Catherine Rinderknecht Moritz- Violinist
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There is No Comfort Zone

3/29/2016

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Over the past week or so, I’ve been thinking about how I can connect more to the pieces that I’m learning for my upcoming new music recital. To that end, I’ve been reflecting on my friendships with the composers, incorporating what I know about the composers’ other works, score-studying (this includes drawing pictures and coloring!), and reading the program notes for the pieces (if provided). For a couple of the pieces, the program notes provide most of the insight necessary and I only need to apply my life experiences and imagination to have a clear enough picture to present a musical and honest interpretation of the piece. Other pieces, though, have pushed me far outside my comfort zone and I still struggle to find ways to relate to them. 
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An excerpt from "I'itoi" by Jared Aragón, I'itoi is a Native American god that lives in a maze and inspires wandering. The abrupt tempo change made me think of running into a wall... or turning a corner only to discover a dead end.

​My struggle has perplexed me. Immediately, I become concerned that I may not be able to cultivate a relationship between the audience and the music. As I think about that concern, though, I realize that it may seem a bit presumptuous. My ability to find a connection to a piece of music is not indicative of my audience’s ability to do so. I can’t assume that I’m completely familiar with their musical or life experiences! However, when I play a piece of music, my goal is to find what is relatable and speaks about being human in the piece. My job is to make those things so abundantly clear that it has an effect similar to being “smacked in the face with a billboard” (to use one of my favorite phrases). I begin by looking for something familiar and keep exploring from there. Sometimes, I’m incredibly surprised by what I find. Aesthetics that I’d never expect to relate to or understand become a challenge for me to unravel rather than something that terrifies me. Oh, and I have a ball doing it! Exclamations of “THIS IS SO COOL!” are just as prevalent as “wow, weird!”   
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In this excerpt of "Rhapsody" for solo violin (eventually mvt. 2 of a larger work) by Jonathan Annis, the composer and performer are out of their comfort zones (but it's super cool!).

​While I’ve been pushed outside of my comfort zone, various conversations with the composers have made me realize that some of them have been pushed out of theirs as well by this project. From writing for instruments that are less familiar, to playing with smaller scale pieces, to writing in an entirely different style, I’ve been fortunate to hear about it. These revelations have added an entirely new layer of connection between the composer, performer, and audience: we’re all out of our comfort zones. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s pretty cool that we can all share that experience whether we're the composer, performer, or listener. It may even be good for us. 
As I’ve studied each piece, I’ve come to realize that each piece represents some mood or idea. Of course, I don’t actually know what the idea is for at least one of them yet (another way that I’m out of my comfort zone!), but that’s why we perform pieces over and over again. Each time we study and perform a piece of music, we’re different people and bring something new to the piece. Each piece becomes rather like an old friend- their behavior patterns, preferences, and stories are familiar, but you still learn something new from them every time you encounter them. It’s a distinct privilege to put together a program like this and I’m grateful that I can share my experiences with you! 

​Brief commercial: Please check out my upcoming events page for details about the recital featuring these pieces. I’d love to talk with you about your experiences with these pieces. I hope to see you there! 
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Forging Connections

3/4/2016

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Hello again! It's been months since I've blogged, but life happened and got hectic! As I've been working, I've thought of any number of blog posts that I could write, but have needed to prioritize my time. Now that life is settling down and I only have 3 projects going on at once, I thought it was time for me to sit down and write again. (And figure out how to integrate pictures into a blog post without it turning into a formatting nightmare.) I've also added social media icons to my website to help facilitate connection and openness with the people I want to reach. To that end, I have icons that allow you to email me, request to follow me on Instagram, and follow my twitter account. Since I blog so infrequently (maybe I'll finally become more consistent at that?), I want to provide other ways to share important or humorous moments from my adventures when I don't have the time to sit down and write a blog post about them.
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While returning from playing with the Amarillo Symphony in last month, my car reached the 100,000 mile marker. My conclusion? I basically live in my car now.

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Sparkly stickers make everything better- just ask my students! They earn stickers for showing improvement on their assignments and meeting their practice goals. 50 stickers earns a prize (of their choosing!).

As I was looking through previous blog posts, I realized that I haven't really talked about teaching yet. I currently teach 10 students between two different studios and I'm constantly learning from them. In fact, the twitter account I mentioned before exists mainly to share their insights and wisdom...or random things they say during their lessons. Like the time that one student told me that her violin is a baby violin and mine is a grown-up violin and I almost had a quarter-life crisis because children perceive me as an adult. Or the time a student non-sarcastically called me "ma'am" during a lesson... multiple times. Or the time one of them started singing about how "violin is awesome when your bow is straight!" While I typically share the silly things, I'm also learning something from every lesson I teach. I have to know why I'm having them do everything I have them do (yes, they'll ask!), and I have to be able to articulate it clearly so they can try it. I've also discovered how much of a responsibility it is to display my best posture, technique, and musicality for them because they imitate what they see and hear.I'm really lucky to have extremely creative and inquisitive students who challenge me to be equally creative and inquisitive. My students each have their own perceptions of the music they make and of music in general and their joy at making music inspires me when I find myself in a rut. 
Aside from teaching and playing with social media, I'm also preparing to play a fantastic program with the Amarillo Symphony next week (one word: FIREBIRD) and learning music for my new music recital. After some delays, the recital date is set for April 10th in Norman, OK. It's a privilege and altogether new experience for me to perform a program of music entirely by composers that are living (and that I actually know). For someone who plays an instrument where a majority of the repertoire is by deceased composers, I appreciate that I can actually have a conversation with these composers about their pieces, their musical philosophy, or even life in general. These pieces are stories and I get to be the first person to tell them! I'm excited to have this level of connection with the pieces I'm playing and their composers. I think my favorite aspect of this kind of collaboration is being able to work with people that I'm lucky enough to call friends, as well as colleagues. I'm living the dream, people, I'm living the dream! 
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One of my many adventures- discovering how useful and resonant practicing in a bathroom can be!

​As I bring this post to a close, I see a theme. Every project that I'm pursuing deals with forging and maintaining connections- with music itself, students, audiences, and fellow musicians. My challenge to myself is to be open to these connections in places that I might not expect, through music that may challenge me, and through students that ask a question that I'd never think to ask myself. I look forward to connecting with you again soon! 
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