Dear Friends,

This past week, I had the honor of performing Brahms’s G Major Violin Sonata as part of a recital featuring all three Brahms sonatas for violin and piano, performed by three different duos.

It was a seven-person collaboration, with Mélanie Clapiès and me playing the G Major sonata, Davis Brooks and Richard Ratliff performing the A Major, and Kevin Lin and Kent Cook playing the D Minor. Our musicology colleague Sophie Benn gave introductions to each piece, which added context to the performances and helped connect us all to Brahms' rich musical tradition.

Playing Brahms last Tuesday evening was a welcome experience for me. As those of you who have been reading along each week know, this has been a particularly hectic couple of months, with a significant amount of extra travel, performing and teaching. It felt like a respite to step out of the busy 21st century list- and task-centered mindset, and let myself sink into the comfort and beauty of Brahms' music.

There's an emotional depth to Brahms G Major that makes it feel like a conversation between two close friends—full of warmth, tenderness, and moments of dialogue. I particularly loved playing with Mélanie—this was our first duo performance together, and I hope there are many more! 💜

Chamber music performances like this are a reminder of why we practice so hard: to have these moments of connection, where we’re part of something greater than ourselves. The give and take between musicians is what makes these experiences so memorable and fulfilling.

My question for you this week is: have you ever experienced a moment in your musical journey where performing or practicing felt like an escape from the stresses of everyday life? Was there a particular piece or performance that allowed you to reconnect with why you love making music? I’d love to hear about it!

👋 Have a great week! Happy Practicing! 🎹

-Kate

PS The performance was recorded - when I get access to it I'll upload it and share the recording in a future edition of this newsletter. 😊

Today's Practice Tip: The Pomodoro Technique 🍅

I am a bit of a productivity nerd, which you kind of need to be if you are a university professor and want to have any time left over to practice or work on your own projects. Enter the Pomodoro Technique! This method breaks your practice into 25-minute focused sessions followed by a 5-minute break. Each 25-minute block is called a "Pomodoro." After four Pomodoros, take a longer break, around 15-30 minutes.

Why does this work? Practicing in shorter, focused intervals allows you to work on specific goals and stay mentally fresh. The regular breaks help your brain consolidate what you’ve just worked on, so when you return to the piano, you're ready to continue your progress. You can choose to focus on tackling one specific task or piece during each 25-minute window, and move through your practice goals with more purpose and specificity.

This week, try structuring some of your practice time into these short, effective sessions, particularly if you have a longer block of time set aside for practicing. Set a timer for 25 minutes, and during that time, focus entirely on one task, challenge, piece or movement at the piano. When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break to stretch, breathe, and relax your mind, before resuming with another 25-minute session. (Avoid checking your phone during the 5-minute break, so you don't get derailed!) After a few Pomodoros, notice how much you have accomplished in that short amount of time!

🎥 YouTube update:

I’m currently making some behind-the-scenes changes, including hiring a video editor, which will allow me to release content more regularly (up until now, I’ve been doing all of the editing myself!). While I work through this transition, stay tuned for upcoming new videos!

In the meantime, I wanted to highlight one of my more popular videos: 7 Powerful Tips to Improve Your Piano Practice. If you're looking to boost your progress and make the most of your practice time (especially while trying out the Pomodoro Technique!), check this video out for some new ideas and encouragement. Click here to watch it. ​

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. 🎹Performance: The pianist Conrad Tao came to Indianapolis this weekend to perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for their opening night gala. I met him when he came to Interlochen a few summers ago to perform with WYSO (the World Youth Symphony Orchestra) and work with the students. Here’s a performance of Tao playing Bach's Toccata in F-sharp minor in an intimate studio setting.
2. 📚Book: The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces. This delightful book tells the history of the piano through the literature written for the instrument. Susan Tomes writes in an engaging style and incorporates stories from the composers’ lives into her description of each piece. Each piece in the book is a short essay; you can choose to read it all the way through or you can skip around to find composers or pieces you are particularly interested in. This is a good book for anyone who is interested classical piano literature. Click here to see more books I recommend.​
3. 🎧 Podcast: Dead Eyes, Season 1. Even though this podcast is a few years old, I wanted to share it with you anyway because the themes are applicable to aspiring musicians. Hosted by comedian and actor Connor Ratliff, the podcast explores his experience of being fired by Tom Hanks from the miniseries Band of Brothers for having "dead eyes." Haunted by that moment for years, Ratliff embarks on a self-deprecating yet sincere journey to understand Hanks' criticism. Along the way he engages with issues familiar to performing artists—like insecurity, competition, handling rejection, and finding purpose and meaning in a challenging, often cliquish industry. (Note: the podcast is in its third season; if you check it out, be sure to go back to the first season, which is the one that I am referring to here.)

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 🎓 Contact me to learn about applying to study with me at Butler University at the undergraduate or master's level.
• 📚 Check out my resource pages, where I share my recommended books, technical exercises, gear and more!
• 🎥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
• 📱Follow me on Instagram!