My goals for students include guiding cellists, violists da gamba, and pianists towards independent musical thinking, creative problem solving, and development of profound, meaningful, connected, expressive, committed execution of music, either written by a composer, or created by the performer.
I studied cello with Orlando Cole and his assistant Metta Watts from the age of 10 until graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1980. I transitioned to lessons exclusively with Mr. Cole by the time I was a sophomore in high school. Mr. Cole was so celebrated that when he died in 2010 at the age of 101, although he had lived his entire life in Philadelphia, he was given a memorial concert in Oakland for which I was invited to perform along with fifteen other of his former cello students.
With Mr. Cole, I began to learn how to play with physical ease, to move my left arm in a single line, and to hold my bow so that I would not create tension. In my professional life, I have studied this to a great extent, and have thought about how to play efficiently. I have never been sidelined by tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. I communicate what I have learned to my students so that they are able to play effortlessly. Although I am small in stature, I discovered how to play with a large sound and to have an easy facility throughout the entire instrument.
In lessons, I assign three or four basic things: a scale, finger exercises, etudes, and one or more pieces from the repertoire. Technique, in the true sense of the word, means the ability to hear a piece of music in your head and translate that aural image into a physical reality. The ability to play scales, exercises, and etudes is a preparation for technique. I learned this principle from two teachers who were not cellists, but a violinist and a singer/pianist.
Nearly all people can sing; those who are truly monotone speak in a monotone. When a student sings a phrase, it’s often the case that they sing in a natural, musically satisfying way. Sometimes, I can catch mistakes that students make in their playing by having them sing the passage in question. They may have the same difficulty with their voice that they encounter with their cello, gamba, or piano. Some students refuse to sing, and we work through that in various ways. If they can be coaxed to sing, something naturally beautiful will come out.
My extensive 30+ year performing career has taken me all over the world. I have played as a member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and as assistant principal cellist of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. I have toured with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, I Solisti Veneti, La Nuova Orchestra Italiana, La Filarmonica de Valencia, Musica Angelica together with the Vienna Akademie Ensemble, Lux Musica, Taverner Players and Consort, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera Company among many others. I have played under nearly every famous conductor and with many first class soloists. I have also performed numerous concertos as a soloist with orchestra.
There are several momentous occasions that have been so profound and deep that they entered my being and inspire my teaching. For example, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, I played under Zubin Mehta who conduced a moving tribute to the slain prime minister in front of a huge audience. Similarly, I had seen the great Jacqueline DuPre backstage at a concert in London in September 1987, only to play in her memorial concert two months later. I played Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem) when the Israel Philharmonic performed it for the first time in Moscow and Warsaw, and also played to over one hundred thousand people at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. More recently, I played the St. Matthew Passion of J.S. Bach in the Musikverein in Vienna, where the audience knows the score and sings every chorale.
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Performances
Rehearsal Schedule May 11 (M) 7:00 - 9:00 May 15 (F) 1:00 - 3:00 May 16 (Sa) 2:00 - 4:30 May 17 (Su) 10:00 - 12:30 Dress May 20 (W) BPC program The Fringe at BFX Sunday, June 7, 2026 12:00 noon Berkeley Piano Club 2724 Haste Street Berkeley, CA 94704 Phone [...]
Stierlin, Mountain View, CA Sat, March 29, at 5:00 PM, PDT Reserve a spot$5 to reserve, $20+ at eventhttps://www.groupmuse.com/events/15036-enjoy-music-and-food-surrounded-by-books-in-mountain-view I invite you to a serene evening of harmonies at my home, in a cozy haven brimming with books and adorned with paintings of the idealistic Don Quixote. Let us escape the tumult of the outside world [...]
Woman’s Club, 475 Homer, Palo Alto 2:30- 3:30
— Scottish Rite Center, Oakland CA, 8pm, West Edge Opera, Monteverdi L'Incoranazione di Poppea
- The Ballroom, 21 Market Street Posts that use the performances category will load on the front page for a convenient calendar. Just make sure to select the Performances category and to put the date, time and location of the performance in the title
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Rehearsal Schedule
May 11 (M) 7:00 – 9:00
May 15 (F) 1:00 – 3:00
May 16 (Sa) 2:00 – 4:30
May 17 (Su) 10:00 – 12:30 Dress
May 20 (W) BPC programThe Fringe at BFX
Sunday, June 7, 2026
12:00 noon
Berkeley Piano Club
2724 Haste Street
Berkeley, CA 94704Phone number for event: 510-697-3657
$20 suggested or pay what you can
The AWRY Ensemble, division of Harmonia Felice
Rachel Durling, violin
Wendy Clymer, viola
Amy Brodo, cello
Yuko Tanaka, fortepianoFrom Six Trios a deux violons et violoncello oblige by
Madame Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen or (Syrmen) 1745 – 18 May 1818.
Opus 1
Sonata #5 in G major:
Allegro Moderato
Allegro/Menuetto/Allegro Menuetto/AllegroArpeggione Sonata, D. 821
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Allegro moderato
Adagio
AllegrettoFortepiano Quartet in E-flat Major, K.493
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Allegro
Larghetto
Allegretto
Bio(s):Violist Wendy Clymer studied at Brown University (BA), The Juilliard School, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (MM). She has performed with the California Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Vallejo Symphony, Symphony Napa Valley, Resonance Jazz Ensemble, and the California Bach Society, among others, and is in demand as a chamber musician. A dedicated educator as well as performer, Wendy teaches violin and viola at her private studio in Oakland. She is also on faculty at Crowden Music Center in Berkeley and coaches student and adult chamber groups throughout the Bay Area. As a therapeutic musician trained through the Music for Healing and Transition Program, Wendy provides bedside music for hospital patients.
Berkeley native Rachel Durling received her B.Mus. from Mannes College of Music in New York. She has performed with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nel Dolce Tempo, Teatro Bacchino, California Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, the nuevo-tango group New York-Buenos Aires Connection, Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics Ensemble, the Cuban Danzon group Orquesta La Moderna Tradicion, and Virginia Iglesias Flamenco Dance Academy. In addition to her work as a founding member of Baguette Quartette, Rachel plays regularly with Piano Club chamber groups and Corvo String Quartet. Rachel has also been active as a violin teacher for the last thirty plus years; she is on the faculty at Crowden School and at Black Pine Circle School.
Yuko Tanaka, a native of Tokyo, Japan, is active as soloist and ensemble performer on harpsichord, fortepiano and chamber organ. Yuko performs with ensembles including Bertamo Trio, Music of the Spheres, Archetti, Musica Pacifica, and has recorded with Moscow Chamber Orchestra and American Bach Soloists. She also performed with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and most recently with the Seattle Symphony performing Bach’s D major Harpsichord Concerto. For 15 years, Yuko was a soloist at the Carmel Bach Festival. Yuko maintains a private studio, conducts master classes, and appears as guest lecturer at various universities. Notable engagements include performances at the Frick Collection (New York City), Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Germany, and the Istanbul International Music Festival. Yuko received a Doctor in Musical Arts (DMA) in early music from Stanford University and has studied with Margaret Fabrizio at Stanford University, Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Ketil Haugsand in Oslo, Norway.
Amy Brodo (cello and gamba) performed for many years in Italy, Israel, and England before moving to San Francisco Bay Area, with positions including assistant principal cellist of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy, and cellist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. As a freelancer in Europe, she performed with several period and modern instrument groups. In California, Ms. Brodo has performed on viola da gamba and Baroque cello with groups that include Lux Musica, Sex Chordae Consort of Viols, Magnificat Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, El Mundo, Musica Angelica, Archetti and Albany Consort, California Bach Society. She has played on over twenty commercially produced recordings. Amy plays principal cello with the Livermore Opera Company, recently performed as principal cello with West Edge Opera and Solo Opera, and gives cello and piano recitals including compositions by twentieth century women composers and chamber music concerts. Amy judges several competitions and was a founding member of the piano quartet with voice, Persephone Chambers Ensemble. During this past season Amy performed chamber music at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia with Philadelphia Orchestra members and Curtis alumni. Her baroque group Harmonia Felice is now an affiliate of San Francisco Early Music Society and often performs Rameau operas for small forces. She maintains a private teaching studio in Oakland and Pleasanton, CA, and coaches chamber music for adults.
The first concerts of Harmonia Felice were in 2010, followed by a San Francisco Early Music Society Series in 2013 and several recent SFEMS events in addition to performances at series such as Noontime Concerts in Sacramento and Barefoot Chamber Concerts.
Dedicated to performing works by French Baroque Composers, it is a flexible ensemble whose members have included Elisabeth Blumenstock, Katie Kyme, William Skeen, Katherine Heater, and more currently, Roy Whelden, Tatiana Senderowicz, Jon Mendle, Brian Thorsett, Caroline Armitage, Caitlyn Coster, Yuko Tanaka with guest dancers of a variety of styles.
AWRY is a new subdivision of Harmonia Felice dedicated to performing the works of the late 18th century on period instruments including works by Mozart, Schubert, Laura Sirmen and others.
Harmonia Felice is an affiliate of the San Francisco Early Music Society
The San Francisco Early Music Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, EIN #51-0194258 -
Stierlin, Mountain View, CA
Sat, March 29, at 5:00 PM, PDTReserve a spot$5 to reserve, $20+ at event https://www.groupmuse.com/events/15036-enjoy-music-and-food-surrounded-by-books-in-mountain-view
I invite you to a serene evening of harmonies at my home, in a cozy haven brimming with books and adorned with paintings of the idealistic Don Quixote. Let us escape the tumult of the outside world and connect through the universal language of music. The refreshments will sate the hunger (bring your favorite food to share) and the music will reinforce our spirits.
What’s the music?
Amy BrodoCello, Baroque Cello, Viola Da GambaMusic by Rameau, Telemann, Abel, Roy Whelden, Hume, Gabrielli
Where does this music come from?
Rarely heard gems for the viola da gamba, the “king” of string instruments throughout Europe until around 1750.
Location
Exact address sent to approved attendees via email.
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— Scottish Rite Center, Oakland CA, 8pm, West Edge Opera, Monteverdi L’Incoranazione di Poppea
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– The Ballroom, 21 Market Street
Posts that use the performances category will load on the front page for a convenient calendar. Just make sure to select the Performances category and to put the date, time and location of the performance in the title
