RETURNING

The trees are taken down, the candles put away and time to relax and contemplate has ended...it is January.

December is traditionally winter recital month and early January comes New England High School Music Festival and All State auditions. Cello students have put aside most other materials in order to fully focus on these events.

Over and over we run scales and measure by measure we take pieces apart only to put them together again. This is preparing for performance. As I explain to the audience at our student recitals, we aren't being total ogres by having students give a recital, it just seems that way. However, getting pieces ready for any type of performance is a very different animal from week to week assignments. And once these recitals and auditions are finished both teacher and student can take a deep breath.

And then in comes January. In Vermont this is the longest month of the year. Unpredictable weather means icy rain one day and piles of snow the next. No sparkling lights to lift our spirits as darkness descends by 4pm. All this cello study resumes anew.

For us it means pouring over pieces to find the music that will lift a student into their next curve of learning while being aware of pushing too hard and inviting disappointment and discouragement. Our winter meal consists of scales and etudes with new duets as the dessert. Difficulty and fun need to be put on the scales as laughter is as important in a lesson as challenge.

Lessons come at the end of a workday. Schoolwork or work for pay doesn't matter- the student is tired and it is our job to greet each student with renewed energy from the last lesson, we are tired too.

But in the midst of this effort is the music, always the music. I watch tired faces lift while playing a joyful stretch of Bach and laughter at silly mistakes by teacher and student alike.

And so we come to terms with stoking the stove, wearing our boots and returning to our musical studies while we wait for that first crocus