Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life! I'm a Violinist and doing what I love is often interestingly contrasted with the reality of getting to do what I love...
30 May 2023 1 minute read 0 comments bengy
This was something that I really should have purchased when I was still living in Europe... but we got distracted with moving to the other side of the planet... and I forgot. But, there is still a lot of facsimiles of original music prints that...
21 May 2023 2 minute read 1 comment bengy
Something that my wife and kids got really into when we were living in the Netherlands was the annual craziness that is Eurovision. And to tell the truth, I sort of also sort of started to like it! When I was younger in Australia, we would watch...
23 Apr 2023 4 minute read 3 comments bengy
Unsplash Ahhh... a difficult week with a difficult person can be quite demoralising and shattering to my inner sense of centred-ness. However, after the worst of it is over, it is also a chance to re-evaluate and clarify what I personally dis...
10 Apr 2023 4 minute read 2 comments bengy
Unsplash Unsplash Hmmmm... last night, I watched a movie about music teaching. Whiplash, is about a student and a teacher and their somewhat strange teaching relationship... well, as I was watching the movie, I was quite unsettled by it...
9 Apr 2023 2 minute read 0 comments bengy
A while back, I had taken one of my instruments to China on tour... unfortunately, during the tour, it was incredibly hot and humid which made for very sweaty rehearsals and concerts. Especially when we were performing in full tails and all that...
3 Apr 2023 3 minute read 0 comments bengy
Ah, time to reduce the amount of dead and rotting wood on the block... and get rid of random bits of construction material at the same time. The old picket fence was an easy place to start... we have been talking to the neighbours about changing...
22 Mar 2023 3 minute read 2 comments bengy
When I was a student, I really enjoyed playing background music gigs for weddings and functions. For the weddings, there was something really quite touching about playing for someone's special day and making a real contribution to the atmosphere...
13 Mar 2023 3 minute read 0 comments bengy
Well... part of being a musician is the interleaving of projects... you can't always just concentrate on the next immediate project only, otherwise you find that you are panicking trying to learn the repertoire in time for each project, and you...
9 Mar 2023 2 minute read 0 comments bengy
In my days off between concerts and rehearsals... it appears that I'm a part-time gardener with a single client. Ourselves... or more to the point, my wife. And I don't get paid... hmmmm, I'm starting to think that I need to reassess this job......
5 Mar 2023 3 minute read 2 comments bengy
Unsplash Unsplash Sigh... I was warned of this, but it is completely true. Running your own ensemble is a constant and ongoing chore! The playing of the music seems to actually end up getting dwarfed by all the administration and other...
