Sarah Matthews, a wonderful cellist who has been teaching and performing at Mitchell Conservatorium for the past two years, makes playing the cello look easy. She even sounds great if you catch her practising her scales.
But in a recent Performance Opportunity, Sarah explained to us non-string players just how hard it is to create those beautiful sounds. Sarah says
a great string player is like a whizz at darts who hits the bullseye every time!
During the past week it has been my privilege to accompany Finella McBurney, Sarah Walls, and Emily and Tom Lindsay, who are young violinists studying at Mitchell Conservatorium. Finella and Emily are about the age I was when I began learning the piano, and Sarah and Tom are just a little older.
I am amazed at how clever they are at getting so many bullseyes as they tune each note as they play! When I began music lessons, all I had to do was put my fingers on the piano and occasionally play two notes at once, already tuned for me by our faithful piano tuner.
The exams they were preparing for were held yesterday, and all four received good results for their hard work. Congratulations are also due to their teachers and families, who are clearly partners in the process of learning to create the great sounds they are making.
