Page 147 - PDF Flip TR Program Demo

anymore—has led to an overall huge increase of life
quality for me. Being more at ease with myself onstage means that I’m more at ease with myself in real life. To understand that the audience is not your enemy, but actually an integral and very crucial part of performance . . . I’m very grateful to have gotten through that process of understanding that performance is not a moment that should create anxiety, but actually should create a feeling of community and a
lot of happiness.
DH: Of all the things you could do in life, why play the cello?
JM: Like every other human being, I’m interested in communication, and the cello has enabled me to have a life
of interaction and connection. Now, why the cello spe- cifically? I fell in love with the instrument because of the low frequencies. I started violin when I was five, and I was really terrible. Then I switched over to the cello, and playing these low frequencies—even on the tiny cello that I had at the time—was so satisfying. I’m in love with the sound of the instrument. You have the deep bass frequencies, so you can accompany in Bach or Handel oratorios. You have the possibilities of the highest registers, which allow you to play solo concerts. But I think really the long-term answer is the first one, that the interaction and communication through music, with music, and whatever is enabled through music is really wonderful. It’s addicting, I must say. I’m hooked. I’m not going anywhere else.
2018 Summer Season 147