Taking the Opportunity and Running With It

After recently finishing my work with the quartet I was a part of, and facing the hard reality that most music students go through upon initially leaving education and realising that they must now look for some kind of work, I decided that now was my window to really start exploring  and  getting into the baroque violin world.  Why not? I was bored of being told what to do by professors I disagreed with, and not interested in participating in the modern violin rat race. Moreover, I wanted to continue on the amazing path of discovery that I had begun with the d minor Partita.

Sitting at home on one Wednesday afternoon, only a  couple of weeks ago now, I browsed on the websites of The Juilliard School Early Music Department, about which I have heard many great things, and The Royal Conservatory of The Hague Early Music Department.  I recognised one of the names under the baroque violin professors category in The Hague; Walter Reiter.  I had met Walter many years ago in London and remembered having a lesson with him on Bach when I was about thirteen.  I decided to write him a spontaneous email there and then, telling him that I was thinking of really exploring baroque violin and asking if it would be possible to come and play for him at some point.  He wrote back almost immediately with an email that totally took me by surprise!   He said he had a space in his class in The Hague for this year, starting on Monday, and asking if I was interested to take it.  Bloody hell! Of course I was!  So there you go.  I booked my train ticket, and I went.