Alicia Keys, are you reading this? Here is a cellist for you. Marc Christian Miranda started out the conventional cello way but has for the past several years explored a niche that is in high demand. When he sets out for a gig his car is packed with cables, mixers, speakers and his electric cello. Inspired by his own wedding, he's on a mission to make your special day, whether it’s a wedding or something completely different, as beautiful and memorable as possible. Marc's homepage: https://www.marcchristiancello.com/ ----------------------------------------------- Make a comment on the episode here: https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/podcast Send me an e-mail? Go to https://www.ragnhildwesenberg.com/contact

Does conducting an orchestra entail more than waving one's arms? Yes it does and Tigran Arakelyan is more than happy to share a number of the things you have to keep in mind as a conductor standing in front of an orchestra. Among Tigran's many credits is the historic feat of facilitating the Pacific Northwest's first orchestral concert at a bar. Tune in to hear his story from growing up in post-Soviet Armenia and Belarus, to finding his way as a musician and conductor in the United States. A way that still has a long way to go. Careerwise, is Tigran where he wants to be? And by the way, have you heard of Avet Terterian?

Lexi Nguyen is only in her 20's but is dead serious about her music. You can listen to her singles on streaming platforms while she's working on her first EP. We talk about The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, the importance of physical exercise, boundaries as artists, hateful comments, and whether or not to inhale in a recording... Featured song by Lexi Nguyen: Fever Lexi's homepage: https://lexinguyen.com/

"When they go back and analyze their practice for the past two weeks, what they mean was 'Every single bit has at some point gone like a dream, and I was hoping to play all those dreams lined up one after the other' and that's not how a performance works!" Being a cellist often goes hand in hand with being a cello teacher. Here we talk about how our cello practice and our teaching keep on affecting each other. We touch on -key moments of enlightenment in our playing and teaching -how all students are different from each other -what 'work-life balance' might mean as a musician -the fact that our practice never ends

She is singing and playing a drum with her foot while playing her cello. How did Diletta Fosso's journey in music begin? The songs featured in this episode are: 7 years (Lukas Graham) Makeba (Jain) and Counting Stars (One Republic)

Everybody's story is different - why does someone spend countless hours on making cover videos for Instagram? Why not choose a job with a steady income? In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Madeleine Ladore -a cellist who has been working on her business only for a few years but who has managed to grow a loyal following. "People like to hear the music that they like." Madeleine Ladore has walked the path from deciding to play the cello for a living, to make content for social media platforms, to learn about marketing and video making and how to get your songs into playlists on Spotify... It's a road that demands consistency and dedication before it starts to pay off, and after about 3 years the ball is definitely rolling.

Have you heard of the music box? Could a nebula in space have anything to do with a composer's research? In this episode, Ragnhild talks with Wilma Pistorius -a cellist, composer and Alexander Technique teacher who is based in Amsterdam. As a composer today, how do you make connections? Wilma talks about her approach to this, being herself on the introverted side and would be happy to spend the evening with a book rather than being out socializing. Being a composer today involves making oneself visible (and audible, of course!), doing one's own PR, taking initiatives and being proactive, and being able to step in at a short notice. For the past several years, Wilma has walked her path piece by piece, e-mail by e-mail, concert by concert, insta post by insta post... and the ball is rolling.

Kaja Draksler has spent the past several years composing, rehearsing, touring and recording. Early in 2023 she became a mother and thus a new chapter has begun. The featured music: 'Trboje' from the album Zürich Concert with Punkt.Vrt.Plastik 'Danas, Jučer Sutra' from the album Out for Stars with Kaja Draksler Octet 'Away!' from the album In Otherness Oneself Kaja's Website https://kajadraksler.com/

In this episode, Ragnhild talks with one of her cello students about learning the cello as an adult.

Emi Ferguson has many legs to stand on: a busy concert schedule as a flutist, albums recorded, being a faculty member of The Julliard School, and now releasing a book co-authored with Nicholas Csicsko. Is there room for more books about composers? Yes. 'Iconic Composers' is not just children friendly, but it sticks out in the way that it features lesser known female composers and composers of different skin colors. In addition, each of the 50 composers is illustrated by David Lee Csicsko. Boiling down countless hours of research into 250 words per composer was quite a challenge, but the authors found a useful approach: "How can we make people excited enough to go and learn even more about them?" Emi's love for research on composers is contagious. Throughout her research she has come across plenty of biases and censorship. How can she trust a source at all? -is my question. "It's hard to separate the myth of the person from who the person was, and I'm not sure we ever will be able to. What we can do is to get to the spirit of what they were trying to do." If you, like I do, find research do be rather overwhelming, you might appreciate Emi's take on it: "I think that distraction is a good thing. I've always followed the distractions because what's the worst that can happen? -That you learn something cool." I don't know about you, but after my interview with Emi I felt inspired to find a wormhole on the internet and learn something cool.

If I'm not at all aware of how my thoughts are treating me, I'll be a ball bouncing between the thoughts as they please. I then leave my state of mind at any given time in the hands of my thoughts. Do I want to do that?

Pop, rock, jazz, -many of these other music genres use chords more than the written out music we find in sheet music.

I'm going to skip ahead a little bit today, and talk about what you can expect if you want to join an orchestra.

'What to play?' is the topic of this episode, now that we have 1) our intention in order 2) everything we need to get started 3) a cello teacher 4) an idea of how to practice

You find yourself at home the day after the lesson and you think "What now?"

A cello teacher will likely see and hear straight away how you can overcome one obstacle after the other. A teacher can point out where you're tensing your body without being aware of it, and how that gets in the way of your playing overall.

So, you have a dream, and you have an intention. Next, you'll need a cello, a bow, and a case.

Become aware of your intention. Dare to be confident in yourself. Be in it for the long run.

A podcast is such a cheeky medium. You can click on thousands of different episodes and listen for free to people who are experienced professionals, rather than paying them for a consultation. Joel started his podcast -The Cello Sherpa- because of just this, of wanting to give something back and be of help to the younger generation seeking advice on how to get where they want to in the world of professional cello playing. "You cannot climb to the top of a mountain if you're not in shape." That's where the use of the word 'sherpa' comes in; a sherpa doesn't train for you or walk for you. You have to train and walk yourself. But the sherpa can keep you on track and help you reach the mountain top. As a cello student, you have to do a serious amount of work on your own. But to reach even further you can listen to the words of experienced musicians, and take lessons with them. In addition of being a cello sherpa himself, Joel Dallow has been playing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. He only forgot to bring his cello to work on one occasion so far.

Emily Wright is an American cellist and educator, an eternally busy entrepreneur. We sigh at YouTube comments, and laugh at our recurring dreams... She has been teaching since -96, but angry only on 3 occasions. She has come across numerous tuner refugees, and references The Wizard of Oz in her teaching. Emily Wright is an experienced cellist, with a book published, and a vision of offering the best cello courses for adults in the world. Do you think that a major 7th sounds like a tummy ache? Does the sound of a tritone make you feel like you're about to sneeze?