MICHAEL T ROBERTS
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News/Blog

Judging the ASTA competition

5/22/2017

 
All I can say is that the future of classical music is in excellent hands. 

On Sunday, May 21, I served as one of three judges for the American String Teachers Association SF Chapter's competition finals, here in Berkeley at the Crowden School. Students of violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, or harp compete in two divisions: Youth (age 14 and under) and Junior (age 15-18). (There is also a Senior division that did not hold a competition this year.) This was my second time judging the ASTA finals, in addition to helping select finalists from a preliminary round of video auditions.

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Bach at the Polls

11/21/2016

 
On Election Day this year, I was invited to play solo guitar at the polls—in this case, our lovely local Episcopal Church, St. Alban's, where just two days earlier I had performed J.S. Bach's Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro as an accompaniment to their Sunday service. It is sacred music to me, even if Bach didn't intend it to be; playing it always feels like taking a long walk through a beautiful landscape, God's handiwork. 

Rev. Julie Wakelee-Lynch had the inspired idea to open up the St. Alban's sanctuary to voters as a place of meditation and prayer on a day rife with anxiety for many of us (myself included). I played for a half-hour or so in the courtyard between the sanctuary and the Parish Hall where the voting was taking place. I played Bach, I played some Celtic Airs, I played—optimistically—the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." ​​
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At the end of such a bitter and stressful campaign season, I was grateful for the chance to bring some music into that final, breathless moment before the decision was made. ​And that night, like most in our Bay Area liberal stronghold, I was deeply disappointed by the results. But throughout that difficult night, I tried to reach deep into the well of peace that Bach had given me earlier that day. In moments of stress and worry—so often needless, fleeting, or premature, but no less difficult for that knowledge—we need to take refuge in something timeless. Something impervious to the cares of the present, immune to our fears for an uncertain future. A flower turned toward the sun, a hug from a child, a few notes written to the glory of God in a distant century: there is healing, and hope, in all these things. 

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    Composer Michael T Roberts shares his thoughts on writing, playing, and teaching music. Comments? Please e-mail Mike. 

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  • Audio
  • About
    • Highlights from the Musical Life of Mike
    • Press Kit
  • Works
  • Commission
    • Previous Commissions
    • Commission Ideas and Process
  • News/Blog
    • Upcoming Concerts
  • More
    • Lessons
    • Duo Symphonious
    • Guitar Jukebox
    • Store
  • Contact