An Amateur Cellist’s Case for CelloBello

Hey, CelloBello fans. My name is Jenn Dungan. I’m a pretty seriously geeky adult amateur cellist, and a supporter of CelloBello. I want to talk to you a little bit about why I find this site so valuable, and offer a few reasons I hope you’ll join me in supporting CelloBello’s mission.

I took up the cello several years ago and will, of course, be learning it for the rest of my life. I’m fortunate to take weekly lessons from an excellent teacher; I’ve also had opportunities to learn from other gifted instructors through master classes and camps. Given how complex this skill is, and how different every teacher’s approach is, I believe all cellists can benefit from receiving instruction from a variety of master players.

We live in an age where we have access to incredible resources via the internet. While CelloBello is not the only online source for cello education, I believe it’s one of the best, and worth investing in. Here are a few reasons:

• The site provides a wide variety of resources, including recorded lessons with conservatory students, live-streamed master classes, and my personal favorite: Intimate, low key CelloChats, where some of the best cellists working today generously field questions from any cellist who shows up—regardless of age, location, or playing level.
• All the teachers and resources on CelloBello have been vetted by Paul Katz, one of the most respected cello pedagogues working today. This matters to me. I have a high level of trust in the instruction provided by Professor Katz and the top-notch artist-teachers who generously volunteer their time.
• CelloBello is growing into its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This means it will continue to be a reliable, organized source of online cello education for years to come, and can build on the excellent foundation it’s established.
• Online instruction will never replace in-person teaching, and I always encourage new cellists to find a good teacher to work with. But some aspiring cellists live in places with no teachers, and others simply can’t afford private lessons. For those players, CelloBello is an invaluable resource, providing reliable, conservatory-level instruction that’s both free and easy to access.

This site is democratizing and expanding the reach of some of the best cello teaching in the world, and I believe that’s a mission worth supporting. This holiday season, please join me in helping CelloBello grow and thrive in 2018!

Make your tax-deductible donation to CelloBello today.

Oh, and here’s just one example of the exceptional content CelloBello provides: Colin Carr’s astonishing CelloChat on the Bach Suites from earlier this year.

This is essentially an hour and a half (plus!) of Professor Carr elaborating on many, many aspects of playing the Suites. The instruction is excellent, clear, and thought provoking. I remember taking pages and pages of notes the first time I watched, and thinking, “I can not believe I have access to this.”

This talk, to me, epitomizes the rich value of CelloBello. Watch it, and see if you don’t agree. (And if you do agree—consider donating!)

Jenn Dungan is a writer and content strategist based near Charlottesville, Virginia. After years of playing piano, guitar, tin whistle, and other instruments mostly by ear, she took up the cello and discovered a whole new world of musical complexity. Jenn studies with Andrew Gabbert of Crozet, Virginia, and plays chamber music with friends whenever humanly possible.