Friday, April 24, 2015

Passion Party #545 - A Dream Realized

In 2010 when my son Evan was starting his senior year of high school, I approached the head of the music department and asked if I could write a piece for solo cello and string orchestra for my son to play at the end of the school year. Evan had already shown himself to be a very accomplished musician, and the school agreed.
In the Spring of 2011 the Adagio for Cello got its world premiere: Evan Kahn, Cello, with the Santa Monica High School Senior Gala Orchestra.  Jason Aiello conductor, Joni Swenson director. You can watch it here on youtube if you like
Evan went on to be a Cello Performance  Major at Carnegie Mellon University, and for the last 4 years he has been ripping it up in Pittsburgh.  In his junior year he asked me if I would like to take the Adagio and turn it into a full-blown Concerto for Cello.  I loved the idea (of course), and started work on the two additional movements.
Evan graduates in about 4 weeks.  He won the Concerto Competition this year, as well as a Chamber Music competition, so he is already scheduled to return to Pittsburgh in the fall as the featured artist in two concerts. Next year he will be continuing his studies at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

But on next Thursday, April 30, Evan will be premiering my Concerto for Cello and Orchestra with a chamber orchestra under the direction of Professor Daniel Nesta Curtis.
Here is more information on the Carnegie Mellon Website
Please join me, if you can, for this dream realized.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Passion Party #544 - Teach Your Children

If you could teach your children one lesson in life, what would it be?

This question was posed to a group of parents yesterday, and here are the answers (in no particular order)

 - Be willing to give.  Be of service.
 - It's all about your contact list, and learning to differentiate between who you meet and who you want to get to know better.
 - Don't give up. Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it
 - ASK.  If you don't ask, you don't get.
 - Everything in life is negotiable.
 - Don't be afraid to fail.
 - Have the right tools for the job.
 - Be open-minded.
 - Everything starts with a thought.
 -  Hard work is its own reward.
 - Growth can happen in leaps.
 - Have persistence - "When someone says no, that's when you go to work".
 - Luck does not just happen.  You can make your one luck
 - Play nice in the sandbox.
 - Worrying is a poor investment
 - Learn how to read a balance sheet and P+L statement - it will help you in more ways than you can imagine.
 - Be generous in life - always leave something on the table
 - Balance between career and life is a key to happiness
 - Listen - listen - listen.
 - Life has a bias towards action.  It's better if its "done" than if its "perfect".