Monday, November 9, 2009

Violin soloist prepares for the variety and fun of the Nov. 14 concert with the ASO

Violinist Olivia Haijoff says preparing for the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra's Nov. 14 performance at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall has been both challenging and comforting.

The playlist includes one of her favorite pieces to play – Arnold's "Concerto for Two Violins," and something she’d never even heard before, Piazzolla's "The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires."

"I think this is a particularly good program; there is so much variety, the pieces are really fun, and there's nothing to be scared by -- everyone is familiar with the Vivaldi; the Piazzolla is really fun; the Arnold is short, and has a rhythmic quirkiness, when we've played it to audiences before, they really love it and find it interesting … the middle movement is very sensual, slinky and special…. And the Brahms is really warm. It's not the usual thing."

Haijoff will be performing, as always, with her husband, Marc Ramirez. The couple have been married since 1997. They live and teach violin in Vienna, Va., and met while studying violin at the University of Maryland. She came to the U.S. from England on a Fulbright Scholarship.

"We met in the violin class," she said. "He was nice to me after I played."
Haijoff said both she and her husband grew up with musicians in the family and came to the violin early on. She was 4 when her mother, a harpsichordist, took her to a concert, and Ramirez was 7 when a violinist performed for a small party at his parents' home. Both his parents, Connie and Abad Ramirez, had at one time served as president of the Arlington Symphony.

Both Ramirez and Haijoff are also past winners of the Lasley Scholarship program -- co-sponsored by the Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria and the ASO -- that helps support and teach young musicians.



Haijoff said the competition really helped her develop into a professional musician.

"Just having to get ready for something like that, preparing a concerto, a major concert, makes you work hard, gives you a goal. And you know it's going to be taken seriously. Marc judged it a few years ago. The judges are people the students really respect, so it really stays with them."

Since then, the couple both taught at Shenandoah University, and now teach out of their home and perform all over the country and the world as Marcolivia violin duo. She said it's not difficult to both work and live together.



"Before we got married, we started doing duos in school, so we'd already been working together," she said. "I think we agree on quite a lot of things musically. We both try hard not to argue or bring other things into it, from our daily life. There's never been a piece that we disagree on. We like the same things. We are technically similar, we went to school together and learned from the same people, and teach the same way."

Haijoff said she loves to teach violin to people, whether they have a future as a professional musician or not.

"I just want them to always have music they can come back to later in life, whether they play in an orchestra, or just are able to go to orchestras and really love it. I've never been one of those teachers who say, 'You have to do it this way,'as long as they want to learn and show respect for the music, then I'm happy."
She said the beauty of teaching the violin is that amateurs and professionals are both always working on the basics -- it's not as simple as reading a note and then playing that note.

"It's like solving a puzzle -- there are always things to work out. I like to bring that out of them," she said. "The violin is really hard, it's much harder than anything they will do in school, or even anything they will do in life, but if I can help them to enjoy the puzzle solving, then they will know it's not something you're supposed to know how to do, and that's why they should love it."

"Lots of people come up to me and say, 'I played the violin once, I wish I hadn't given it up,' But no one ever says I wish I didn't play the violin."

The Marcolivia duo will bring that love of music and the violin to the stage on Nov. 14 with the ASO -- the only problem was deciding who would get to play what.



"I think I really wanted to play the Piazzolla, and I'm the more pushy one," she laughed. "This Piazzolla is unlike anything I've played before. I think the quirkiness really appealed to me; it's different, so it's always going to bring something new out. It's something like playing jazz -- there’s that freedom you get that you have on stage, there's a little bit of that."

Listen to Marcolivia at http://marcolivia.com/cd.htm

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

I for all time emailed this web site post page to all my friends, since if like to read it
then my contacts will too.

my blog Pkv Onlinerechner

Anonymous said...

I just could not go away your web site prior to suggesting that I actually loved the standard info an individual provide in your visitors?
Is going to be back incessantly in order to check up on
new posts

Feel free to surf to my web page search engine optimisation services

Anonymous said...

Hi, i think that i noticed you visited my site so i got here to go back the choose?
.I am attempting to find things to enhance my web site!
I assume its ok to use a few of your concepts!!

my blog post ... best dedicated hosting Company

Anonymous said...

Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I've been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it

Here is my page ... arbeitgeberzuschuss pkv

Anonymous said...

Incredible points. Solid arguments. Keep up the great effort.


my blog post ... outlet store online

Anonymous said...

What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable experience regarding unpredicted emotions.



my web site: Mortgages With Bad credit

Anonymous said...

Hey! This post could not be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
He always kept talking about this. I will forward
this write-up to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.
Thank you for sharing!

my page - affiliate guide
Also see my page - affiliate blog

Anonymous said...

Thanks , I've recently been looking for information approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have discovered so far. But, what concerning the conclusion? Are you certain in regards to the supply?

Visit my homepage Pkv makler

Anonymous said...

It's difficult to find experienced people about this topic, but you seem like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks

Visit my blog bad credit for credit
my site > http://www.upam.info/PatriceLxw

Anonymous said...

Appreciating the persistence you put into your
blog and detailed information you provide. It's nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn't the
same out of date rehashed material. Fantastic read!

I've saved your site and I'm adding your RSS feeds to my Google
account.

My blog: kleinkredit vergleich

Anonymous said...

Fantastic post however I was wondering if you could write
a litte more on this topic? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Thanks!

My website ... free reseller hosting account

Anonymous said...

I love reading through a post that can make men and women think.
Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!

Look into my web-site: Website Seo Services
my page - Best Seo

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that's both educative and
entertaining, and without a doubt, you've hit the nail on the head. The issue is something not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about. I'm
very happy I came across this during my hunt for something concerning
this.

Stop by my blog - affordable seo
Also see my web page: ethical search engine optimization

Anonymous said...

What's up, all is going fine here and ofcourse every one is sharing data, that's actually fine,
keep up writing.

Check out my blog :: Welcome to Elgg.

Anonymous said...

Hey there would you mind sharing which blog platform you're using? I'm going to start my own blog in the near future but I'm having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something unique.
P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!


Feel free to surf to my website ... hawaii multiple Island vacation packages

Anonymous said...

Wow, amazing blog structure! How long have you been blogging for?
you made blogging look easy. The full look of your
web site is fantastic, as smartly as the content!

My website; stay at home mums jobs
My page > Stay At Home Mom Jobs

Anonymous said...

I am truly delighted to read this web site posts
which consists of lots of helpful data, thanks
for providing such information.

My blog; private krankenversicherung köln

Anonymous said...

Hello, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility
issues. When I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine
however, when opening in I.E., it's got some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, fantastic website!

My blog ... expert seo firm

Anonymous said...

With havin so much written content do you ever run
into any issues of plagorism or copyright violation?

My site has a lot of unique content I've either written myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my agreement. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being ripped off? I'd really appreciate it.


My web blog; private krankenversicherung tarifvergleich
My webpage: private studentische krankenversicherung

Anonymous said...

Hi there everyone, it's my first pay a quick visit at this website, and paragraph is truly fruitful in support of me, keep up posting such articles or reviews.

Look into my website private krankenversicherung vorteile

Anonymous said...

Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.


Here is my webpage :: work at homejobs

Anonymous said...

I usually do not write many remarks, however i did some searching and wound up here "Violin soloist prepares for the variety and fun of the Nov. 14 concert with the ASO".
And I do have 2 questions for you if you don't mind. Could it be only me or does it give the impression like a few of these comments appear like coming from brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are writing on additional online social sites, I'd like to
follow anything new you have to post. Would you make a list of the complete urls of your shared sites like
your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?


My page; interest on home equity loan

Anonymous said...

Remarkable! Its in fact awesome piece of writing, I have got much clear
idea about from this article.

Here is my blog :: home loans for people with bad credit

Anonymous said...

This is my first time pay a visit at here
and i am in fact pleassant to read everthing at one place.


Feel free to visit my site - studenten private krankenversicherung
Also see my webpage :: krankenkasse leistungen vergleich

Anonymous said...

Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so
I came to give it a look. I'm definitely loving the information. I'm book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!

Excellent blog and excellent design and style.

Have a look at my blog: earn with clickbank

Anonymous said...

Howdy! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be ok. I'm undoubtedly enjoying
your blog and look forward to new updates.

Feel free to visit my blog private krankenkassen vergleichen

Anonymous said...

That is very attention-grabbing, You are an excessively skilled blogger.

I have joined your rss feed and look ahead to in search of extra of your great post.
Additionally, I've shared your website in my social networks

Have a look at my weblog ... marketing Company toronto

Anonymous said...

Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was
super long) so I guess I'll just sum it up what I had written and say, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I'm still new to everything. Do you have any suggestions for beginner blog writers? I'd really
appreciate it.

My webpage http://javaeditor.org/index.php/User:KristyAvz

Anonymous said...

Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just
curious if you get a lot of spam comments? If
so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can advise?
I get so much lately it's driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.

Take a look at my webpage - Kredit mit negativ schufa

Anonymous said...

Just want to say your article is as amazing. The clearness in your post is simply
spectacular and i can assume you are an expert on this subject.
Fine with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.


my site ... トリーバーチ靴

Anonymous said...

Hi! This is my first visit to your blog!
We are a team of volunteers and starting a new initiative
in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work
on. You have done a wonderful job!

Here is my site ... http://www.toryburchoutletshop2013.com/

Anonymous said...

Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this article and also the
rest of the website is very good.

Also visit my blog fukree.desitingz.com

Anonymous said...

Heya i'm for the first time here. I came across this board and I to find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to provide one thing back and aid others like you helped me.

Here is my web page :: クロエ店舗

Anonymous said...

hello there and thank you for your info – I've definitely picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise several technical issues using this site, as I experienced to reload the site lots of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and can damage your high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this again soon.

Feel free to surf to my page クロエ店舗

Anonymous said...

I am genuinely delighted to glance at this web site posts which contains tons of valuable facts, thanks for providing such information.


Look into my web blog :: miu miu 財布

Anonymous said...

Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog.
Is it hard to set up your own blog? I'm not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I'm
thinking about making my own but I'm not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? Thanks

my page; ミュウミュウ店舗

Anonymous said...

Thankfulness to my father who told me on the topic of this weblog,
this webpage is in fact amazing.

Take a look at my site; トリーバーチバッグ

Anonymous said...

Hi, Neat post. There's an issue with your website in web explorer, might check this? IE nonetheless is the market leader and a big element of other people will omit your magnificent writing due to this problem.

My blog post; トリーバーチ靴