Until last week, I’d been putting off writing thank-you notes for my son’s first birthday…that was October 6th.  To be honest, I’ve never been super timely with thank you’s (it was only 4 months after the wedding when we finally opened the box of blank notecards that had been staring us down all summer).  But there’s something symbolic about the thank-you notes: a tangible “it’s over” timeline, stamped with a date and sent away, that signifies the ever-running passage of time…

No matter how much you absolutely love your instrument, adore the music you’re working on, or cherish the composer of your heart’s desire, every relationship (musical or otherwise) needs a creative reboot from time to time.  For those of us who’ve been on the audition circuit, or in the umpteenth month of performance prep, you may be familiar with the feeling of #burnout: feeling overwhelming stress and pressure to execute that makes it almost impossible to cultivate a sense of juicy wonder and passion for truly “musical” and inspired performance.  But how do you get “inspired” by your 200th run-through of Waltz of the Flowers?