Teaching Mind and Body

Episode 14: Conductor Kenneth Woods part 1

Our guest today is highly respected conductor, composer, and cellist Kenneth Woods. Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “a symphonic conductor of stature”, American conductor Kenneth Woods was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra in 2013,  and has quickly built up an acclaimed body of work with them.He has recorded with the BBC National orchestra of Wales, the BBC Scottish symphony, He was principal guest conductor of the Orchestra of The Swan and He has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra and State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the English Chamber Orchestra, and has made numerous broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, National Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation He is also the  artistic director of the Colorado Mahlerfest. His Conducting mentors include Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501282/fan_mail/new]

Episode 13: Violinist Marieke DeBruijn

Marieke DeBruijn is a Dutch violinist and is the leader and founder of the Dutch String Collective, an active performing organization that does concert series and theater type productions. In this interview, We got a chance to talk about culture, language, technique, her practice regimen and preferred technique exercises, the ups and downs of performing in some of the top orchestras of Northern Europe including the Amsterdamn Concertgebouw, as well as her journey to finding her own career path, and her perspective as a woman in a male dominated field.  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501282/fan_mail/new]

Episode 12: Jesus Florido part 2

In part 2 we talk about more people in Jesus's life who helped shape his career, including his friendships with legendary violinists like Jean luc Ponty, Mark O’Connor, and the great jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. we touch upon his practice routine, and some of his innovative ideas on teaching violin. We also talk about The sharing of culture without the appropriation He talks about the inspirational story of his recovery from what many doctors considered to be an inoperable brain tumor and the new lease on life he got after his recovery. I am grateful for my friendship with Jesus and also that I can share this informative conversation we had. I hope you enjoy it and are inpspired as much as I was from it.  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501282/fan_mail/new]

Episode 11: Jesus Florido part 1

Happy 2026! In this episode I interview Grammy award winning and Latin Grammy nominated Venezualan violinist, Jesus Florido. We talk about his formative years, his training in the legendary  musical education program "El Sistema" of which he was a foundinging member and we also discuss his legendary teachers Margaret Pardee, Dorothy Delay, Larry Shapiro, and Joeseph Gingold and he shares  their insights. Since the interview was over 2 hours long i have split it into 2 parts. This is part 1.  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501282/fan_mail/new]

Episode 10 : April Choi on the Tightrope

In this episode, we welcome back April Choi to talk about the skill of tightrope/ and slack line. She holds a Guinness book of world’s records for the most whip cracks while standing on a slack line. I found myself comparing violin playing metaphorically to walking a tightrope, but then realizing that understanding the issues of physics and balance involved in that might be very beneficial for string playing,   Turns out, there are a surprising number of things we can learn from this skill that relate to string playing. From balancing and counter balancing to issues regarding the physics of string tension and how one compensates for that. Her background in engineering as well as string playing makes her uniquely qualified to talk about that. I discuss the take aways that apply directly to string playing after the interview.  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501282/fan_mail/new]