Strings Stories

May 07 2024 1

Articles from the pages of Strings Magazine - read aloud by the editor and authors!

Strings keeps you informed on the music, musicians, and instruments that matter. Published since 1986, our editors and expert contributors share stories from the vibrant community surrounding stringed instruments. For teachers and students, amateurs and professionals, players of violin, viola, cello, bass, and fiddle, Strings is your magazine.

RSS feed Share

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Earth Song: How Music Can Serve as a Response to the Climate Crisis

May 07 2024 13 mins

This story was written by Thomas May for the May-June 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by editor Megan Westberg.Nature sings in the work of countless composers in the Western classical tradition. The calls and flutterings of birds, spine-tingling thunder, falling raindrops: Vivaldi transformed a repertoire of found sounds from the natural world into some of the most memor

Cellist Anastasia Kobekina Creates an Aural Slideshow of Her Trip to Italy on 'Venice'

Apr 26 2024 10 mins

This story was written by Megan Westberg for the March-April 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author.Venice isn’t a place easily rendered. It is a place where imagination and reality blend, and not always harmoniously, where the past and present sit side by side. And to a certain extent, Kobekina wanted to represent Venice as it is and was, but she wasn’t parti

The Music of Julia Perry Finds New Champions on the Centenary Celebration of Her Birth

Apr 21 2024 11 mins

This story was written by David Templeton for the March-April 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by Megan Westberg, Editor. “I would try to figure out which composer it was all on my own,” Grammy-nominated violinist-composer Curtis Stewart says, speaking from his apartment in New York. “But the real reason I would do that, close my ears when the DJ was talking, is tha

A Conductor Takes His Place in the (Sort Of) Family Business

Apr 19 2024 4 mins

This story was written by Scott Flavin for the March-April 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author.How important is your relationship with your grandparents? Has it influenced who you are or your life’s path? What if you hardly knew or never met them?Support the Show.

Warrior Energy: Electrifying Cellist Tina Guo Plays an Integral Role in ‘Dune’ and Other Scores by Hans Zimmer

Apr 05 2024 12 mins

This story was written by Greg Cahill for the March-April 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by editor Megan Westberg.“I love that film and soundtrack music aren’t limited by preconceptions or genres,” says cellist, composer, software developer, and entrepreneur Tina Guo, 38, whose extensive film work includes the 2022 Academy Award–winning soundtrack to Dune. “An

Siren Song: Composer Nathan Davis Reveals the Bowed Psaltery and All Its Many Possibilities

Feb 27 2024 11 mins

This story was written by Megan Westberg for the January-February 2024 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author.The first thing you have to understand about the bowed psaltery is that it takes the shape of a triangle. A rather acute isosceles triangle, in fact, strung elegantly with a minimum of 32 strings that sing with bright silvery voices...Support the Show.

Maddie Denton Honors Her Family’s Unique Fiddling Heritage

Dec 17 2023 6 mins

This story was written by Maddie Denton for the November-December 2023 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author."I’m excited about this tune because I think it’s danceable, which is ultimately my goal anytime I play a fiddle tune."In the latest submission to our popular On My Music Stand column, fiddler and recording artist Maddie Denton discusses "Jenna McGaugh."Sup

Bach and Forth: Cellist Jan Vogler Plans a Collaborative Concert with Poet Amanda Gorman

Dec 12 2023 10 mins

This story was written by Megan Westberg and is read by the author. “I was, of course, like many people, struck by her eloquence, her incredible aura, and also by her poem,” says Vogler. “I started reading more of her poetry and also some articles she wrote, and then at some point, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t she be the most fantastic contemporary answer in poetry to

Alexander Hersh’s ‘Absinthe’ Project Raises a Glass to the Verdant Spirit

Dec 08 2023 15 mins

This story was written by Megan Westberg for the November-December 2023 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author. From music to video production to marketing to merchandising, the Absinthe project has been a personal, local affair. “One of the goals of Absinthe is that I hope it will inspire other classical musicians to maybe think outside the box, take risks, do somet

The Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Takes a Flexible Approach

Dec 01 2023 15 mins

This story was written by Megan Westberg for the November-December 2023 issue of Strings magazine and is read by the author.Through its repertoire choices and general performing ethos, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Ensemble is hoping audiences have a great time. “Joy! Enthusiasm! Pieces that people haven’t heard a million times!” says Urioste of what she’s excited to share. “W

More Episodes