My New Best Friends (June 5, 2025)

From left to right: William Shakespeare, who inspired Giuseppe Verdi and Vincenzo Bellini to write operas based on his plays, with some of those same operas inspiring Franz Liszt to write great works for the pianos.

As I get ready for my first rehearsal with the two singers, Celeste Siciliano and Philip Phillips with  whom I’m performing this Friday, I am thinking about how much time I have spent in the past  weeks with the four people above. I have studied the writings of Shakespeare, as well as the  compositions of Verdi, Bellini, and Liszt, and learned a great, great deal. 

The process has taught me so much about how to be a better musician, ensemble player, and  quite honestly, a better person, as I realize just how important it is to cooperate with other people  when working toward a common goal, both in music and in life. Mr. Cosmo has really helped  me to learn what needs to be examined in order to interpret the works of great composers, and  Mr. Alexander taught me many important things about being a collaborative pianist for singers. 

I am now looking forward to putting all of the things I have studied into practice, both at the  rehearsal, and the concert on Friday. 

Wish me luck!!!