I started taking cello lessons when I was 73. A friend told me that to be a really good cello player, I needed to put in 10,000 hours of hard work. I calculated that at my rate of practicing an hour each day, I would be good enough to play string quartets when I reached 118 years of age.
So why the cello and why now? For me there has always been something special about cellos. I love the way they look and how they sound when played well. Four and half years ago I semi-retired after 28 years in the financial planning business. I wanted to do something in music.
I had some musical background. I grew up listening to classical music. Both of my parents loved music and played their vinyl records frequently. In high school I checked classical records out of the library and played them at home.
In fourth grade I took up clarinet and took lessons through my school. I played in the (football) marching band through high school. And I played in our local community orchestra for a year. Then came college, graduate school, and jobs of many kinds. I have always been a committed worker, and there was never enough time for playing music.
Now, in my semi-retirement, I had more time. I called MacPhail, the largest music non-profit in the country which is only 15 minutes from where I live. I said that I needed a teacher. They assigned Jacqueline Ultan. I was shocked when I read about her background. Not only had she been teaching for many years, but she also led two bands and composed the music for them. Why would she take a beginner like me as a student?
Jacqueline enjoys working with a variety of students of different ages and experience. She has been an inspiration to me. She is incredibly patient and encouraging. She works with me and expects near perfection in my playing the simple exercises. I coined the term “perfect enough.”
In an early lesson I noticed that there might be something wrong with my cello – it did not sound like hers. To my surprise, however, when she played my cello, it did sound like hers.
Last summer, after only a year of lessons, I auditioned for chamber music camp for beginning adults at MacPhail and amazingly was accepted. It was thrilling to work with three other musicians my age on two pieces and then play in front of other students in the program.
Will I ever be good enough to routinely play chamber music? I don’t know. But I enjoy the journey. I like to play the cello. I like my lessons and teacher. I like the feeling of accomplishment when I tackle a piece that seems impossibly difficult for me, yet after a few weeks I play it perfect enough.