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Katrimusic on youtube Katrimusic on instagram Mestiza Music, the documentary airing nationally on your PBS stations June 2016-January 2017! Katrimusic on twitter E3Q video "Lonesome Luke" released on facebook Aug.29.2013 Chamber Music at Kerrytown Concert House with Stephen Miahky, Christina McGann and Jingwen Tu. Wed Oct.9, 2013 8pm Recital at the Kerrytown Concert House, July 20, 2013 at 8pm with Maria Sampen. a new video from Drew DeFour, featuring Kin Curran "Don't Be Afraid to Sing the Songs You Love" Leevi Madetoja on the Fennica Gehrman site - this is a good bio of my hometown hero! Katri on facebook May Erlewine's album "Golden" won the "Jammie" of the year, and the "best Americana album of the year" in Grand Rapids, MI. GO May! And yes, Golden is epic. |
It's already halfway through 2018, what happened (I should just title this 2018 since I'm averaging one post per year) I count myself very lucky to have the opportunities that I have - I love my children and my family, I love my students and I certainly love playing the cello. Frequently the three are at odds and we find ourselves looking for a better balance in our work/life/music. Very apropos, today I met up with a student who asked me if my family had affected my career (of course), and if I had regrets (none), and why my kids were so important (they are the best). I thought I was finally going to get some answers on how find that balance: I got hooked on a wonderful TV series Mozart in the Jungle about a love story of a conductor and a young oboist, a fantastical, quirky tale of the classical music and orchestra worlds... a special bonus, she eventually connects with some female composers from the past in season 4. Since I've been fangirling Clara Schumann pretty hard lately I was really hoping they would connect. No such luck: before I found any answers, amazon cancelled the series! Those rascals. First of all, this is one really well-made series about my world, and everything is amazingly accurate (well, as accurate as a dramatization can be - but I've actually had some of the same conversations almost word by word with mentors, so I can vouch for the realistic fantasy or the fantastical realism of the series). And, it won awards and apparently had a niche following. I'm mad! I want season 5. In any case, it prompted a lot of thinking and I think there's a resurrected blog in my future... As to resurrection.... the Muse Ensemble is making a come back! We are in negotiations for concerts in the fall, a couple in the books already and promo pictures in the can. I can't believe I get to play with Kyoko and Eva again, I have really missed them. And then, the newest endeavor: Last year, I played a Sibelius recital with Ruusamari Teppo, a Texas-based Finnish pianist extraordinaire and a direct descendent of the man himself: it was an instant kinship and we're probably related, cousins in 8 generations. I know it sounds like a joke, but it's not. We have formed a trio with the Finnish violinist Päivikki Nykter celebrating Finland's 100th birthday! The trio is named the Järnefelt Piano Trio, after Ruusamari and my common ancestors. We performed at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, MI, on December the 6th, on the 100th Independence Day of our country: an incredibly moving experience. We are performing soon in Finland at Ruusamari's festival. Last year I also I made some recordings and started my own youtube channel (thanks to pianist Tuomas Juutilainen for impromptu video shoot at the end of winter term, when we were both going nuts with schedules; Brad Phillips for asking me to play on a track with Jeff Daniels and Brian Vander Ark; and Andrew Bishop for writing beautiful music for an audible podcast and then asking me to play). So far my channel only has two little Finnish pieces for cello and piano, but more video is definitely in the works. Mestiza Music, our PBS documentary, is finished playing on PBS stations nationwide. It is a 60-minute telling of our journey in cultural collaboration and merging of two musical ensembles, Andean pan pipe trio and western classical string quartet, through music of composer Gabriela Lena Frank. The film was broadcast nationally starting in June 2016. WFYI Indianapolis has created a webpage for the documentary and you can still see the documentary on youtube through that page. We are also on facebook |