Purpose/HypothesesAs an aspiring professional cellist, It's in my best interest that I study these grand concertos, such as the Shostakovich Cello Concerto. I hypothesize that learning and filming/recording this piece will not only better my technical abilities on the cello and further enhance my musical interpretation skills, it will also teach and prepare me for what it takes to be a successful hard working cellist in the real world. My dedication and time management skills needed to complete this project will also be utilized and improved upon during the process of learning the cello concerto.
Studying this major work has been such a big part of my life ever since I embarked on the task of learning and performing the piece. It has been an experience that has put my love and dedication of playing the cello along with my vast six years of musical development and knowledge to the maximum test. Completing this concerto has also fulfilled me as a musician who really appreciates and respects the art of contemporary cello playing. It has been something I've wanted to accomplish ever since I started playing the cello back in 6th grade, and has required me to practice hours and hours a day at home and with my private cello instructor/mentor Dr. Joyce Geeting, proving how this project has extended my learning beyond the SSHS classroom. I've also had to work with many pianists to find the best fitting accompanist who helps me bring the music I'm expressing to life.
Being one of the more daunting pieces written for cello, other concertos would normally be preferred to study and perform. Especially considering how technically challenging the work is compared to other cello concertos composed by famous classical artists such as Haydn, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and many others that we all have heard of before. This ties into why I picked this piece on a musical level, which was to showcase all the drama, sorrow, history, and emotional depth that Shostakovich portrays in his vast repertoire, particularly in this Concerto. Preparing the work this early in my cello playing career has given me the opportunity to really sit with and perfect the concerto over the time of my career. This also means I can compete with the piece and participate in professional cello/concerto competitions, aiding me in my dreams of becoming a professional cello performer. This concerto is what I have used to audition/apply to the most prestigious music schools such as Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, which both I have been accepted into.
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