Holly Mulcahy

After hearing Scheherazade at an early age, Holly Mulcahy fell in love with the violin and knew it would be her future. She currently serves as concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She spends her summers at the celebrated Grand Teton Music Festival. Believing in music as a healing and coping source, Holly founded Arts Capacity, a charitable 501(c)3 which focuses on bringing live chamber music, art, artists, and composers to prisons. Arts Capacity addresses many emotional and character-building issues people face as they prepare for release into society. Holly performs on a 1917 Giovanni Cavani violin, previously owned by the late renowned soloist Eugene Fodor, and a bespoke bow made by award winning master bow maker, Douglas Raguse.

How To Alienate Your Audience in 10 Easy Steps: Musicians

Tue, Jul 12, 2022Mon, Dec 1, 2008 by Holly Mulcahy

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest measurements for justifying an orchestra’s value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior from those inside the ensemble.

Last month’s article showed how conductors alienate audiences through certain behaviors and this month is the musician’s turn. Of course, not every musician is guilty of the transgressions below but they happen often enough that they contribute to alienating an audience, so I’ve created this step-by-step guide to identify the problems along with some practical advice on how to avoid the traps.

How To Alienate Your Audience In 10 Easy Steps: Music Directors

Tue, Jul 12, 2022Mon, Nov 3, 2008 by Holly Mulcahy

An engaged, enthusiastic, and diverse audience is one of the strongest measurements for justifying an orchestra’ value. During my years as a violinist in various orchestras around the country, I have witnessed audiences lose their enthusiasm for live concerts and turn their backs to orchestras as the result of behavior from those inside the ensemble.

A growing reality is nobody seems to learn from these mistakes and instead, treats them as though they should be expected behavior. Concerts and rehearsals are becoming as predictable as bad sitcoms but instead of turning preachy about how each group needs to avoid making the mistakes, I’ve created this step-by-step guide to identify the problems which contribute to alienating an audience along with some practical advice on how to avoid the traps.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Critics?

Mon, Sep 5, 2011Mon, Oct 6, 2008 by Holly Mulcahy

One of the best activities after a concert is to talk about it over drinks. For musicians, talking about a concert that has just been performed boils down to a musical postmortem. What went well, what went horribly wrong, how it could (read: should) have been better, are all tossed about over beer or wine.

By the nature of their training, musicians are trained to be hyper-critical with their own performances. Whether it is solo, chamber music, or orchestral music, the inner critic never shuts off. And while this is a very good tool to keep skills sharply honed, it can be detrimental in certain situations.

Summer Reflections; proof as to why I should stick to violin

Mon, Sep 5, 2011Mon, Sep 1, 2008 by Holly Mulcahy

Crazy things happen during the final weeks at some music festivals, and this summer was no different. I was wrapping up my fourth week at the Grand Teton Music Festival when sudden inspiration hit me. I wondered how easy it was to play the trombone solo in Bolero!

Fortunately, my brother is a professional trombonist and since we were both playing the festival and sharing housing, I coaxed him to play the Bolero trombone solo. I asked if he could teach me, and what started out as a crazy joke turned into much more than I bargained for.

The Slow Movement, Part 2

Fri, Jun 5, 2015Mon, Aug 4, 2008 by Holly Mulcahy

Over the past 20 years, the Slow Food movement has grown from being characterized as a gimmick created by a small group of culinary elitists to mainstream acceptance throughout much of Europe and the US. Along the way, the movement has overcome a number of obstacles that are similar to those currently facing the world classical music. But the message classical music portrays isn’t as clear or unified as the Slow Food movement. There is no doubt that classical music organizations are working hard to build support for classical music but many … Continue Reading