A Tribute To Orlando Cole

Orlando Cole and me during a masterclass at Curtis in the mid-80s. My sincere thanks to Curtis Institute of Music for providing this photo.

Today, my great mentor, teacher, and colleague, Orlando Cole died peacefully after saying to his nurse, “Well, I’m ready.” “God will come for you in His time,” said his nurse to whom Landy softly replied, “Well, tell Him to hurry.”

Lucid to the end with family by his side they listened to Schubert’s Cello Quintet. He was, even in the end, an inspiration to us all; as human beings, as musicians, and as vibrant spirits.

In my own life, I never met anyone so understanding, generous, and vitally connected to his love of music, family, friends, and his students. I am deeply indebted to his quality as an artist as well as his awe of the great works that we are privileged to play and hear. He was one of a kind and over the course of his wonderfully long and full life; he witnessed so much change since starting out as a young cellist in the late 1920’s. (more…)

A Whirlwind Weekend In Chicago

What fun it was to spend the last few days in Chicago and I wanted to take a quick moment to post some photos from the trip.

WFMT, Guest Host
Friday, 1/8/2010

That's WFMT announcer Kerry Frumkin on the left. He did an outstanding job and was a wonderful host.

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Appearing today on WFMT at 1:00pm CT

I am so happy to be appearing on WFMT today as a guest host alongside Kerry Frumkin. For those in the Chicago area, you can listen on 98.7FM and for everyone else, you can tune in online or even through your smartphone! WFMT has instructions here. If possible, I’ll see about posting an archived copy of the show once it is available.