree with me! 



A little about Stephen Balderston:

• Currently a faculty member of DePaul School of Music.
• 10 years as Assistant Principal Cello for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• 10 years with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
• Received his Bachelor's and Master's of Music from Julliard after studying under the great Lynn Harrell
• Has performed with Yo-Yo Ma!
• He is the cellist for the Evanston Chamber Ensemble and a founding member of Callisto Ensemble in Chicago.

Other Stephen Balderston videos to watch:  (Take note of his bow hold and posture!)

• Schuman Quartet for Piano and Strings
• Dvorak Concerto
• Masterclass Part 1
• Masterclass Part 2

One of my lovely student's, Linda, had the assignment of writing out the song she's currently learning. Because she's a kinesthetic learner (learns best by "doing") I needed her to use her hands and body to get to know the song better.

We both noted that Rigadoon is a Sandwich song-form. Her favorite sandwich? Peanut Butter & Nutella. A+ Linda!

I've been at Marrowstone this past week. I'm sharing the role of Student Life Coordinator with my good friend and bassist, Scott Teske. Aside from getting to chew out a few rebellious curfew-breakers, one of my favorite highlights has been taking a cello lesson with Stephen Balderston.

The hour with him was mine to use how I wanted (which is always great.) We talked "teacher-talk" for awhile. I wanted to bring up a few issues I've noticed with my students, things like bow holds, pronation, supenation, left hand fluidity, vibrato, tone, etc.

He suggested reading a few books, which I've already ordered from the interwebs. The first, which he mentioned in a masterclass that I missed (due to a camper's trip to the ER), The Talent Code. This one seems to align perfectly with my own philosophy of talent: "Talent is not born, it's grown." I can't wait to read how the author brings other disciplines like soccer, academics, writing, social skills, etc. together to prove this point.

Mr. Balderston also suggested using ideas from the book Playing the String Game, which has tons of games with secret motives for teachers to use in classes and private lessons. I'm always looking for more ways to convey teaching points and cello technique.

Aside from talking teacher-stuff, we got to work on my own personal technique. I'm so glad that he was as picky as he was - the things he brought up are the very things I've secretly wanted to improve for awhile now.

I tend to speed up my bow ever so slightly on the down-bow changes, causing the tiniest of separation between bows. This is a problem that no audience would be able to pick up on, but once fixed makes for a much easier listen. Remedy? Move my wrist less. It's not as simple of a fix as you'd think. Just takes slow, long bows and a very attentive ear.

I've got to get back to playing games with the brilliant students who are here. Marrowstone hosts some of the most talented children and young adults! I'm honored to witness each of them grow in talent through these two weeks. I can't believe it's almost over!

Worth every minute. Watch it.

"Sustainability" is a hot word these days. Its popularity doesn't devalue the meaning of it in a musicians life, though. We need sustainability. Unfortunately we are known for late night gigs, smoking like chimneys, drinking like fish, and living like paupers - a life that cannot be sustained by much more than foolishness. I'd love for this generic statement about musicians to be proven wrong, especially through my own life. Sustainability takes smarts and foresight - two things I think we'd all like more of in our lives.

In approaching the writing of this blog post, I've asked myself the hard question. What areas of my life are not sustainable? and Speaking honestly,

1) I don't move as much as I should. On my teaching days, I sit for the entirety of the day - cellists play sitting down. The nature of my instrument which is also the nature of my profession is to play sitting down. That's fine and all, but when your days are spend sitting down, eventually my arse will mold to the chair. Thank God, I'm not at that point yet.
2) I don't save money as much as I'd like. Living like a pauper might be the only generality that applies to all musicians at one point or another. I'm okay with that. I find fulfillment of life through what my hands do all day (even if I'm sitting down.) But as I put on my foresight-goggles, I find that if i continue at this financial pace, I'll never have the option of grad school, health insurance, buying a house, or eventually retiring. It's unfortunate, but money gives life options and stability.
3) My car is ready to kick the bucket any minute. Ask any one of my friends and you'll find that because of statement number two, I've had leather belts hold my car's hood down (now it's a bike lock.) I can't go 60 mph without the hood raising up 2 inches, threatening something worse. I've still got last years mail stuck in my back windows (holding them up.) and this month marks the 19th month of the everlasting duct-tape on my driver's-side rear-view window. It's beyond the point of hilarity. I now just roll my eyes.

Combining these three unsustainable ways of life, I've come to a fantastic and challenging solution... A Bicycle.

The Fall of 2010 will hold a lot more movement, a wee larger savings account, and no car hassles. I'm using the remainder of the summer to plan routes, purchase supplies, and prepare for easing into the vibrant bicycle culture of Seattle. Seattle has a "One Less Car" program. Zipcars. Green Lanes. Trails. Clubs. Blogs. Sharrows. Rides. Communities.

Awesome.

I'm even considering purchasing a Burley Kid's trailer to pull my cello to rehearsals, home lessons, and performances... Kinda like this:

Mr. Isserlis (Wikipedia) is a British cellist with quite a mop of hair on his head! Aside from his mastery of phrasing and use of gut strings on his cello, I think his hair is his most distinguishing feature! :-)  Steven began cello lessons at the age of 4 and through his first teacher, fell in love with the instrument. He moved to America to attend Oberlin College (very prestigious for musicians).  Now he performs all around the world, most especially in Europe, as well as writes!  He is the author of several enchanting little children's books. (Amazon) 

I love to watch youtube videos of his Masterclasses. Here is a snippet from his masterclasses on Rachmaninov and on Schumann's "Fantasy Pieces" from Prussia Cove.  (I'm amazed by his ability to talk and play at the same time!)  :-)

Mr. Isserlis has a few little games on his website that are kinda fun for little cellists, check em out! Also, read more about him on StringsMagazine and on Cello.org  ---  Oh, and I think this is absolutely gorgeous!

Download Pearl and the Beard's "Oh Death" mp3.