The Winner of 2002 International Web Concert Hall
Competition
(Honorary Mention)
 Patrick, tell us
about your musical background.
My earliest musical training started on the piano when I was
three and then on the cello when I was five. However, because I was actively involved with
baseball and hockey as a youth, my parents were heavily burdened with the task of carting
me around to, basically, every town in Western New York as well as frequent trips to
Canada (even as far as Montreal!). All of this on top of shuttling me to Rochester for
lessons at the Eastman School of Music every weekend. When I was around 8 years old my
parents sat me down and told me that I had to decide between the cello and piano because
my daily life was too overwhelming. I distinctly recall that afternoon, sitting in my
living room and for whatever reason choosing to continue with the cello and to quit the
piano. In retrospect, as a musician now, I probably would have benefited from being
proficient in both instruments, but I think I gained more from having a well-rounded
childhood.
Who are your teachers? And when you recall some of
your teachers what are the first and best qualities you remember?
During the summer between the 8th and 9th grade I went to
Charlie Castleman's Quartet Program at Bucknell University and had the privilege of
meeting and working with Eleonore Schoenfeld, professor of cello at USC. I'm not sure how
she did it, but she cultivated and nurtured the small ounce of musicianship I had within
me and I think it was the first experience I had where I fell in love with the cello. Up
until this point I had my sights set on becoming a doctor like my father, but after the
summer I became a different person practicing every available minute after school. Scales,
etudes, thirds, sixths, the things most musicians dread were, to me, things of beauty and
I did them religiously.
The next great influence in my cellohood was my teacher James
Kirkwood, professor of cello at SUNY Geneseo, with whom I studied during high school. He
taught me the importance of being convincing no matter how I decided to interpret things.
I think it would have been very easy for him to say, "Play it this way" or
"Play it that way," but being the great teacher that he is he tested and
encouraged me to use my imagination to come up with something unique and touching.
For my senior year of high school Mr. Kirkwood suggested that
I play for and try to study with his former teacher, Aldo Parisot. Fortunately, he
accepted me and we arranged to have lessons every other week at either Juilliard or his
home in Guilford, CT. I have a very supportive family and a Supermom, she drove me every
other Friday seven hours for Saturday morning lessons and then back home to Batavia that
evening. Studying with Mr. Parisot was definitely worth the sacrifice and then so much
more. First of all, he taught me how to play the cello in every aspect. He broke me down
piece by piece and then reconstructed my technique in a more free and natural way,
utilizing the body more effectively and efficiently. After we had established the
TECHNICAL aspect of playing the cello a whole new world opened up to me by his sense of
color and timing. He has the most incredible imagination out of anyone I've ever met and
all this was done through his voice...he never once played for me which prevented me from
simply mimicking him. I believe that was an invaluable lesson to me and I wish there were
more teachers like him.
Another important lesson that he taught me was the importance
of being responsible in my approach to not only music, but in my everyday life as well. He
stresses the importance of being disciplined in order to reach your maximum potential as a
musician and person and I'd like to think that because of him I've grown in both aspects.
I continued to study with Mr. Parisot at the Yale University
School of Music and I am currently finishing up my studies with him at the Juilliard
School. There are countless things about Mr. Parisot that I adore and many more ways that
he's impacted my life, but if there's one thing that outweighs them all is the fact that
he is a better PERSON than he is a musician. He is not only a teacher to me but also like
a grandfather, mentor, and friend and I sincerely hope I can pass that on to my students.
When did you graduate
Juilliard? As undergraduate?
I graduated from Yale University School of Music in 1999 with a
Certificate Degree. This has ALWAYS required an explanation so what a Certificate Degree
is are Masters Degree CREDITS that will transfer into a Masters Degree upon completion of
my Bachelors Degree which I am currently finishing up this year at the Juilliard School.
Yale is the only place that I know with a program where High School graduates can go
directly into Graduate School. I did this because I wanted to study with Mr. Parisot at a
great environment like Yale University. After being at both Yale and Juilliard I would
definitely recommend going to a university. The benefits of being in an educationally rich
environment where there are so many different activities and interests going on are
enormous. One has to remember that the real world is not made up of solely musicians, but
a conglomeration of people from ALL walks of life and the more you learn from them the
more you grow as a person.
Tell us about your chamber music experience... and
participating in master classes given by a major figure in the world of Cello.
The majority of my chamber music experience has been in the form of
a piano trio. At Yale, my group met basically every morning during the week at 8 am and we
would work for only an hour before classes. That kind of discipline and training really
shaped my work ethic because even though we were all tired and not in the least bit warmed
up it forced us to concentrate under unfavorable conditions. It would have been very easy
for us to reschedule to a different time, but I don't think we would have been so tight as
a group or as close as friends...there's something to be said about looking into the eyes
of your partners when they look their absolute worst!
I would say one of my greatest chamber music experiences with them
was meeting the late Isaac Stern and his Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. For two
weeks we were bombarded with ideas from some of the most renowned musicians of today to
the point of frenzy and many times the ideas were directly conflicting. After listening to
their overwhelming advice and digesting it we took what we felt was most personal to us
and followed our own voice. The end result, in all modesty, was a pretty terrific
performance of the Schumann Piano Trio in d minor on what is now known as Stern Hall. The
hall itself was beautiful and acoustically perfect. I'll never forget the feeling, during
dress rehearsal, of having the entire hall to ourselves...completely empty and void of any
noise. You could hear a pin drop. At that moment, I was so happy to be a part, no matter
how small, of Carnegie Hall's history.
Do you like any other forms of art? such as
painting? a favorite writer? Tell us about it.
I am a huge fan of Van Gogh and my favorite painting is
Starry Night. The colors are so rich and the texture that he creates is out of this world.
One can only marvel at his talent and vision, but his perseverance and dedication to his
art were equally admirable.
I like a wide range of authors including Tennessee Williams,
F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, Ibsen, Wilde, and Charles Dickens, but I also like to
read about ancient civilizations as well as biographies. Sometimes I'll find myself
involved in three or four books at a time and inevitably things get a little confusing and
cast aside momentarily, but eventually I'll finish them and sometimes reread the ones that
touch me.
What do you do for hobby, if any?
I am an avid golfer and a diehard New York Yankees fan.
What do you hope to achieve ten years from now in
your music career?
Ten years down the road I hope to be playing solo and chamber
music concerts as well as teaching at a university. As aforementioned, I want to be able
to pass along all that I've learned from my teachers in the same selfless manner in which
they've taught me. I think we owe it to the younger generation.
MOL: I think we need to wrap up at this point.
So on be half of MusicalOnline, we would like to thank you for your time and we wish all
the success.
Interviewed by
MusicalOnline on October, 2002
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