Fiddlers Casey Driessen and Christian Howes discuss extensive clips from Casey’s album Otherlands. We talk about chopping/rhythm, and other aspects of musical collaboration for fiddlers and string players who want to expand their creative voice, musical community, and career or lifestyle. We play a tune together as well in this hour-long interview. Find more at www.christianhowes.com

Fiddler Casey Driessen on Collaboration, Rhythm, and Drawing Musical Language from Otherlands

Join us with Guest Speakers Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh as we discuss how to conquer your stage fright and better achieve your musical goals through mindfulness and mindful practice.

Mindful Practice with Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh

Join us with Guest Speaker and former Creative Strings Workshop participant Marlene Cruz Lozano as she talks about her new studio, Violin Bootcamp, which centers adult women violin students, their goals, and needs.

On Teaching Adult Students With Marlene Cruz Lozano

We begin our 2nd season of the Creative Strings Podcast live at the 2015 Creative Strings Workshop in Columbus, OH. Christian sits down with 4 of the hottest young Creative String players (dubbed "the Young Guns") and discusses their various practice techniques, exercises and moving between various fiddle styles.

Meet the Young Guns

Eli Bishop

From the age of 3 until 11, Eli studied the Suzuki violin method. After completing the eighth book of the method, he began studying traditional classical music under the instruction of Cornelius Heard at the Blair School of Music, which was part of Vanderbilt University. Under Connie Heard’s instruction, Eli learned to play standard classical violin repertoire. At the age of 16, Eli’s interests shifted from classical to western swing. At this point, Eli began studying with Nashville legend, Buddy Spicher and spent the next year mastering western swing music.
While enrolled at the Nashville School of the Arts, Eli studied swing and jazz music on the violin and also began playing the guitar. Now a sophomore in high school, Eli’s grew more and more interested in jazz music, specifically bebop. A close friend at his high school suggested he learn the tunes, “Donna Lee” and “Freedom Jazz Dance”. That was what ignited the desire in Eli to become competent in this style of music.

Alex Hargreaves

Violinist Alex Hargreaves is an active performer, playing on stages around the world including Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, Grand Ole Opry, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Newport Jazz Festival, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, as well as venues in the UK, France, Italy, Canada, and South Korea. He is a member of world-renowned mandolinist Mike Marshall’s Big Trio, along with bassist Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers) and has toured with the trio extensively following the 2008 release of their self-titled album on Adventure Music. Matt Glaser, artistic director of Berklee College of Music, American Roots Program, states simply, “Truly, Alex Hargreaves is the best young jazz violinist in America.”



Mike Barnett

I’ve been having a blast travelin’ and performing around the country and internationally with heroes of mine. Having grown up in Nashville, I have a special place in my heart for bluegrass and country music. Fiddle camps- Mark O’Connor String Conference, Christian Howes’ Creative Strings Workshop, Mt. Shasta Fiddle Camp---have provided a tremendous source of inspiration and exposure to incredible players from a wide variety of genres. The great bluegrass fiddler Aubrey Haynie inspired me to record my first CD “Lost Indian” when I was 14. One summer at Crystal Plohman’s ‘International Fiddle Camp’ at Vanderbilt, I had the great honor of working with Bobby Hicks, Buddy Spicher, and Vassar Clemens, three of the finest people and fiddlers there have ever been. They willingly showed me everything I could get my ears on.

Greg Byers

Since Greg started playing cello at 2 1/2 he has immersed himself in many branches of music, each cumulative aspect elevating the others: performance, composition, recording, education, entrepreneurship. His debut EP Some Dark, Beautiful Morning was orchestrated jazz fusion, but his newer work finds Greg as singer/songwriter; a nuanced interplay of natural and artificial, nature and technology. The language of music is unique in that it can provide every listener with similar yet distinct messages of truth, beauty, freedom; this has motivated Greg to express his own authenticity through precise songwriting and improvisation.



This episode is brought to you by the Electric Violin Shop.

Visit the Electric Violin Shop, your one-stop shop for electric instruments, amps, gear & accessories, and most of all, expertise. Use code CHOWES at checkout and take 5% off of your order.

"Young Guns" hottest young Creative String players talk practice - Creative Strings Podcast Ep 10

Christian Howes presents the Creative Strings Podcast: Exploring intersections between creativity, music education, string playing, DIY music business, and culture

Since 2011, performer, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America for residencies in school orchestras, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador in Ukraine and Montenegro.  His 2013 release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center.  His 2015 release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of 2015″ by the Huffington Post. Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, an annual summer conference, and dozens of visits to schools annually teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. He endorses Yamaha violins and D’Addario strings.

"Young Guns" hottest young Creative String players talk practice - Creative Strings Podcast Ep 10

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