Late starter cello player

I started playing the cello four years ago while living in the USA. I had thought about playing an instrument for many years and when a friend, who had just begun violin lessons, asked me if I had ever wanted to play anything I said the cello. She was so excited because her violin teacher was also a cello teacher. After her next violin lesson I tried a cello and was hooked. I went home with a cello, much to the amazement of hubby. My friend and I started playing together from that first day, mostly on a Monday evening.

I find the cello to be difficult and frustrating, but oh so much fun. It is the best thing I have ever done. After returning to England in 2007, I took my Grade 2 exam mainly to experience the whole exam system in place for instrumentalists. It was very nerve-wracking! Even so, I got to play in an old priory with wonderful acoustics, a grand piano accompaniment, and a one person audience, the examiner. He was extremely nice, putting me at ease quickly. I toyed with the idea of taking my Grade 3 last year, eventually skipping it and am now working on Grade 4 scores and techniques.

The most frustrating thing about playing is not having anyone else to play with on a regular basis. I have a cello lesson every 3 or 4 weeks of an hour and a half long, and play duets with my teacher for the last 20 minutes of each lesson. That is good for listening to another player and making sure I keep in time and rhythm. It is also excellent practice in sight reading as I have to keep playing, whereas at home I would slow down or stop on tricky bits. Other than my teacher, it is on my own or playing along with CDs, which is itself a challenge and can be unsatisfactory.

There is a local orchestra here, but they only want players of over Grade 5 standard (in reality I think they mean Grade 7 or 8, as I have been along to one rehearsal and seen how they work). So I think I need to set up a network of adult learners, who are not yet up to Grade 5, who can contact other players in their area for practice sessions. Perhaps we will see some groups or ensembles forming, which would be great.

There is a late starters orchestra, the East London Late Starters' Orchestra, that does a great job of providing tuition and ensemble playing every Saturday during school term time. They are a bit too far for me to go, other than once in a while, as I have to use public transport and that would mean leaving home about 5:30 in the morning. Plus Saturday's are the only day I can have my personal lessons. I recommend them for anyone with easy access to Stratford, East London. They have a lot of information on their website.