Job interviews

Job interviews can be tricky to negotiate, especially if the interviewer is devious. Let me offer this simple and unsolicited advice. There are three things an employer must know about you - maybe four - if they want to attain a comfort level commensurate to the job you want. ONE: are you smart? TWO: are you motivated? THREE: can you work well with others?

The first is essential because you might be very willing to work hard but if you can't learn what they have to teach you, and can't contribute new things to the enterprise, then you might as well go home. The second? Well, you might be a genius but if you are not driven to accomplish, then you too, will be sent home. Thirdly, you might be smart and motivated but maybe you have a problem working with others courteously, collegially, and cooperatively. Go home. Perhaps the fourth thing is honesty. Many employers nowadays pull credit reports on prospective employees to see if there is a financial problem somewhere - it's an indicator of sorts. If you know that to be the case, cleaning your credit profile should be a priority.

Knowing this, how do you make a good impression? Be composed (relax), exhibit as much confidence as you can (without appearing cocky), and be as convincing as possible - speak with conviction (sincerely). Make believe you're talking to someone who already knows everything about you - do not put up a front. Visit websites that list the most common interview questions and learn the answers that apply in your case. I hope I haven't left anything out. Best wishes.

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, as far as I know, is not a violinist. It doesn't matter. She is a perfect example of the magic of coincidence - the chance encounter of two or more events, seemingly beyond your control. I say seemingly because one can never be absolutely certain - beyond a reasonable doubt - that invisible agents do not have some say as to what actually meets at a particular point and what doesn't. Many people believe in guardian angels - I know I do. In any case, Governor Palin was in the right place at the right time. With only minimal experience in government, she now occupies an extremely important place at the highest level of politics - raised up from almost nowhere. Thanks to that, she might one day be President of the U.S. Imagine how Hillary must feel.

Playboy Covers

Linda Brava is a Scandinavian violinist, but you have probably never heard of her. Her name is actually Linda Lampenius. She has a page on MySpace. The unusual thing about Ms Brava is that she has appeared on the cover of Playboy - probably the only classical violinist to ever do so. She began her violin studies at the age of five in Helsinki, Finland. As a teenager and into her early twenties, she was a member and concertmaster of several different orchestras, including the National Opera Orchestra. Then, she moved on to become an actress and a model, including gigs in Baywatch and a stint as model for Bjorn Borg fashions. In April of 1998, she was on the cover of Playboy magazine. She also served on the City of Helsinki's City Council and later was appointed Tourism Ambassador from Finland, in Sweden. In addition, as if that weren't enough, she has her own brand of Finnish Cider!!! (Jennifer Lopez comes to mind). She continues to play, of course, and she plays beautifully. Listen for yourself.

Teresa Milanollo

Teresa Milanollo was an Italian violinist of the nineteenth century, born August 28, in 1827. She studied with French violinist DeBeriot, concertized for a while, but gave up her career upon marrying French General Theodore Parmentier in 1857. She would be almost completely unknown today if it were not for the fact that a famous Stradivari violin bears her name - the Milanollo Strad made in 1728, now being played by Corey Cerovsek. This violin was at one time played by Nicolo Paganini; however, Teresa Milanollo inherited it from Domenico Dragonetti. Some people are just lucky that way.

Allegra Q.

Allegra Q. is one of the El Paso Symphony’s most versatile violinists. In addition to playing violin, she also plays viola in the orchestra (though not at the same time) and is ready to switch on a moment’s notice. She prefers first to second violin because it’s more challenging. She gets to play second violin in the UACJ Symphony and that’s more than enough. She is one of the brave musicians who ventures to Juarez about once a month to play concerts there, in order to enrich the cultural life of that city. That, believe me, takes the nerves of a bullfighter. Her violin studies commenced with her mom and dad (both of them viola players!!!) at age one and by the time she was eight, she had appeared as guest soloist with the Las Cruces Symphony. This season, she will make her debut with the El Paso Opera, though not as a singer (or dancer). Yes, she could sing professionally if she wanted – take my word – but her gig with the Opera Company is with the Orchestra (and with its magnificent and distinguished conductor, Raymond Harvey). That will mark one more rung up the musical ranks for her. Allegra already plays in the Las Cruces Symphony's first violin section so that makes her one of the busiest fiddlers in town. She is a sophomore in college, so maybe by the time she’s a senior, she might be concertmaster? Who really knows? Her favorite classical violinist? Joshua Bell. Her big secret??? She knows every song on iTunes and she can dance better than Britney Spears. Her idol??? She isn’t telling.

Advice column

I am an experimenter - I should have been a researcher. I am about to conduct an experiment on this blog, such as it is. Effective immediately, I will be posting unsolicited advice on various topics - too numerous to mention - from anaconcada death grip avoidance to zebra stripe interpretation. I will try to avoid relationship advice - that's way too touchy a subject - now and then, if I can't help myself, it will be here too. I am the writer after all - and, best of all, it will be free. Very soon also, I will start posting profiles of various orchestra members. That will be interesting. They say that truth is stranger than fiction. So, how do you keep an anaconda from strangling you to death? If you can't totally stay away from the rain forest, keep a lighter in your pocket at all times. Light a fire under the snake's belly as soon as you notice it wrapping itself around you, being careful not to catch your own garment on fire. That's my best guess.

Democratic Convention

Well, the convention is in full swing - I'm sure you're keeping up with it. All the speeches sound like they were made in heaven. I played for a fancy dinner of a group of lawyers one time - a string quartet it was. Everyone looked great in their suits and power ties and lavish dresses. The speeches came before we played so we heard them all. We didn't mind, we were getting paid by the hour. All the things said sounded so high minded and idealistic I was mesmerized. Then I remembered they were just words. The distance between words and deeds is great - very great. I wonder if politicians believe anything they say - maybe they just like the limelight. Who really knows?