Clarisse Atcherson

Violin

At this very moment …

Clarisse is making mental plans for her violin students, coming up with ideas for recitals and repertoire. "Creating individual and group projects for them is fun for me. I find myself daydreaming about my students regularly."

On the CD player …

we'd find music that Clarisse wants to know better, such as the Ysaye Sonatas, and chamber music by Brahms, Dvorak, Chausson, Enesco, and Beethoven ("for fun ") . "When my husband, David, and I are relaxing at home we listen to jazz because I don't feel the need to listen intently to it. Classical music makes me feel engaged rather than at ease."

In the kitchen …

we'd find Starbuck's coffee and bottles of Pinot and Cabernet on the counter. In the refrigerator, there are various cheeses, eggs, milk, vegetables, and lots of jars with condiments, pickled things, and sauces. "My sister once remarked that our refrigerator was incredibly full for having only two people in the house! My husband and I both enjoy gourmet meals, and we use a wide variety of ingredients."

On the music stand …

many pieces sit on the stand during the course of a day. Clarisse plays accompaniments for her students more often on the violin than on the piano, reading off the score like a one-person orchestra. "My ability to transpose bass clef on the violin has really grown! I also play duets with my younger students regularly because it solidifies their rhythm and makes them play more strongly. For my own practice, I play scales and arpeggios, whatever I'll be performing next, and passages from concertos that I may need to demonstrate at lessons."

And on the nightstand …

"Teaching Genius (the book about violin teacher Dorothy DeLay)," "Quintet" by David Blum (includes a terrific interview with violin teacher Josef Gingold), Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and usually a novel or mystery. "My favorite book so far this year was The Three Junes. I usually choose books I read about in the paper or that received awards."

Before you left …

Clarisse would show you the deck that her husband built ("You could park a truck on it," he says) and the photos of various students hanging in the hall or sitting on the piano. "If the weather were nice, we could go in the garden, where I would cut you some basil or rosemary, or show you how to collect seeds from the touch-me-nots!"