Sony has just reissued a recording I did with the amazing Andrew Litton and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Dvorak \’Romance\’ So nice to see it and hear it again…I remember that I was 23 when I recorded it in London and was working my tail off. My body was on the verge of breaking down with all the stress of travel and playing. Things seemed to be at a peak-high of intensity and I was just on the heels of being awarded the Avery Fisher Award as well. So many wonderful things were happening and yet I was experiencing numbness in my pinky on my bow hand. I was always into health and fitness and quickly learned that even the body has limitations, especially if the mind is overexerted. I saw a therapist who showed me what I was doing to my body with all that violin playing. Repetitive String Syndrome…:) It truly was. The thing with musicians and athletes is that you must constantly train and yet by doing so, you are repeating the very trauma/injury on the teeny tiny muscles that are helping you be a better player. It becomes a catch-22 sometimes (like much in life) but just the awareness of this and treatment (nice vacation) helped me tremendously, not to mention seeing the fruits of labor be cherished again.
Backstage with Il Divo
I had such a wonderful time working with Il Divo. They were super friendly and could really belt out those tunes….We started in Toronto and worked with an orchestra there, and worked with the Opera Orchestra of New York in New Jersey, Connecticut and Boston. I played Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ , ‘Panis Angelicus, ‘Smile’ with ‘Greensleeves’ and Vernon Duke’s scrumptious ‘Autumn in New York’. We played in an arena at Trump’s Taj Mahal, which was a first for me and concert halls elsewhere. The touring life is grueling with travel most the day, a rushed shower/check-in to the hotel, pressing of one’s stage clothes, warm-up/rehearsal and show. I was amplified for all the performances which cracked me up. Impossible to play ‘acoustic’ violin the way one normally does with an entire orchestra cranking in the background with this special combination of performers. The idea does not even compute, which is interesting in my opinion. They couldn’t believe I would normally go out and play an entire concerto with no amplification! One against 150! There is something to that I think…
Onstage with Il Divo
After that tour, I planned on seeing Chris Botti at the Blue Note for some fun (we met each other when I was a spring chicken of 13 years old at Indiana University)…little did I know that he was looking for me! I found myself furiously memorizing and preparing to play ‘Emmanuel‘ with him and his incredible band a couple days later in Greenville, South Carolina! We went on to play in Portland, Maine, New Jersey, Durham, North Carolina and West Palm Beach, Florida…I loved his brigade of super talented musicians..Billy Childs, Billy Kilson (speaks incredible Japanese!!), Mark the ‘Witty’field, the glamorous and gorgeous Sy Smith, Geoffrey Keezer and Chris Botti. All so funny and down to earth….Who knows who will be looking for me next! Maybe Mick Jagger? 
oh, that’s right…he is so not cute!
Playing on Stage with Chris Botti