End of May progress report

Though it seems as though May began only yesterday, it is coming to an end and June is about to burst out all over. A progress report seems in order.

I had an ambitious plan for May and June cello practicing and performance and started out in a frenzy (for me) of practicing. Everything, every day. For one reason or another, I missed a couple of cello lessons and a few practice sessions.

I started to concentrate on the first performance, the fiddle group performance on June 13. I am making progress on that. I have the four tunes mostly memorized, but there are still a few spots where I hesitate, there are a few intonation issues, and there is one tune that is just going by awfully fast.

Yesterday, at rehearsal, I used sheet music because I did not feel secure without it (I tried not to look at it), and the others (who do not use sheet music) said it would be fine, if I used it during the performance. I have two more weeks, though, and am really going to try to get to the point where I am ok without it.

The fiddlers were more complimentary about my playing than my intonation called for, and, when we were listening to a tape of our session, and I was thinking, gosh, I need to play softer, one of the fiddlers said, "we need to mike the cello." I don't think this is in our best interests.

I am playing with the adult piano students on June 12, and have a rehearsal with them this week. The music is easy (including the Berceuse from Suzuki, book 3), so I am just working on making it sound expressive and musical.

I have not done much on the cello duets or Marcello in the last two weeks (very busy work weeks for me), but for a time there I was feeling competent.

The Haydn trios are coming along for the June 20 performance. Still a couple of fast parts to bring up to speed.

Tomorrow, I plan to attend a performance of a string orchestra that I am considering joining for the summer. It starts June 8, and runs for 10 weeks, which is a little more of a commitment than I wanted to make this summer. But, the conductor is an excellent cellist, and I might learn a lot (if I practice).