Andrew planned the perfect date for Valentine's Day this year. We went to dinner at a fancy restaurant in downtown Seattle and then went to a Seattle Symphony concert where Pinchas Zukerman was the guest viola soloist. Zukerman in was one of the great masters of the viola and I've grown up listening to recordings of his playing ever since I started playing the viola when I was 10 years old...and there he was standing right in front of me. As you can imagine I was in heaven and loved every second of it. One of the pieces he performed was the Telemann Viola Concerto and the whole time I had a huge smile on my face and I had to restrain myself from bobbing my head along to the music. I remembered playing that piece with my junior high orchestra when I was in 8th grade and how I would listen to my cassette tape of Zukerman playing the piece as I prepared. The night left me in awe of this great performer, feeling like I need to practice a little harder and be a better teacher so I can pass on this beautiful art to others. I guess I could say the night left me falling in love with the viola all over again. Thank you Andrew for the perfect night!
