Becky Ramsey

An Adult Education course called “So you always wanted to play the cello!” set me on my path to becoming an early and thrilled host of the Sheffield Chamber Players. Yes, after playing violin for many years during my youth, I admitted to myself I always did want to play the cello. I began lessons and met many wonderful new friends to play chamber music with. One of them, Ping Weiner, began taking lessons with Alex Vavilov and he soon became a coach to our quartet. My husband and I were happy to have the chance to host the Sheffield concerts. It has been both fun and rewarding. Our friends have been dazzled by the chance to see, hear and better understand beautifully performed chamber pieces in a rare and meaningful way. It is actually breathtaking to be able to be so physically close to the real time making of music. In such an intimate setting, the experience of attending the concerts feels very personal to the audience and the players. After thirty years of living and working in Lexington as a psychiatrist, I’ve discovered a new community of friends in the lovely and talented professional musicians of the quartet and delighted guests who attend the concerts. This has been a wonderful and unexpected outcome of that aptly named course I took over a decade ago.