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Have cello--will travel
4:05 p.m., Dec. 15, 2006--Cellist Larry Stomberg, UD assistant professor of music, spent his sabbatical semester on the road--in the United States and later in China--giving performances, lectures and master classes. He took part in Iowa Cello Daze where he was a guest artist with a chamber music group and gave a lecture. In Michigan, he gave a solo performance at Grand Valley State University and taught a master class. Next stop was Interlochen Arts Academy, a high school of the performing arts, with very talented young students, Stomberg said, where he taught students one to one in a master class. Stomberg also performed at Pennsylvania State University and Salisbury University in Maryland. The climax of his sabbatical was a trip to China in November, accompanied by his wife, Jennifer, who also is a cellist and teaches at UD's Community Music School and the Wilmington Music School. Of course, his cello went along, as well, with a seat of its own on the plane. “It was an unforgettable experience,” he said. “We were treated royally wherever we went, and people were very interested and receptive to our music. They went to great lengths to speak English to us, and I did try to speak some Chinese phrases, which usually evoked polite smiles.” UD violinist Xiang Gao was very helpful, arranging contacts with other musicians and planning sightseeing excursions in the areas they visited, Stomberg said.
He had a solo program and took part in concert and master classes at Wuhan and in Nanning. One work he performed was Aaron Minsky's 10 American Cello Etudes, offering a potpourri of music styles from blues to Broadway, which the audiences loved, he recalled. In Nanning, he and his wife performed with a chamber group, and he also gave a lecture on “The Art and Science of Practicing,” which he has given in this country. “Musicians are like athletes and need to use their bodies efficiently and profit from warming up exercises and stretches and other techniques,” he said. The Chinese students are well-trained and very talented and knowledgeable about Western music, Stomberg said. He also had opportunities to meet Chinese composers and hear Chinese music. “Music truly is a universal language,” Stomberg said. Stomberg said he came upon the cello late in life, at the age of 11. He heard a cello soloist and it was like “Wow! This is the place I need to be.” He says he's been making up for lost time ever since. Stomberg is an advocate of contemporary music. “I like introducing music by living composers; the music is fresh and innovative, and when audiences understand what the composer is trying to achieve, they appreciate the music more.” Stomberg joined the UD faculty from Oklahoma State University in 2004, where he also played in the Tulsa Philharmonic and later in the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. A graduate of Rice University, Stomberg received his master's and doctoral degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician at several music festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Festival and the Banff Center for the Arts. He also gave a recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He is currently on the cello faculty at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, N.C. and is a founding member of several chamber groups. In March of this year, he was appointed as the cellist of the Serafin String Quartet.
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