Mother's Day with Gretchen (013)

I tripped home to Buffalo this Mother's Day to sit down with my first teacher, Gretchen Meister Brand. A professional violinist and Suzuki violin teacher who has also taught Sunday school, and social studies in public and private schools, Mom taught me how to braid bread, play fiddle, and disagree with others respectfully, to name a couple things. In this month's special episode, we discuss the value of praise in teaching and child-rearing, my grandmother Miriam George Meister, and a method of talent education that aims for world peace.   Thanks to Mom for agreeing to not only guest the show, but to take her fiddle out of the case after three years in order to play on the soundtrack. We rocked out on violin duets by Bach, Béla Bartók, and Jacques Féréol Mazas. With Gretchen at the piano, we played a few Twinkle variations, Bach minuets, and other hits of the Suzuki Violin Method. Thanks as always to Shayfer James for permission to use instrumental versions of "Weight of the World" and "Villainous Thing" from his album Counterfeit Arcade for intro and outro.   Episode Transcript