Gabe Bolkosky, Violinist and Music Educator

  Welcome back, friends, to our podcast, Unlocking Your World of Creativity. And we explore a whole world of creative pursuits and practices in this podcast. Recently, we've talked to poets, we've talked to authors, we've talked to educators, and today we're talking with an acclaimed violinist. Known for his inclusive approach to music and all sorts of innovative projects.

We're talking with

great to talk to you .

Thank you. . We're going to talk about a whole musical journey and lots of collaborations. This is what I love is I even just went on your website.

You've got a whole nice media page and every arrow I click. Sounded just a little bit different and , better and better, as I went down. Your performances, I read one review called serene and inclusive. I've never seen this word inclusive necessarily included in a music description.

Tell me about your embracing of inclusiveness in music.

That's a cool question. Ever since I was a young person there was something very satisfying for me about feeling like the audience was coming into my heart when I performed. And it was always very difficult to.

To, really explain or understand when I was a kid, but as I got older, it made more and more sense. And it really worked its way into my creativity. So yeah when a critic says that, I, they feel included in my performance, it feels like a a very deep compliment to me because my whole creative process comes from a standpoint of, at the end, I want.

the person on the other end to feel included in that process, to feel the benefit of the hours that I've spent trying to create something compelling or beautiful or, whatever it is that, that we're aiming for in that particular performance.

So I think some people might think of the performance.

As well, someone else has created the music, the composer has created the actual song or music and you're just quote, unquote, performing it, but clearly their performance is a creative process

to, yeah, it's that's the really tough part, particular, I'm sure for a composer, they have their own idea of how they want something to go.

And then just like with a movie script, there are so many layers of communication that have to come in. You have the director who is directing the actors and the actors who are trying to work together to create an experience that, you know. Ultimately, it's hard to know, especially, if the composer's not there, if we're really doing exactly what they wanted.

But the next best thing is to aim for that, that vision of the composer and turn it into something that's meaningful to, the people listening who maybe know nothing about the piece at all. Yeah, that is really the challenge.

And over your musician journey, you talked about cultivating this connection with the audience.

What is your approach? Are there techniques we can learn from that says if you're really then trying to not just perform the song and be technically, and musically accurate, but really make a personal connection with the audience. How does one approach

that? I do have a pretty specific approach that I take that might sound counter to what a lot of my colleagues do.

I start very much from the basics, from all of the non creative aspects. I think of it maybe like the building of a house or a piece of furniture, that you have to start with the bones of what's in front of you and make sure that those feel sturdy enough to take on. extreme emotion to take on extreme ideas, maybe risks.

And so I work very carefully, always with a sense of compassion. The reason that I'm building it to be sturdy is not because I want it to necessarily be like the best, but because I want it to be as easy as possible for the listener to understand it. And so the stronger the bones. The easier it is for me to convey that, that to the listener.

So I do actually start from this very basic approach and over time, my emotions start to grow with that creation. And I start to get a personal idea of how I feel about the work. And I start to play with the music and in a little bit more what most people would think of as creativity.

And then there's a final layer, which is how is this going to land with the person that's listening? And so I really, as I go through each phrase I really think about how this music is going to be received. And so I make more changes to make sure that audience member hears something that makes them want to hear more.

So it's a pretty long process for me. And one that it takes a long time to get to the quote unquote good stuff that everybody wants so badly in their creativity is that sense of communion with, themselves, the work and the audience. And

how are you feeling? It's not always I think of other performing artists like or even speakers, you're not making eye contact necessarily.

You're not. So it's more of a heart to heart or heart to ear kind of connection. But how are you feeling to know if you are making that connection?

Yeah, it becomes a kind of intuitive feel that collective quiet. Or that collective sense of joy, you feel it as a player. And so yeah, it takes a lot of tries because sometimes you can feel, okay, I did my best, but even though the audience is filled with nice people and they're clapping for you, they, you can tell it didn't quite reach them.

But there's a, there's a process to that too. That when I'm in my. In my actual, practicing, which had, that daily grind I have to find an emotional space that's calm and one that really can see causality and how to build this environment to allow for heightened self improvement.

heightened experiences. So I have to be able to maneuver in and out of those spaces in order to make sure that I do feel that connection. So once I'm in the performance, it's not, there's a combination of calm and inspired. And the calm part is making those judgments about what's happening with the audience.

And the inspired part is I'm going very deep in and really on a conscious level, trying to invite the audience to come closer to me. It is quite a tumultuous experience sometimes.

Experience and process it is. And as I mentioned, going through your your media. Tab. Your repertoire really spans a lot of classical, of course, but contemporary work.

I love coming down and hearing a tango. How do you work with these different musical genres and the approach that you've just described and your role in getting into that genre? How does that work for you?

Yeah, particularly the jump from classical to tango or from classical to jazz. There's really there's a change even just in the way I hold the instrument.

Tango has this much more. In most cases, raw warmth to it. And that really requires me to actually hold the violin differently, to use like more of the pads of my fingers to bring out a certain different timbre in the violin becomes a different instrument in my hands.

And of course I spend as much time as possible listening and trying to understand in the case of the tango that came from such a. The origins of the tango came from such a tumultuous place of so many different cultures coming together. And it culminated in this type of music that it's important for me to understand the history behind it too.

And the pain that's deep inside of that music that brings out such incredible beauty. And, particularly when Astra Piazzolla lifted the music to the concert stage, which is. really where I, we, my band the Oblivion Project we spend our time mostly with Astor Piazzolla.

Yeah, that's good. And, you're speaking of a band and also when you mentioned jazz, these are group. It's one thing to play the violin really well and you can do great solos, but now you're in a collaborative group, jamming, jazz interpretations and so forth. Where does collaboration come into play in your creative process?

Yeah, this is so important and something I really didn't realize either about myself at first or about other people that, you can have a ton of talent. 1. 50 and get yourself a cup of coffee. It's the saying you, you have to be able to collaborate. And as a teacher I have found that the people who love collaboration the most are oftentimes teenagers where they're coming to understand this, the so just social, the importance of social interaction, but, as you get older, it becomes a whole other game in the professional world. You have to be able to be vulnerable and to be able to even I'll say it like give up your own ideas in order to follow someone else's idea. And. There's a level of trust and love that has to come for your fellow musicians.

And it's hard to find musicians like that. It's actually really easy to find good players. It's much harder to find a group of players that really want to make a thing happen and are willing to allow themselves to disappear. Into that thing in order for it to be greater than themselves.

And that's why I've had such a, an obsession actually with string quartets, which is the other main group that I play with the Bayberry string quartet. I play with my wife and two close colleagues. We've been playing together for six years and there's so much give and take. There's so much of a feeling of.

especially in the role that I play the viola in that group. I have to give myself up and really allow myself to live, breathe and die for whatever the soloist is doing and give that. And then I also have to be able to switch gears and give profile to my idea so that somebody else can do that for me.

And that, that takes hundreds of hours. In a string quartet to walk that through, to talk about it, to be gentle with one another. And, the whole nurturing aspect of collaboration is, it's not talked about a lot, but it's really the crux of my work as a teacher is Yeah.

citing projects coming up for: 2024

I wonder if you could tell us about those, especially with the quartet.

The quartet is going to be releasing an album of six Mozart string quartets. It took us Many years to put this together. We have a system of working together online. It's much like the Beatles. We layer music and listen back and talk about it and then relayer.

And then we spend many hours together in person as well, but it allows us to get a very deep understanding of how our parts are fitting together and, I've really grown to know, the players so intimately by this type of listening instead of just in person. So that's one.

And then we have this practice support program that we've been doing now for almost two years. We've, our community has logged close to 5, 000 hours where we help people. With the daily grind of creativity, it's really easy to talk about it and to describe what you do, but to on a minute by minute basis, help someone, visit that space every day.

Was really what I discovered during the pandemic was that I actually didn't find that the problem was zoom, which was a lot of what people said. I found the problem to be emotional regulation in the face of information and the daily grind of not being able to just. Distract yourself and run out to the movies or you do whatever you're there.

So this program is designed to help people have a more delightful daily experience in their creativity, in their creative pursuit to help them be more productive and have a sense of flow with a gentle guide. And a community of people who are also doing the same thing. So we have people coming once or twice a day to get their practice done, essentially.

So that's been something that I've been really proud of because the art is meaningful. But in the end, the most important thing is other people. That's really what's important. And what I, the feedback we've been getting from all ages of players is that not only does this help them get their practice done, it's helping them to feel less frustrated to be more patient with themselves.

And they're able to take that out of the practice room and into their day. And to me, that's a contribution I never thought I'd be able to make as a musician and feels. Like time well spent to help people with that. It prompts

a question about creativity, and this other word we often pair with it, innovation, you're finding ways to innovate.

And it's the violin is the violin. Let's get really good at playing it. There's creativity there, but you're talking about innovation and using online tools, online systems, online music making, even with your quartet, the way you talked about building the album where was the room for innovation?

Yeah, there is so much room for innovation and in a sense, what I realized during the pandemic was I saw opportunity everywhere and I had to actually rein it in so that my colleagues didn't think I was crazy.

I think that in the whole world of music.

There is so much space for finding new ways to make music new ways to help music be a part of people's lives, whether they want to be a professional, which is a really hard lifestyle, or they just have it as a part of their life with, cooking, gardening all the things in life that bring people joy.

And I have found innovation to be certainly my way of getting through those three difficult years of the pandemic. And now it's become a way of being able to expand my world and help people, all literally all around the world to be able to make music in a way that feels deeply meaningful to them.

And that's not to say that I don't love. The traditional, way of making of, the hundreds of years tradition of making music. I feel like it's a way of expanding that and helping us to appreciate, say, just a live concert, even more. So it's an exciting time.

It's a very exciting time. And really the only limitation is. our minds,

good. I love this overlap of inclusion and innovation, really helping making music, especially music education accessible, all ages, all stages, and certainly as I would think about. I don't know how many years ago this would be, but I was 10 years old playing the piano, maybe not in that traditional way and maybe not enjoying the practice, maybe not enjoying the creativity and the expression.

But now I think of a friend who has a practice of teaching adults music as a creative expression and an outlet. Time for themselves. Basically, they don't want to be on stage. They don't want to make albums. They just want to express themselves through the piano that maybe they lost touch with over time.

And want to come back to. So it's interesting what you're describing really. And I love the name of your organization that does this. It's education for happiness. And I couldn't help, but, be attracted to that idea that this wasn't to play the music alone. This was to find happiness.

Yes. And the happiness is not just like the fleeting thing we feel when something goes right, but a sense of having spent time in a way that is satisfying. And that, that's what's been so great about this process that we've gone through is that. We have all different types of musicians who come online from little kids all the way to adults in their 80s from professionals to beginners and they're all able to have this experience together and because of the nature of the situation they're all muted.

The process helps all of them equally without them having to feel judged. I, we never actually hear anybody play, so they have that solace for themselves, but they also have the community support and it's really just. Just a really joyful experience. So I love

that. Gabe, I know that people are going to want to find you learn more about your work as in music work, but also your educational work.

Where can we connect with you?

So I have multiple websites, but education for happiness. org is our company. And then. Rolandpractice. com is the name of the product, the service that we've been providing now for a couple of years. So those would probably be good places to start. Very

good.

Thank you. And of course finding your name, you'll come across a lot of great music. My guest has been Gabe Balkoski. He's a violinist. And as we've been hearing so much more than just the musician, but also finding innovative ways of making music and Bringing the music closer to audiences of all kinds.

Gabe, I can't thank you enough for the great conversation.

Mark, it was such a pleasure. Thank you for having me

on. Yeah, you bet. And all the best with these new ventures in the coming year. Thanks so

much. And thank you so much. You're good luck with this podcast. It's really just fabulous. I love it.

Thanks for that. Listeners. We're going to continue connecting with creative practitioners, . . When you can connect the dots from a poet to a violinist, to an architect and see that what we're trying to do is. Express our creativity, but also find new and innovative ways to educate ourselves and to communicate the work to audiences everywhere.

That's what it's all about. I'm Mark Stenson come back again next time and we'll be continuing to unlock your world of creativity.

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