Meet Elizabeth Morrow | Professional cellist (performer and instructor), Dyslexia Therapist, creator of the NoteSense Music Reading Program, and photographer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Morrow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, how do you think about risk?
I have always been a risk-taker. I make bold choices and am rarely disappointed by the outcomes. I find taking risks opens me up to possibilities beyond the imagination. Risks lead to unexpected outcomes and lessons I didn’t even know were waiting for me. Risk is instigated growth. Even failure provides a next step forward.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a musician, a creative artist, a thinker/problem solver, and most recently, a photographer.

As a cellist, I have performed in amazing venues around the world in recital and as an orchestral musician. Succeeding on the cello comes from dedicated practice. Practice leads to performance excellence, and the comfort I feel when expressing myself on stage as a performer. Practice is how I learn to trust myself and express myself. It also helps me discover my limits as a performer and to recognize new challenges I have yet to master.

The biggest challenge in performance is keeping the process fresh and joyful, and not succumbing to undue pressure or burnout. This is where I apply my creative problem-solving skills, and opens me up to playing my cello with new eyes and new ears. As a teacher, I must understand the fundamental problems and solutions to every challenge I have faced as a performer so I might best bring these solutions to students as they develop these tools and better themselves.

After retiring from my university teaching position, I explored my creative problem solving by combining my musical talents with a side-career as a dyslexia instructor. The result created the NoteSense Music Reading Program for teaching music-reading to students with learning differences. I am most proud of the inspiration I have given to a generation of cellists and musicians while providing reading solutions for learning-challenged young students.

Since moving to Colorado I have expanded my creative work to include photography. In my photography, I am drawn to nature, color, and design, deriving inspiration from the myriad possibilities within the Colorado landscape.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Co-incidently, I do have a good friend visiting this week, and I have been thinking about this question. The first thing I will do is demonstrate the ease and joy of living in Niwot, a small town outside of Boulder on the front range. The community is small enough to walk everywhere, and destinations include the Niwot Food Market, Fritz’s brewery, numerous restaurants and small boutique shops, two coffee shops, and a variety of professional services. Outside of Niwot in every direction are trails for biking and walking, and even cross-country skiing in the winter. Seldom is there a weekend without some sort of festival or planned event, including the 1st Friday Art Walk, the Honey Bee festival in the fall, the Jazz festival in June, the Rock n Rails outdoor summer concert series, and numerous small pop-up events. Favorite destination hikes of mine are Caribou Ranch outside of Nederland and Kruger Rock in Hermit park, which overlooks the Estes Park valley and provides a grand view of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The late cello professor Michael Flaksman (Mannheim, Germany) was instrumental in defining the direction of my performance and teaching career. He taught me to explore and understand the physics of movement to release tension in my body and unleash musical expression. He also taught me that teaching is not a dictatorial endeavor, but a shared journey of exploration with my students. Twenty-one years of employment at The University of Texas at Arlington presented me with a springboard to develop and promote my journey as an artist and a teacher. My late husband Chuck Pratt inspires my photography, my son Morgan encourages my efforts to embrace life after the death of my husband in 2020, and my deep friendship with Jim Ringel has helped me discover the joy that life and love can provide even on the heels of experiencing profound loss.

Website: www.celloessentials.com, www.notesensemusic.com

Facebook: NoteSense Music Reading Program, Cello Essentials

Image Credits
Elaine Rose Eve Lampriere Chuck Pratt Elizabeth Morrow