This presentation will focus on tone and technique tips I have found helpful for all levels of cello playing. The importance of posture, breathing, left and right hand set-ups, ring tones, shifting, and other issues will be discussed in detail in an effort to broaden the palette of teaching possibilities. Please bring instruments to try some things out!

David Holmes has lived in Minnesota since 1993. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Houston, and his Master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Kansas. David has taught cello lessons for over 30 years, and has been a Suzuki instructor for the past 25 years. He has been a guest clinician at over 50 institutes, both regionally (Duluth and Bemidji), as well as at the Chicago Suzuki Institute, the National Cello Institute (Los Angeles), the Oregon Suzuki institute, the Black Hills String Retreat (Rapid City, SD), The Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute, the Hartt Suzuki Institute (Hartford, Connecticut), and others. He is trained in all 10 Suzuki cello books, and has twice presented at the Suzuki Association of the Americas convention, once on group class instruction and once on teaching spiccato and sautillé bow strokes. David has been cello columnist for MNSOTA since 2009, and has published over 20 articles on cello teaching. He has also been published in the ASTA Journal and in the Wisconsin Cello Society Journal. His students have won the YPSCA, Mary West, and Varsity competitions in Minnesota, and have been first chair at All-State. David gives frequent performances in recitals, and as a member of the Northern Lights String Quartet. He is recipient of the MNSOTA Master Studio Teacher award for 2014.

This presentation will focus on what neuroscientists have discovered about how our brains learn and how to apply these insights to practicing and teaching so that practicing becomes more efficient and effective, leading to enhanced performance ability, enjoyment, and confidence. Topics include: how to get rid of bad habits, how to make things automatic/reliable, the role of sleep in learning, the power of mental practicing, how to use the metronome to greatest effect, and the benefits of random practice for enhanced performance.

Violist Molly Gebrian has distinguished herself as an outstanding performer, teacher, and scholar throughout the U.S. and Europe. Her love of contemporary music has led her to collaborate with many composers, often in premieres of works written for her. She has worked closely with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Pierre Boulez for performances at the Lucerne Festival and she spent the 2011/2012 academic year in Paris to undertake an intensive study of contemporary music with violist/composer Garth Knox. Molly completed her DMA in viola performance from Rice University and also holds graduate degrees in viola performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and Bachelors degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, in both viola performance and neuroscience. She served as the Assistant Director for two interdisciplinary conferences on music and the brain while at Rice, has published papers dealing with music and neuroscience, and teaches an honors course on music and the brain at the UW-Eau Claire. Her background in neuroscience gives her unique insight into how the brain learns and how musicians can use this information in the practice room.