JAVS Fall 2020

titles. You can just imagine the repertoire. I enjoyed a skilled faculty pianist who went along for the sheer joy of it. I gave sixteen such concerts over the years. In 2008 I came to the end of my formal teaching career. My first retirement project: record the six Bach cello suites. Not for sale, but for me! The two-CD set was used for birthday and Christmas presents—a great hit, by the way. Early in my preparation I noticed my library held six different viola editions of the suites. I started comparing the editions as part of my recording project. Curiosity came over me and I decided to find out how many viola editions were currently in use. There are at least 16! Out of this came the article on the “Bach Violoncello Suites Arranged for Viola: Available Editions Annotated.” 2 Now retired, I perform occasionally, often at church, while giving clinics 3 , occasional master classes and judging. I practice because I want to sound my very best, always. Frankly, I enjoy my practice! Over time I have gradually reduced my practice time. Muscles began to ache and my first finger, right hand, acquired a touch of arthritis. In January, COVID-19 hit and the subsequent shut down of businesses including my gym. I had controlled the normal aches and pains of aging with a little blue pill 4 and by stretching with resistance and walking with some elevation on the dreaded treadmill. As my gym was closed, I had to be creative. So, I keep taking that little blue pill and, I do morning stretches, deep pushups against the kitchen counter, some squats, toe touching and daily walks of between two and four miles. Since everything was shut down, I created a new project for myself: re-visit the Bach Suites and memorize as much as possible, especially the Preludes. Recently, my daily practice consists of two sessions of 30 minutes each. I don’t/can’t run twenty minutes of Flesch scales and then some Dont or Ševčík exercises like I did when I was younger, much younger. I warm up on variety of less difficult pieces that I have played in church like Amazing Grace , the violin edition of Ashokan Farewell and Ave Maria. 5 This allows me to practice some shifting and vibrato while working out the “kinks” in my first finger. Since I have limited practice time, that time must be used efficiently. I have employed every practice technique and strategy I learned over the years. Actually, smart practice techniques have been a subject of my interest for some time. 6 Last fall, I gathered up my ideas and gave a clinic (Salon) titled: “The Joy of Practice” for the Northern California Viola Society. 7

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 36, No. 2, Fall 2020