I’m pleased to announce that I have released a digital score for my cello quintet arrangement of Schubert’s Andante from his piano trio no. 2 in E-flat major. Having made a recording of the arrangement (also available to buy), I should probably warn in advance of the trickiness, especially in parts 1, 3 and 4. Suitable for advanced cellists – grade 8 and above.
The score will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your payment (usually much sooner than that). If you buy the score and recording together, the recording will be available immediately after paying. Payment for both options is through PayPal, for which you don’t need an account – just follow the link under the login section to make a secure debit/ credit card payment.
Last month one of my favourite cellists did me the enormous honour of recording a couple of compositions by my husband and me for fun. The cellist was none other than Tina Guo. For those who haven’t come across her, she is a multi-genre cellist and composer. With her effortless technique and intense musicality she is equally well established in the classical, film music and rock/ pop arenas. As a classical soloist Tina has performed with the San Diego Symphony, the State of Mexico National Symphony, the Thessaloniki State Symphony in Greece, the Bari Symphony in Italy, the Petrobras Symphony and the Barra Mansa Symphony in Brazil, and the Vancouver Island Symphony in British Columbia. In non-classical, crossover and media music settings she has performed in a solo capacity alongside Hans Zimmer for the premier of his Inception score, performed and recorded as a featured guest with the Jazz/Fusion Miles Evans Band, performed at the Grammy’s with the Foo Fighters, at the MTV Movie Awards, American Idol, at Comic Con in San Diego featured on the electric cello in the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra, and with Brazilian guitarist Victor Biglione in a Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janiero. Tina is currently the featured soloist on the electric cello in Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson “The Immortal” World Tour, an international all-arena tour spanning from 2012-2014 and currently the highest grossing tour in North America.
The two pieces recorded were ‘Sakura’ and ‘Better Tomorrow’ – both for cello and piano. Since Tina is currently on tour and living in hotels, she has a very basic (but effective) recording set-up, and her ‘practice cello’ – a student instrument which can be thrown about in the gear truck. Without access to a piano or pianist, I sent her my piano tracks from the original recordings. In spite of the technical limitations, the results are pretty magnificent!
Better Tomorrow is a slow, wistful and lyrical piece for cello and piano. Suitable for higher intermediate cellists.Phrasing and tone are the main challenges in this piece. A recording of this piece by the wonderful Tina Guo will be released on iTunes soon.
When you have completed your purchase you’ll receive an email with the sheet music attached as a PDF. Your music will be sent to you within 24 hours of your purchase (in most cases, much sooner than that).
Sakura (Japanese for cherry blossom) is a composition inspired by oriental styles, but ultimately rooted in western music traditions. It is slow and lyrical, exploiting three octaves of the cello’s range from G3 – G6.
When you have completed your purchase you’ll receive an email with the sheet music attached as a PDF. Your music will be sent to you within 24 hours of your purchase (in most cases, much sooner than that)
I’m very excited to announce that a new cello album and method which I was approached to write and arrange last year is now in print and will be released on 31 March 2012.
The book is called Restart Cello, and is part of an instrumental series created by Wise Publications (part of the Music Sales Group) aimed at adults returning to their chosen instrument after a break of several years. As a teacher who has always welcomed and enjoyed teaching adult learners, I am passionate about developing teaching methods that are better suited to older novice and intermediate players, since most methods at this level are traditionally aimed at children.
As it is, there is somewhat of a shortage of cello methods better suited to older players. Those who took lessons during their childhood are always faced with an additional challenge: they know what they were previously capable of and often feel frustrated with no longer being able to play to the same standard. The Restart method takes into account that those using it are not complete beginners. They will almost certainly progress more rapidly than most beginners, and need to feel that they are making music from as early on as possible. Essentially, the book is a compilation of twelve specially selected and arranged pieces ordered from easiest to most challenging. Each piece is preceded by notes and exercises that carefully take into account the aspects of technique that need to be revisited when returning to the cello after a long break. To further enhance the music-making experience, there is an accompanying CD with beautiful renditions of each piece and accompaniments for the student to play along with. The chosen pieces cover a variety of styles and genres, which I hope players will find fun and enriching!
The Tower: a composition from the album Metamorphosis.
The level of difficulty for each part is as follows:
Cello 1: Higher intermediate (main technical challenge: sustained melodic lines in the higher register of the cello up to F5; some tricky position changes)
Cello 2: Intermediate (up to sixth position; some solo content)
To purchase the score and parts (£6), click the image below.
When you have completed your purchase you’ll receive an email with a username and password and URL to access the PDF download. This will be sent within 12 hours of your transaction.
Black Heart: a composition from the album Metamorphosis.
The level of difficulty for each part is as follows:
Cello 1: Advanced (main technical challenge: sustained melodic lines in the higher register of the cello up to E5)
Cello 2: Advanced (main technical challenge: cello two serves as a descant part and plays sustained lines in the high register up to A5)
Cello 3: Intermediate (mid range up to sixth position)
Cello 4: Easy
Cello 5: Easy
To purchase the score and parts (£6), click the image below.
When you have completed your purchase you’ll receive an email with a username and password and URL to access the PDF download. This will be sent within 12 hours of your transaction.
