Mark Rush, Violin Professor at the University of Arizona
About Mark Rush
About Mark Rush
Mark Rush enjoys a diverse musical
career encompassing many interests and genres. He has performed extensively on
the concert stage and for radio and television throughout the United States, in
Canada, Europe and in China. Equally active as a soloist, recitalist and chamber
musician, he performs a far-flung repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach to Jimi
Hendrix.
Rush counts among his musical mentors
many of the finest artists and teachers of the 20th century; he has studied with
Ivan Galamian, Dorothy Delay, Itzhak Perlman, Szymon Goldberg, Nathan Milstein
and Arthur Grumiaux. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Music.
Recent solo engagements include concerto appearances with the Shanghai Radio
Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Catalina Chamber Orchestra, and
the Mesa Symphony Orchestra. He has presented violin recitals throughout the
U.S. and also participated in many summer festivals including the Bath
International Music Festival, the Banff Festival for the Arts, the Killington
Music Festival, Weekend of Chamber Music Festival, Bang on a Can Music Festival,
Sunflower Music Festival, and the Sedona Chamber Music Festival.
Since 1981, he has collaborated with his wife and long time duo partner Tannis
Gibson in many recitals and in chamber music ensembles including the Monticello
Trio and, more recently, the Lorenzo Trio and Coyote Concert. As co-artistic
directors of the chamber group Coyote Consort, they have presented innovative
concerts incorporating multi-media effects and innovative staging techniques.
Together they have worked closely with many composers and performers, premiering
and performing numerous new works.
Rush has recorded for ASV and CRI and was nominated for a Gramophone Award in
1994.
Rush, an associate professor of violin in the School of Music at the University
of Arizona’s College of Fine Art has also been on the music faculty of the
University of Virginia and the Killington Music Festival.
Featured in performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Corcoran
Gallery and the National Gallery of Art, Fullbright scholar Rush is a recording
artist who is frequently heard on National Public Radio as well as an author.
His recent concerts include a chamber music collaboration with Metropolitan
Opera star Stephanie Blythe. He recently toured China with Eastman School of
Music faculty performers
He plays the “ex-Zimbalist” Lorenzo Guadagnini from the year 1743.
About Playing The Violin:
An Illustrated Guide
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About this title: Drawing on twenty years of teaching experience, author Mark Rush systematically builds the fundamentals of violin playing from the ground up. Over 200 beautiful photographs demonstrate the concepts discussed and make this book especially accessible to beginners and their teachers. The book focuses on proper set up from how to stand, to holding the violin, to the best way to move the bow. These are the fundamental components necessary for success. The earlier these good habits are established the better.
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Over 200 photos showing the fundamentals of
posture, how to hold the violin and bow, proper angle of the fingers through the
positions and more! A must for beginners, this illustrated guide will also
benefit intermediate and advanced players who need a refresher to help remember
good habits. 100 pgs, paperback
Summary of review by Kathryn
Lucktenberg, Eugene, Oregon
This book is a small mini guide
to playing the violin. For those not big in text book style information, this
easy-to-read slim book will facilitate violin playing in many ways. Many issues
are brought up with posture and technique that many other books in the past have
tried to cover, and leaves the student in the dark. This book is successful in
explaining aspects with pictures and text to bring light to many challenging
violin issues.
Ensemble teachers who have not
had formal training in stringed instruments can appreciate this book. It easily
explains such issues so teachers can be a help to their students, not a
hindrance.
Table of Contents
|
1 |
The elements of good
posture |
1 |
|
2 |
Holding and violin |
9 |
|
3 |
The left hand and
arm |
19 |
|
4 |
Holding the bow |
37 |
|
5 |
Putting right and
left together |
49 |
|
6 |
More on bowing |
67 |
|
7 |
Vibrato |
79 |
|
8 |
On
practicing |
87 |
"Playing the Violin" is designed as a textbook for music education
students in String Pedagogy courses. Elementary and
secondary level music teachers are all involved with
leading orchestras, and thus have to be conversant with
basic techniques on a number of instruments, most
notably the violin. Yet few understand the importance of
"setup" for establishing proper technique. "Setup"
refers to the basic physical elements of violin playing:
How to hold the violin and bow; posture and position;
movements left and right; and so forth. These are the
fundamental components necessary for success. The
earlier these concepts are established, the better.
Unfortunately, many students reach the university level
with bad habits and poor technique, and need to be
re-educated about how to perform-and teach-proper violin
technique.
While there are other violin pedagogy books on the
market, most are very dense with text and give little
step-by-step information. They are often aimed at
advanced performers, rather than beginners or teachers
charged with helping beginning players. "Playing the
Violin" takes students and teachers step-by-step through
the basics, with an equal emphasis on clear,
easy-to-understand photographs as with the text itself.
The author assumes no previous knowledge about violin
playing. For this reason, the book should appeal not
only to violinists and their teachers but to all
educators faced with the task of helping string players
perform to their maximum potential.
"Playing the Violin" promises to set a new standard for
string technique courses. It will appeal to college and
university students but also will be useful for
independent violin teachers and those learning "ontheir
own."
Provides the fundamentals of violin playing from the ground up. This book
features over 200 beautiful photographs that demonstrate the concepts discussed.
It focuses on proper set up from how to stand, to holding the violin, to the
best way to move the bow, and presents the fundamental components necessary for
success
Excerpt from the
book " For a violinist, good
posture includes the feeling
of suspended arms.
Unfortunately, this is not a
particularly natural thing
to do. It takes years,
in fact, for a violinist to
develop the muscles to the
point at which holding the
arms aloft becomes
comfortable. When we
play, the deltoid muscles in
both arms must work to
suspend the arms. For
less experienced players,
this usually represents..."
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