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I couldn’t be happier about my newly designed and launched website, created by my friends at Kilmulis Design. These guys did a beautiful job. I love its clean, sharp design, its modern and sleek look, just how I like it! Can’t recommend them enough for all your web design needs.

It was great fun conducting a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf at public school PS 199 in Manhattan on the afternoon of May 1st. We had an amazing orchestra made up almost exclusively of my Metropolitan Opera colleagues, as well as narrator Alicia Minshew of ABC’s All My Children. I had performed this piece many times as a violist, but being on the podium leading it was something else. The piece felt both familiar and newly exhilarating, and I could especially appreciate Prokofiev’s genius in crafting this warm and slightly quirky Soviet-era tale for children.

I love these kinds of outreach performances, which bring music straight into the lives of others, casually but with complete dedication. It was an honor to be asked to conduct it. On a free Friday afternoon, we rehearsed for about 45 minutes and then promptly performed it for the kiddos. They loved it. And the best part is, my Mom was there to see her kiddo – me – conduct it!!!

I have been working hard on a number of projects that I am very excited to share with you. For starters, my viola album of solo works is in the mastering stage. I recorded it in June 2014 at SUNY Purchase, with the producer Judith Sherman in the recording booth. It took many months of planning and conceptualizing to bring this recital program to life. I had worked on nearly one hundred works for solo viola to pick out the seven compositions on the album, as it was my goal to especially focus on less-known contemporary music. The challenges of putting together an organic whole which tells a story were considerable. I am especially proud of the fact that it will include two world-premiere recordings, those of works by Pulitzer Prize winner John Harbison, as well as Valentin Silvestrov, one of Ukraine’s most prominent living composers.