Is It So If You Think It’s So?: Thoughts on Playing & Teaching Chamber Music - An Anti-Manual

Why does this anti-manual about teaching chamber music pose a question right in its title? The premise here is that certainty can spell doom in creative interactions and that not knowing democratizes and opens up the learning environment. Having taught at institutions such as Harvard, Boston University and the Longy School of Music of Bard College, and performed nationally and internationally for over five decades at venues such as Lincoln Center, the Marlboro Music Festival and the Library of Congress, the author reaches into a deep reservoir of experience to share his thoughts on coaching and performing. This book is essentially a plea for kindness and for an approach to education which breaks down hierarchies and the dominance of ego. It is a study of human behavior as it exhibits itself not only in music but sports as well. Is It So If You Think It’s So? is rewarding reading for all musicians, teachers and listeners.