Back to violin…

Hey there, no question as to what this blog is about. I’m excited to say that I begin teaching violin lessons for a music school near Houston tomorrow, Tuesday, August 13th. Amen. Also, I wanted to share something with you, I was practicing the violin today and my heart led me to big aspirations for myself. Wanna know where my heart led me? To be the concertmaster of the Houston Symphony. This may sound funny given all the things I have been through, but with a little (or a lot) of practice everyday, who knows what can be accomplished.

Now, does that mean I put all my eggs in one basket like I have in the past? No, it doesn’t to me at this time. What it is saying is simply to follow my heart and I will be led into the place I need to be. Amen.

So, for now, I am concentrating on the violin as a teacher and a student. I plan on purchasing some new music to practice very soon on the instrument. I even have thought about gigging on the violin to brush up even more on my skills.

Ah, for those of you who don’t know, I went to school for the viola. But, I started playing the violin at the age of four and had 9 years with the instrument before being asked to switch to viola by my middle school orchestra teacher.

The viola led me to great success, culminating in a second-chair placement for the Texas All-State Orchestra, after site-reading one of the excerpts. This was a big accomplishment for me in high school. I went on to study viola at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Moores School of Music, where I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s respectively. But, it wasn’t until recently that I picked up the violin again and thought, wow, I really miss playing it.

The viola and the violin are played in a very similar fashion, with very little differences. The main difference is the register of the instrument. The viola has a lower register than the violin, and therefore, the violin has a higher register than the viola.

A key point in my interest in picking up the violin again is the ease at which it comes for me to play. Also, the repertoire for violin is enormous, where the viola has less repertoire and less concertos. For those of you who don’t know the term concerto, it is when the soloist, no matter the instrument, steps onstage in front of the orchestra to perform a piece for the chosen instrument and orchestra. It’s a highlight of many violinists experiences, if they ever have the chance to play a concerto.

I have had the opportunity one time in my life, and it was life changing. It came directly after my switch to viola and was a double concerto, meaning I shared the stage with a then friend of mine who also played the viola. The piece was the Telemann Concerto for Two Violas and I played it with the Lanier MIddels School Orchestra. The feeling was invigorating and I felt at home in a weird way. This is another reason I may decide to chase the dream of returning to center stage. Amen.

All that said, follow your heart. That’s my advice. It’s a long-shot for me to say I will be a concertmaster one day, but if I follow my heart everyday, I just might get there.

Peace and Love,

Travis Galbraith