Bringing Our Human Experience to Music: An Interview with Raymond Mallari

This week we’re speaking with violinist & violist Raymond Mallari. We talk about motivation, how he used to think he didn’t like to practice when he was younger but has changed his mind, and the importance of incorporating the human side of ourselves as musicians into our music. I hope you find this episode as fun & inspirational as I did.

Raymond Mallari acquired his advancing musical powers from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Much to his crazy ambition, he completed his degrees in both violin & viola! A great example of his craziness was when he participated in the MTNA Music Competition not once, but 4 times. No – he didn’t win 1st place, but the judges did like his playing as he was awarded “2nd” & “Honorable Mention” in some categories. His orchestral experience includes many groups, but these days he just plays with Kennett Symphony & Berks Sinfonietta as a section violist. One orchestra even hired him to tour China back in the day! Another time he left the country was when he earned a diploma of chamber music in Madrid, Spain.

“Mr. Ray,” has over 15 years experience teaching at many institutes. He is currently a faculty member at Immaculata University Malvern & West Chester Music Academy. He is also wildly active with the Greater Philadelphia Suzuki Association — having the honor of being a Board Member. Most recently, he joined another team of excellent Board Members with the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County. He is passionate about the Suzuki method & heavily incorporates it into his lessons & lectures. Outside of music, he is currently attempting yoga, attempting a 5K, & attempting to navigate the huge grocery store Wegmans. 

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights Include:

“I didn’t grow up in a strong musical household. I don’t know where it came from. I just knew I wanted to play. And actually even a year after I started, in the fifth grade, I remember of course being in that grade, we talk a lot in our classes about what do you want to be when you grow up? I want be a firefighter, I want to be a doctor, an astronaut, whatever. And I always said, I want to be a violinist. I didn’t say violist. <laugh> I just, I remember always saying in those little silly school pro conversations, telling teachers, I want to be, I want be a violinist . . . So yeah. I just loved it ever since I was little.”

“So I remember ninth grade, 10th grade. I’m not sure I was practicing Schradieck for a really, really long time after school, right before dinner. That was one of my standard timeframes for practicing. And that was going on and on and on about this Schradieck Etude. This was on the violin.

And I finally, think my mom had had it because she came up to me and she was covering her ears and was like, can you just stop that one now? Can you just play something else now? Or just take a break now? And I was like, oh, and I realized I have been doing this for quite some time. It’s like an hour and a half now I’m on this silly little Aude. And so that’s my silly little story I share with people all the time as my way of saying I’m attached to practicing.”

On what he loves about teaching: “And so I realize that these are wonderful human side, as you said, part of lessons that has nothing to do with C sharp, playing staccato correctly, or anything like that. And it was over time, I realized, wow, this is beautiful. This is really beautiful, I think even though there might be some, quote, “negative topics” that come up and it’s delicate, it’s sensitive, but it’s that wonderful relationship, which is part of the Suzuki philosophy that makes what we do so cool. So different, from general music maybe, or a different subject, like bio or math and all that silly stuff. So yeah, I’ve noticed over the years being totally more into and attached to the human side of things.”

“Now for me personally, as a musician, I’ve realized with the many recitals and concerts and so forth and so forth, many that I do, it’s actually very important to have that human experience, to bring to the notes, to bring to the stage or whatever little recording project I’m doing. That’s what makes it truly spectacular. I think.”

“The best practice tip is listening. Listen, listen, listen . . . anybody who’s ever taken the lesson with Mr. Ray knows that the first thing on our practice chart is listen. It something that I will never, ever I’ve never told the student “you listened enough, you never have to listen ever again to Minuet 3!” No, never. No. Of course I want people to continuously listen, this stems back from when I was heavily doing, quartet music and the coach that we had then just kept saying, “listen harder, listen, listen more, listen more!” And of course we were very busy students, playing this thing, trying to play our best. And I didn’t have that pierce through my core so deep that I was like, “oh, if I just listened to this thing, I’ll play my part fine.” So yeah. Listening, listening, listening either actively or passively listening for entertainment, for enjoyment, or for education.”

For more from Raymond Mallari you can listen to the full episode through the links above.

Links in this Episode:

Find Raymond on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mallari.raymond

https://www.instagram.com/misterraymusic 

Greater Philidelphia Suzuki Association

Support the podcast by attending our next Live, Online event

all about practice personalities: https://bit.ly/3fS71Aa

Transcript