Journey #54 – West Jordan & Copper Hills High Schools – Utah. January 22, 2026
This group of young musicians all arrived early for our 7:30am session, instruments ready, focussed, and totally open for our work – they are wonderful. My performance was only one part of our 85’ session. We began by working with some advanced listening skills that I have developed over my many season in the MET Orchestra, then the Bach, and then we applied some of the advanced listening skill to their playing, using the Prelude of Ernest Bloch’s Concerto Grosso.
The room in which we were working was just about large enough for the group of us, carpeted and with acoustic tile on the ceiling. Hence playing and listening was a very intimate experience. I have to say there were a couple of moments when I was playing that my eyes started to try to identify a couple of brands of sneakers that were right in my line of sight! Almost made an unintentional cut to a different solo work of Bach’s that had same notes and sequence!!
My growing edges:
Creating compelling transitions in the Chaconne from minor mode to major, and back: these transitions felt to me somewhat mechanical, as did the opening repeat of the Sarabande. Way better in Journey 53.
Keeping my physical playing/posture in alignment with my Central Axis (also called Zhong Ding or QiPole): lost this connection a few times. It was at these moments when the emotional connection, or “wiring” with my Tone temporarily disconnected.
This was a very cool song to listen to. I really liked how many double stops there were but that it didn’t sound like a fiddle song at the same time. This song had so many really cool techniques that I’ve used and it was cool to see things like harmonics played really well and at the same time as tons of other hard techniques, it was just really cool to see. This is definitely a really difficult piece though so I’m glad I could see it performed well!
I was closing my eyes majority of the time and I was surprised by how much more aware I was of the music that was going on. I might try doing that sometimes in the orchestra rather than relying solely on me watching the conductor. I enjoyed the song and I liked one of the parts where it sounded similarly to the song we played, going from 2/4 to 4/4 every measure. I enjoyed that very much.
This was an amazing experience, Shem was very impactful in our orchestra and taught us a lot about our instruments and music. I’m so glad that we were able to have this opportunity and hope to see Shem again, whether it’s just watching his talent, or if he would be able to do another clinic. It’s inspiring to see someone who knows so much about his instrument and is so passionate about what he does. Thank you for coming, hope to see you again!
Absolutely breathtaking performance, conveyed such emotion and story. The fluidity and phrasing was immensely impressive!
Was so fun, exciting, and interesting to participate in! Made me realize that ever sing song, words or no words, have a meaning behind it or a story that it wants to share. Thank you so much!
Shem is literally the best! He is so cool and such an amazing teacher. Even with just around an hour, I learned so much! I learned things that will help my rehearsing and performing for life! I loved the way he connected with us all!
I really enjoyed the experience of having him there. I learned how to play better, as well as going through life better. His advice was really great, and I appreciate the time he took to give us some tips!
Being able to have this experience at school with my peers was so incredible!! I felt so connected to my instrument and the ensemble when we used the fundamentals he taught us. Watching Shem Guibbory perform his piece was so magical, his ability to blend with his instrument and in his words “let the music play him”. I absolutely loved this opportunity and I will definitely be applying everything I learned to my playing.
Learned how to breath better when playing which was super helpful. Awesome playing, and loved listening to the piece that was played!
Shem gave a well balanced clinic of teaching valuable habits for better playing. He demonstrated his skill, posture, and tone quality by playing a beautiful piece of music; he helped us begin practicing with a similar level of excellence by starting with us on our own music with the same tips he talked about for breathing and posture. He treated us with respect that made us eager to show him respect.