Michael Fo

I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, so I was surrounded by music my entire life. The simple act of being driven home from school brought me face to face with these huge buildings, all of them recording studios and record labels... So, I got into violin when I was 5, through the Suzuki method, because my parents forced me to. At the time, I really wanted to play drums, but we lived in a small apartment at the time, and they didn't want to make the neighborhood mad. They're first choice was actually piano, but they were afraid it would cost too much. So, after several months, when the indomitable scratches I was making finally turned into something vaguely resembling "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," I gradually became hooked. I loved music, loved the feel of the violin under my neck, and loved playing in front of people... BUT the overall stuffiness, pedagogical rigidity, and absurd pomposity of the whole classical violin scene wasn't really what I had in mind, so (being blessed with wonderful, supportive parents) I started getting involved with old-time and bluegrass fiddling style - really loving the chance to do something more fun, more freeing, and more a part of my culture and heritage...Then, to make a potentially really long story shorter, I discovered Jean-Luc Ponty, got an electric, and starting going crazy. .... Basically, musically speaking, I don't believe in boundaries - I don't think musicians need to be categorized or put into little boxes that tells them what they can and can't do. I think people should be allowed to explore whatever voices they find something true and beautiful - and feel free to add their own voice. I wanna learn from anything and everything, because music provided a window into another human's soul - and I believe each soul has value. I don't exalt Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms above anyone else, but I prefer to learn the music of the outsider, the marginalized, and the voiceless. As a teacher, I believe each student needs to be encouraged to improvise, and discover their own voice, not merely be told what to play.

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