This sold-out performance was given in conjunction with Bassist Mark Helias.  The program began with my solo Bach Partita, and after a brief intermission Mark Helias played two *amazing solos, followed by a duet of my composition Ocean, and his composition 4 Entr’acts. Relying on the confidence I gained from my previous performance in Chicago, I simply let my understanding of the music and it’s inner story be my guide. Profound silence at the end was testament to the shared experience of this powerful music.  

Today I am playing the first performance of the 2nd half of the Journey of 100 –  it is a great privilege to be playing at my friend Alan Johnsons’s home on a celebratory day. When I started this project 12 years ago – almost to the day, in fact – I knew in my bones that it had something to do with standing up for the potency, the relevance, of live music, Bach brought to life on a single violin, for people gathered together a rooms large and small.  Since that time this notion of potency, of immediacy, has…

For the past 11 years I have been focussing intently on this music. I feel it is an unusually personal expression by Master Bach, I feel 100% in tune with his “story” embedded within this great work. Laura is internationally recognized for her wisdom and knowledge in the world of story where seemingly simple tales provide learning of great depth, for and from people of extraordinarily different cultures. I am so grateful to be here today, on this 50th performance of the Journey of 100, to “tell the story” for Laura, her friends and colleagues. ***** After the performance I…

This is Shem, writing about my experience of the #48 performance.   It might seem odd (to anyone other than a fellow violinist) to say that I felt happy about this performance – I do.   I was able to allow the music to move through me and simply allow it to be colored by the emotions I felt.  Not self-conscious in anyway, yet aware of everything.  Was execution flawless? No – however I am very clear that perfection per se is simply a cage of correctness.  Real perfection can best be approached from the state of consciousness that I was able…

It has been almost a year since performance #46 – and clearly the need for live music that can transform suffering is once again staring into our faces.  I look forward to playing for my friends.

It has been over a year since my last performance of this great work, and there could not be a more perfect setting than my friends’ home. This past year of semi-isolation and reflection has been a gift for my violin playing, with regular focussed practice without interruption producing a refined harmony between Music and my spirit, body and instrument. A change in the position in which I hold the violin, and a practiced integration with allowing bones and tendons to do the work of playing  (as opposed to muscles), has facilitated the articulation of the three – occasionally four…