Maryland

The first stop on our SCOR! Be-Inspired Tour was Bel-Air, MD. Last week we did a series of events there at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bel Air.

Our free beginner class had 6 people attend, and was a fun evening of sharing music and stories, and in many cases, trying new instruments. We had a good time with technique games, playing by ear, and improvising on a fiddle tune.

One wonderful story of the evening came from Ann Marie who, after waiting for a while to start so her daughter wouldn't feel the competition, began the viola, and played by ear for about 9 months before she was "discovered" by her teacher. He asked her to play a certain passage, and she said "Uh, oh!" She had never learned to read notes, but had developed this incredible ear. She is living a dream of playing the viola (an indestructible, carbon fiber viola, that is) while "eating, breathing, and sleeping viola", especially on the weekends.

Ann Marie, you go! Happy viola-ing.