Getting Started

I started the cello over 7 years ago as an adult. At the time, I was playing flute in an amateur adult flute choir, and my flute teacher, a violin teacher and a cello teacher brought their adult students together for an evening of music. Before that evening, I had not given a thought to the cello, but I realized that the rich tones of the cello made the high sqeaky flutes sound so much better. One of the cellists told me she had only been playing a year, and she sounded pretty good to me. I thought I might start the cello myself, to make the flute choir sound better.

About the same time, my family and I went to visit my sister and her three children. Two played violin, one played cello. My daughter, then about 10 years old, decided she wanted to play the cello, just like her cousin. So, my daughter and I started cello together. She no longer plays, but I am grateful for her early enthusiasm. I may not have had the courage to start a new instrument "all by myself."

I still play the flute, and I have since taken up fiddle and toy with mountain dulcimer, guitar, and piano, but the cello seems to define me.