On this web site, you can see my schedule of upcoming concerts and clinics, find out about books
I have written, CDs I have recorded and more. Check out this podcast at the Western Folklife Center about my work with Montana poet Paul Zarzyski.
Spring! First
thing's first! I'm heading out to New Zealand to teach at the Southern Hemisphere International School of Scottish
Fiddling! My new CD is mixed and mastered - I'm offering it in a limited release in New Zealand. Then it will be
available all over the web in May: Celtic Conversations, New Tunes from the New World" featuring performances
and music by Liz Carroll, Laura Risk and me.
Winter came with very exciting news: I've been selected
by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) to serve on the Ensemble – Traditional subcommittee writing
next generation National Standards in the Arts. Music Geek warning; I have been interested in this for a long time -
and was the Alternative Styles committee chair for the latest (2009) ASTA syllabus.
A happy fall of work
has passed. I just finished a couple of exciting projects: a Kuumbwa Jazz concert (Nov 29) featuring my original
tunes, jazz and trad tunes with my friends in "String Land" (video of small group directly below), and new string arrangements for the Wintergrass Festival Orchestra for two all-women
groups; Hills to Hollers and Della Mae.
With New Almaden Trio at Kuumbwa
I'm honored to be named Kuumbwa Jazz Artist in Residence for 2012 and 2013. I'm working with young jazz (string and wind) players at area schools, masterclasses and giving
pre-concert talks as well as performing. My first concert talk in 2012 was "Jazz Violin - a short history"
before Mads Tollings' quartet : A Tribute to Jean-Luc Ponty! Next, a pre concert talk about Benny Golson Yeah - THE Benny
Golson! He was travelling with Nnenna Freelon in his band. Then a talk about legendary Brazilian composer and performer
Hermeto Pascoal - with information thanks to Dr. Andrew Connell. And a fun interview with Bluegrass chanteuse Laurie
Lewis who was performing with her terrific new trio, Hills to Hollers.
Glad to be home after a marvelous summer
teaching in Colorado (twice!), Texas and California. All kinds of projects lined up - lots pf planning for
ASTA - strings 4ever this year and beyond! And choosing and practicing music for all of my beginning string orchestra groups.
Had a busy Spring. Played with Cindy Lee Berryhill at McCabe's in Santa Monica again. What a wonderful
venue! Gave a clinic at the Suzuki Conference in Minneapolis about the importance of teaching music theory while teaching
music. Our band, Reel of Seven, produced a new album: Dance for Joy Encore. And flew to Washington D.C. for my first ASTA Board Meeting. Really thrilled to be asked for my perspective on our mission
to put an instrument into everybody's hands. I've been appointed to the American String Teachers Association National
Board for the year 2012-13 to serve out another board member's term. Whoo hoo!
Here's a pretty tune from
the McCabe's Mother's Day Concert. I play melodica too.
I was delighted to be a clinician/judge with Byron Berline and
Michael Doucet for the Eclectic Strings Festival at the ASTA Conference in Atlanta, March, 2012. Amazing students and amazing bands. I'm so glad that ASTA introduced
the student groups to the eclectic strings competition. What a fantastic final show!
With the Fall came my
newest CD. Pacific Cello is a 72 minute single featuring cello music for massage, relaxation, reflection and gentle yoga and savasana. It's also
available from iTunes. Part of a new project with my producer, Shannon Brown, called "Berceuse; adult lullabies."
Two new string arrangements out! Appalachian Tunes from String Letter Publishing and Summer Choro from Alfred Music are both for intermediate string orchestra. Celebrate the Americas with these two groovacious arrangements.
You can hear an arrangement of one of the Appalachian tunes for cellos: Consternation below.
My CD, A Slice of
Summer, is available at CDBaby and everywhere for digital downloads. All my own tunes (except for a couple of traditional fiddle tunes). Jazzy
Americana with cello, sax, violin, and lots of others. A big big album.
The Wintergrass Youth Orchestra Gala (see
below for video) was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association for 2011 Bluegrass event of the year!! Yes!
It was an honor to be nominated!
Colorado Suzuki Institute, June 2011 I borrowed a nice cello from Robertson and Sons. It sounds great!
A Slice of Cake! From A Slice of Summer
Just played with Cindy Lee Berryhill and Randy Hoffman in
NYC and more to come with Paula Luber sitting in for Randy (on the East Coast). Also just performed with the New
Almaden Trio (Kristen Strom, sax, Scott Sorkin guitar and me) at New Directions Cello Festival. Here is the NDCF cello choir
performing my tune, Consternation. You can purchase this tune for string orchestra from String Letter Publishing.
Wow - lots of cool cellists out there. New Almaden's
CD is nearly done! I'll be teaching at all sorts of camps. Check my schedule page for places and times. Hope to see you
somewhere!
Winter 2011, ASTA in Kansas City! Did some fun bluegrass clinics with Andy Carlson,
worked on a new recording project with Liz Carroll, helped lead some great new educational offerings at Wingergrass including the giant new Wintergrass Youth Orchestra Festival, a reading session for teachers, students and
attendees, as well as teacher, adult and youth workshops! Oh yeah - and attended all of the rest of the festival.
Here is Laurie Lewis and her band playing with the Wintergrass Youth Orchestra. I arranged the string accompaniment!
Had a sweet Northwest tour with New Almaden Trio as
well as an East Coast Tour with Cindy Lee Berryhill. A whirlwind of places and great folks - new and old friends and fans.
Touring with Cindy Lee Berryhill on the East Coast in September (see Schedule).
Summer of 2010 brought Outbound Express for string orchestra,
a jazz train tune, level 3, available from Alfred Music, Amazing Grace and Simple Gifts, Folk Hymns for Beginning String Orchestra - at about level 2 (vln 1, 2, vla, vc
and bass) available from String Letter Publishing. In addition, String Quartet arrangements of Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: Christmas Songs for String Quartet. Intermediate
level for students - fun to read on the gig for pros and available from String Letter Publishing and Song for My Father and Besame Mucho, Latin String Quintet (violin 1, 2, vla, cello and bass) or string orchestra
arrangements at about level 3 and available from String Letter Publishing.
2010 Spring was all around - conducted my own arrangement of Besame Mucho for the Washington
Middle School from Seattle at an orchestra Festival here in the Bay Area. They were great! One student had written his own
jazz solo, and the other two had memorized theirs. Very accomplished playing from that string orchestra. I taught cello -
a lot of accompaniment and jazz soloing skills down at the gorgeous Big Sur Fiddle Camp during Easter week. Very exciting
news from Wintergrass where I'm involved in planning some amazing new educational offerings. More about that later.
Early 2010 and winter started off with a bang. Taught two clinics at the American String Teachers Association
Conference in my home stomping grounds of Santa Clara, CA then left immediately for Wintergrass in Bellvue, WA. Lots of fantastic
kids in our Wintergrass Youth Academy (directed by Beth Fortune and Joe Craven!), many many interested adults in our Bluegrass
Music Reading Session (new string arrangements for teachers to use) including a nice clinic by Brittany Haas.
She taught an Appalachian tune from her by ear, then I taught our readers to play harmony and bass lines for the same
tune from a lead sheet, then we played my arrangement of the tune. Then on to jamming and concerts for three fun-filled days.
February, 2008 at the Wintergrass Festival in Tacoma, WA: Darol Anger's Angles: mvmt. 2. (L-R) Darol:
solo vln; Alex Hargreaves, Tristan Clarridge, Tashina Clarridge, Jody March: vlns; Paul Kowert: Bass; Lauren Rioux: Viola;
Renata Bratt: cello
Great Big Taters!
Here's a picture taken by Gordon Stevens of Open Path Music out at Fambrini Farms.
2009 Summer was
a glorious time of teaching in the mountains (the Rockies and the Blue Ridge Mountains) and near the sea (UC Santa Cruz with the
Mandolin Sympsium, San Diego's Strings By the Sea Camp), writing fun string quartet/orchestra arrangements (out now -
see above) and performing and playing my cello and mandolin. Finished my last camp in September - teaching at the Valley of
the Moon Scottish Fiddling School where I performed with my heroes Liz Carroll and Darol Anger.
This past
spring I've had several new publications; Tangerine Blue and Strawberry Ice (Blues Rock Originals for beginning string
orchestra), String Letter Publishing; Hymns and Gospel Tunes for easy cello and piano (Bert Ligon wrote the piano parts), Mel Bay Publishing; and Midnight on the Water (Texas waltz for level 2 string orchestra) from Highland/Etling String Alternatives
Maybe it's just me, maybe I've
watched way too many silver-screen horse operas—from Shane to J.W.
Coop to McCabe and Mrs. Miller, from Lonely Are The Brave to Lonesome Dove to Dances With
Wolves—but Renata Bratt's GREAT BIG TATERS lopes me back
to my favorite Great Big True-Gritters. Because her verve roams the whole soulful open range of creativity.
Because her bow arcs star-to-star, vista-after-big-two-hearted-vista, across musical frontiers. In the keenly enunciated
words of The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling, "imagine if you will" Annie Oakley meets Pablo Casals.
Please email me if you have any questions or comments at:
