"Why am I doing this?" A Chat with Violinist Miki-Sophia Cloud

In my interview with violinist Miki-Sophia Cloud, we talk about her former life as a strolling ‘gypsy violinist’; playing by ear versus playing from sheet music; her musical studies and mentors at Harvard, Yale, and the New England Conservatory of Music; and how she answers the question: “why am I doing this?” and what motivates her to make music. Learn more about the stuff we talk about! MUSIC IN THIS EPISODE is from Mendelssohn's String Quartet, Op. 80, from the Solera Quartet's debut album, EVERY MOMENT PRESENT (featuring Miki on first violin): https://open.spotify.com/album/1PLFnRJl78gChw3O6eQIEe?si=n3doDFc_RA2g1RzvFDHaAg Miki: http://www.soleraquartet.com/miki-sophia-cloud/ Miki is a core member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble, A Far Cry : http://afarcry.org Miki and I play in a quartet together: http://www.soleraquartet.com/the-soleras/ Robert Levin, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_D._Levin Ronda Cole, Director of NVSMS , Violin Teacher, Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA): https://www.suzukiviolinschool.com/our-faculty.html Ricardo Cyncynates, Assistant Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra: https://www.ricardocyncynates.com/biography Ani Kavafian, Professor of Violin, Yale School of Music: https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/about/artists/strings/ani-kavafian/ Miriam Fried, Professor of Violin, New England Conservatory of Music: https://necmusic.edu/faculty/miriam-fried Donald Weilerstein, Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies, New England Conservatory of Music: https://necmusic.edu/faculty/donald-weilerstein