On That Note contributor Robert Cohen often joins Lake Effect from remote locations around the world. But this month, the professional cellist was back in Milwaukee for a concert with the Fine Arts Quartet.
This was a particularly noteworthy concert for Cohen, because he had a chance to play with a former student. Musicians often inhabit a unique world in which they're both students and teachers at the same time, so it isn't unusual for him to have an opportunity to work with his former students.
"It's a bit like having sort of children all over the world, really, that have taken your message, have developed it in their own way, and they're also teaching themselves now," says Cohen.
He says one of the "most beautiful things" about continuing relationships with former students is hearing about the ways in which his teaching style truly spoke to them and made them better teachers and musicians.
"Recordings are fine and they are a snapshot of what you did at a certain moment. But this kind of living legacy, it feels more important now as I get on and have more and more experiences of teaching," says Cohen.