I’m thrilled to announce the publication of a new book. Teaching Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass: Historical and Modern Pedagogical Practices, co-authored with Dijana Ihas and Gaelen McCormick, is the result of four years’ research and writing. When my co-authors and I began the daunting process of compiling every pedagogical treatise ever written about bowed string instruments, we had no idea just how much literature there was. The journey of research and writing involved the detailed help of librarians and archivists around the world (in the middle of a global pandemic, no less!), plu ..read more

I spent half my childhood and teenage years at Wellington City Library, ransacking their collection of Strad and Strings magazines for new issues, checking out armfuls of CDs, and reading my way through their books about music. So I’m beyond thrilled that The Well-Tempered Cello: Life with Bach’s Cello Suites is included in their feature about the Bach Cello Suites. That scrawny teenager in the library would have been amazed and filled with joy to learn that she’d one day have a book reviewed in The Strad, and in Strings, and at the WCL page. It really would have been beyond my wildest dreams ..read more

I’ve been reading The Strad avidly since I was a teenager, so it was a huge thrill to have my book reviewed in this august publication. I used to check copies out of the Wellington City Library, cart them home on the bus, and lie on the floor for hours, poring over the pages. If the 14-year-old Miranda had imagined that one day she’d write a book about the Bach Cello Suites and that The Strad would review it, well, she’d have simultaneously jumped out of her skin with astonishment, run around the room in five directions at once, and shrieked all kinds of yippees and hoorays. My inner 14-year-o ..read more

It was exciting to wake up to the news that Strings had reviewed The Well-Tempered Cello. Something the reviewer said reminds me that I’d like to have more of my own recordings of Bach up on YouTube, since right now I only have a live performance of the First Suite (in a COVID mask…) and a handful of audio recordings of movements from other suites in SoundCloud. A few readers have asked about it too. Short answer: there was a professional videographer at my Bach Marathon, but sadly his computer was stolen the day after the concert and the recordings were irretrievably lost. I haven’t (yet) se ..read more

To my astonishment and joy, I saw that The Well-Tempered Cello: Life with Bach’s Cello Suites is now #1 in New Releases for String Instruments at Amazon. It is now available on Kindle for those who prefer an e-book. I’m touched, grateful, and humbled at the support my book is receiving. From the bottom of my heart, thank you ..read more

I’m humbled and grateful for this reader review of The Well-Tempered Cello: Life with Bach’s Cello Suites. Hopefully it will inspire others to read my book! Thank you ..read more

The Well-Tempered Cello: Life with Bach’s Cello Suites by Miranda Wilson I am thrilled to announce the publication of my second book, The Well-Tempered Cello: Life with Bach’s Cello Suites. It’s currently available on Amazon, and will soon be available on other platforms. This book, a memoir about my lifelong search for meaning and belonging in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, was a long time in the making. I would be ecstatic and humbled if you’d consider reading it. From the back cover: “The Well-Tempered Cello revisits the masterpieces that form a soundtrack to a cellist’s life – the Si ..read more

Image credit: Pixabay By Miranda Wilson (Adapted from a speech given at the DSU Cello Festival, St. George, Utah on September 18, 2021.) The privilege of coming together with other people to make and listen to music is something I’ll never take for granted again. I’ve always thought one of the nicest things about our profession is its ability to bring people together. When the pandemic took that away from us, it felt like the punch line of a really bad riddle. “If a cellist only plays the cello at home in their room, does it make a sound?” It seemed particularly cruel to have our concerts take ..read more

By Miranda Wilson Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes); Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes); Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes. — C25K app, Week 6 Day 2. After last week’s realization that progress doesn’t always go in a straight line upwards, I felt much less pressured to get faster or be better at running. So far, I haven’t made a habit of previewing the next running assignment on the app, preferring to open it only when I’ve put on my workout clothes, stretched, and tied my running shoes. Week 5 Day 3 was therefore a surprise: “Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles ..read more

By Miranda Wilson After last week’s emotional meltdown when Week 4 of C25K brought up some unpleasant memories that I’d rather forget, it was time to have a serious conversation with myself about whether I was going to keep doing this. Was I enjoying myself yet? No. Was I better at running yet? No. So if you’re not having fun and you’re not getting good (and, to be scrupulously honest, you’re the kind of overachiever who only enjoys things they’re good at), why keep on keeping on? The short answer is that I couldn’t stop thinking about the two things strangers in airports say to me when they ..read more