From Itzhak Perlman to Rachel Barton Pine: Why Students Need Music Heroes
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Who were your musical heroes growing up?
Mine was, hands down, Itzhak Perlman. The first time I saw him perform live was 1999, but I remember watching him at home often as a child. I watched him on Sesame Street (You can see one example here), in documentaries, and in recorded concerts on VHS tape.
I was totally entranced by his playing. It was my dream to be able to do what he was doing.
When I was six years old I came home upset from group class one day. Another student had teased me my facial expressions while playing.
I vividly remember my dad sitting me down in front of a video of Perlman playing. He told me “if he can make faces while playing, so can you!” I have never felt bad about my overly expressive face again. Add my dad to my list of musical heroes!
Perlman was my model of a great violinist as a child. His playing was like a carrot on a string, dangling out there as something to work towards.
Listening to Suzuki recordings helped me learn my pieces and build my technique but listening to a great performer like this was a whole other level of inspiration.
One helped me learn my music; the other helped me learn the purpose for studying it in the first place.
