I wish we’d had some cool music of the times when I was in youth orchestras in the late 60s and early 70s.

“Imagine” incorporating the repertoire of those days?!

I am so happy to see that times have changed for string players.  We are allowed to enjoy a world’s worth of music and not be penned into Classical European corrals. Ya gotta get technique and chops from somewhere, the repertoire is awesome and inspiring.  However there’s lots more.

Julie Lyonn Lieberman was going global back in the 70s. Her radio Broadcasts of the history of violin playing (American) through the decades was an amazing audio compilation and history lesson.  She has gone on to begin the Alternative Strings section for ASTA. We got a voice! We were almost “legit”

I was privileged to give workshops on North Indian Music, to translate some of the mysteries of form, techniques. Sharing my  global musical experiences.

Meeting and playing alongside Mark Wood, and with Mark O’Connor (now in residence at Univ of Miami) , Christian Howes- Jerry Goodman, Jean Luc Ponty, Michael Urbaniak, Noel Pointer and more  whom I haven’t mentioned have shaken the trees with gusto for so long that it was inevitable that we reached a “Tipping Point”.

I missed out on the music of my generation because I had to just study Classical. That’s what serious players did.  But later in life, by about age 19 (when I got my first Professional  job with the RI Phil), I certainly stepped out of the mold by going electric with a custom solid body, improvising and then taking up a whole new & intense course of study- North Indian Classical music (Raga)

Anyway…to all the young players…keep on pushing the boundaries….there are none : )