This week, I had the pleasure of welcoming someone whose work has deeply touched and transformed me personally: Dr. Molly Gebrian – violist, neuroscientist, and one of the most exciting voices when it comes to making the science of learning understandable and practical for musicians. Molly uniquely combines two worlds we often think of as separate: art and brain research. She studied both music and neuroscience, teaches the science of practicing at the New England Conservatory, and has written the book “Learn Faster, Perform Better,” which has already become a cherished insider recommendation among musicians and educators.

I’ll admit it: on my desk there are almost always at least two or three to-do lists sitting side by side.
After all, different areas of life demand different kinds of attention — all, of course, absolutely essential.
Or are they? This year has taught me many things, but if I had to name my biggest lesson, it would be this: learning to define what can be left out.
And yes – as I’m sure it is for most of you – that seems to be far more challenging than simply starting a fourth to-do list, hoping that somewhere a small, unexpected, magical door of infinity might open this week, one that lets us finally get to all the things for which there never seems to be time because... (fill in the blank).

Every time I sit down for a new Penthesilea on Air episode, I’m reminded why I love these conversations so much: they allow me to discover not only try guest’s approaches to their individual artistry, but also the human stories, struggles and visions that shape them. My recent talk with trumpeter Giuliano Sommerhalder was exactly that—an inspiring journey through the highs and lows of a life in music. Giuliano’s career reads like a dream résumé: former principal trumpet of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, now with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, plus countless solo and chamber projects, not to mention teaching. But what impressed me most was not the list of accomplishments—it was his openness, his humility, and his desire to rethink what it means to be a musician today.