Liebenow’s connection with Buswell contin-
ues today. This summer she earned a teaching
fellowship at the Heifetz International Summer
Institute in Stanton, Va., and was there with
Buswell and other teachers. “There were some
unbelievable young players there and I got to
observe them with master teachers,” she said.
Liebenow said she would like to be thought of
as a master teacher. “I think I’m a fine teacher.
I’ve been able to learn from some of the best,
including the conductors I’ve worked with here,
and I’ve taken something from those experienc-
es to help me with my own teaching skills. Some
teachers, everything they say to a student makes
an impact. I want to be able to do that. To teach
you have to be able to know how to explain to a
student how to bring the music off of the page,”
she said.
Playing and teaching go hand-in-hand, she
added. “The two things, performing and teach-
ing, really feed each other. If I wasn’t perform-
ing I would not be as good of a teacher. If I
wasn’t teaching, I would not be as good of a per-
former. That’s why I love what I am doing with
the symphony and at Bradley. It is demanding
but I still enjoy it.
“
To grow as a musician you have to be open
to learning. I am always learning and I hope I
always will.”
Liebenow said she has composed some
pieces, but does not consider herself a com-
poser. She also has no desire to be a conductor
one day. “As a concert master I am a leader and
that’s how I prefer it, to lead with my playing.
Conducting and composing? Neither is my
specialty.”
Playing violin, she added, is in itself “a very
intense craft. That’s why to have a successful
solo career takes practicing eight hours a day,
364
days a year. I prefer a collaborative effort,
like chamber music.”
Violin also is a two-handed instrument, which
is why violinists often build relationships with
their instruments. Liebenow has played the
same violin since 1984 and takes it with her
everywhere.
“
The violin, and most strings really, take a
lot of fine motor skills to accomplish. Dexterity
helps, which is why I think the younger a per-
son is when they start learning strings the better.
The older a person gets, the harder it is to learn
it. You can’t fight nature,” she said.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
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