Taken from the old website. Original post date: June 19, 2005
I’ll start with an old Jewish joke:
A man was walking in the mountains just enjoying the scenery when he stepped too close to the edge of the mountain and started to fall. In desperation he reached out and grabbed a limb of a gnarly old tree hanging onto the side of the cliff. Full of fear he assessed his situation.
Taken from the old website. Original post date: March 20, 2005
The day I decided to drive down the Del Dios hiway was the day I truly understood the meaning of paradise. There was something so unique about the high rolling hills, and the small town of Del Dios (literally “From God” in Spanish) nestled between mountains and a gorgeous lake.
Taken from the old website. Original post date: June 12, 2005
One of the most common questions a pianist can ever be asked is: “How much do you practice?”
Years ago, I decided to permanently remove the word ‘practice’ from my vocabulary. Somehow that word has always conjured up images of an oxygen-deprived cubicle consisting of a student repeating passages over and over again until they resound in complete hysteria.
Taken from the old website. Original post date: June 15, 2005
If someone had told me at an early age what the music business entails, I would have moved to Tibet and become a monk. But it’s too late now!
Taken from the old website. Original post date: June 27, 2005
This was to be my dream trip for the summer and it ended up being the dream trip of my life. In 5 days, we saw more California than most people see in 10 years! It was to be a trip in superlatives; from the lowest point in North America – 282 feet below see level – to breathtaking glimpses of tall, ice-capped mountains in the distance, we felt like Indiana Jones embarking upon adventure after adventure while cruising fearlessly with our little 4WD jeep.
Taken from the old website. Original post date: August 15, 2005
Curiosity is a virtue of paramount importance for the musician. Unfortunately, many schools teach the opposite. Many schools stress the importance of knowledge or the act of appearing erudite in an otherwise ignorant world. However, it is curiosity which enabled us to learn thousands of new words per year as children, it is curiosity which fueled our dreams of becoming wealthy and powerful as teenagers, and it is curiosity which led to the achievement of some of the greatest inventions of mankind.
Taken from the old website. Original post date: April 26, 2006
Every so often, I am stimulated to write diary entries not so joyous. And let me share with you a short reflection based on a time where I had truly lost it all…
Taken from the old website. Original post date: August 26, 2006
I needed this experience to get away from my stressful pianist lifestyle. It was a form of spiritual rejuvenation. For weeks we didn’t have any hot water and a few times I ate food so spicy, that I literally fainted seeing stars and visions of the maharaja in front of my eyes. We were a fun group of wild musicians and hit some of the major cities including Chennai, Mysore, Bangalore, Delhi, and Agra where we concluded with the monumental Taj Mahal.
Taken from the old site. Original post date: September 22, 2006
I’m not a travel-holic. I do like to settle in one location and get to know the community. But this summer afforded me an opportunity to tour many countries, and it was WILD!!!!
Taken from the old site…posted: January 20, 2006
After a very successful chamber music concert with my violinist on New Year’s Day, we decided to look on the internet for a last-minute travel deal to some far away place.