Sibelius, Family Style Part 2

Last Sunday afternoon I rehearsed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Berkeley College Orchestra of Yale University. My 21 year old son Stephen conducted. It was a wonderful experience for me!!!! The orchestra members were good musicians and very supportive. The Sibelius is a complicated piece to put together, especially if many of the musicians are playing it for the first time, as was the case on Sunday. Fortunately, we had a 2 and a half hour rehearsal to work on everything. By the end of the rehearsal, Stephen and I felt really good about all that we had accomplished.

The orchestra rehearsed again last night. Today I drive to New Haven, this time with my wife Jeanne. We have the privilege of staying in the guest suite at Berkeley College, at the invitation of the Berkeley Master, Marvin Chun. Then tomorrow, we will rehearse a little around 6 pm for the 8 pm concert.

I'm very excited, thankfully not too nervous, that the concert is almost here. I've worked really hard on the piece this fall, and I am enjoying the results to this point. I look forward to sharing the piece with tomorrow night's fellow performers and the audience.

Wish me luck!

Oh, here is the link to the BCO's website, if you would like to learn more about my concert and my son's orchestra. Above is a picture of my son Stephen.