Journey of 100
In May 2012, at Lincoln Center in NYC, I set out on a journey to share myself as an equal partner with listeners in experiencing the Chaconne: a profound work of solo violin music that is the culminating movement of the Partita in D Minor byJ. S. Bach. Player, Listener and Music coming together as a Trinity.
100 performances provide a long-term focus to refine my capacity to connect all the parts of this Trinity, and develop a violin technique that creates clear musical independence of the three and sometimes four voices that Bach uses in his works for solo violin.
I write today having recently passed the half-way mark of the Journey of 100. I am more certain than ever that this entire Partita is one of his rare, personal expressions, the five movements forming a continuous story of his personal experience of the Soul’s journey and his questions of Life and the Beyond.
Croton-on-Hudson, NY January 18, 2026
Upcoming Journeys
Chaconne #18 – PS K179 Brooklyn, NY
Well folks, I am really happy because tomorrow morning I am playing the Chaconne for approximately 150 5th grade Violin students at PS K 179 in Brooklyn. I am performing courtesy of Principal Bernadette Amato, Director Toby Kasavan of Neighborhood Music and Arts (who provides the music program for the school) and the children’s violin teacher Megan Berson. Stand by for the results in the next few days! ——————– Well this turned out just great – we had terrific support from Principal Amato the classroom teachers Ms. Campili, Ms. Moshitz, Ms. Orlando, Ms. Pacheco-Vitulli, Ms. Durka, Mrs Dibella and Ms. Crass, as well as the children’s violin…
Read MoreChaconne #17 – October 27, 2013 Private performance
5 P.M. NY, NY We were a lovely gathering of people, including one musician, in a beautiful apartment that was perfectly suited for live music; after the music we all sat together for quite some time sharing reactions and questions. I noticed that there was a large degree of ease and comfort among the group of listeners for silence, which to me is a testament to the power of the music. Our location was new to me, and I had decided that would arrive and just start playing, without excusing myself to another room to warm up…in lieu of…
Read MoreChaconne #16 – Chamber Music Conference August 15, 2013
A private performance late in the evening for colleagues – long time collaborators and good friends – here at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. It was a great pleasure to share this performance with friends with whom I have studied and performed many works of great – and not-so-great [smile] – musical significance. As we began, I was not so sure that I would play the entire Partita (what I first had in mind), but decided to just start at the beginning and let it all flow as best as it would after almost two week of daily teaching and rehearsing.…
Read MoreChaconne practice session August 9, 2013
Explored a new approach to the theme – using a very strong rhythmic edge to the pulse, driven by the Bass voice: it produced a greater differentiation of the Bass voice from the upper voices as well as a very strong overall forward drive…have to get off the notes faster and yet make sure that they feel and sound as independent voices of an emotional weight Fitnesstraining voor vrouwen vanaf 50+ Bodybuilding kwaliteit clenbuterol hydrochloride met verzending is ‘men’s physique’ de nieuwe bodybuilding? equal to the Alto and Soprano….thinking of Forkel on J.S. Bach: counterpoint = accumulated harmony – i.e. horizontal…
Read MoreChaconne #15 Music Party, Oneida Lake NY
July 28th, 2013 – performance around 12:30 pm. The performance took place on Sunday afternoon of a chamber music weekend amidst wonderful readings and wonderful performances by many musicians from the Syracuse area. Other than the first public performances this was the first time in the Journey series where I was playing for professional colleagues (as well as other musicians and music lovers). I was gratified to find that not only did my ideas hold up in that situation, but they were felt to be compelling and were taken as valid. I tried out a new understanding of pacing for…
Read MoreDvorak Beethoven Borodin – Free concert Sunday June 30 6-7 p.m. NYC
FREE ADMISSION: Music in a Garden 6-7 p.m. on Sunday June 30th, 2013 enter on West 89th or 90th streets between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues PROGRAM Beethoven String Quartet #2 in G Major (1800) Dvorak American String Quartet (1893) Borodin Nocturne from String Quartet #2 (1881) Shem Guibbory and April Johnson, Violins, Jessica Meyer, Viola and Peter Seidenberg, Cello
Read MoreShem Chamber Music and Solo May 22, 2013
Private performance, NY NY with Judith Kellock, Soprano, Rieko Aizawa, Piano and Peter Seidenberg, Cello Schubert: Sonata movement, D.28 (1812) Shostakovich: Romance Suite on poems of Alexander Blok, Op.127 (1967) Bach: Chaconne (performance #14 in Journey of 100) Beethoven: Trio in D Major, Op. 70#1 (1808)
Read MoreShem solo – Bacewicz Sonata April 24, 2013
April 24, 2013 5:30-7:30 Manhattan Producer’s Alliance at Zirazmin great program [click to see] including performances by Roger Blanc w/ Emiko Hayashi, Svetlana Smolina w/ Alex Sramek, Krister Linder, Rozanna Weinberger w/ Junod Etiene, and Demetrius Spaneas. 90 West Houston Street (btwn. Thompson & LaGuardia, downstairs from Lobster Smack) New York, NY. http://www.zirzaminnyc.com/ 1 to Houston, walk east (north side of street)
Read MoreChaconne #13 – LaGuardia High School for Music and Art
Journey of 100 performance #13 February 27, 2013
Read MoreChaconne #14 – Private Concert NY NY
This performance was part of a larger program of chamber music at the home of two wonderful music lovers on the West Side. I was bugged that I did not have time in our pre-performance rehearsal to run the opening a few times – but in fact it started out ok. Over the last month or so of *not* playing the piece (Wagner’s Ring operas and Handel Julius Ceasare at the MET) the independence, clarity and flow of the bass line in the theme and the first dotted-rhythm variations has taken shape. The overall Arch of the work felt intact:…
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