At 40, Jamie’s musical year has unfurled like a well-baked tart: sumptuous, deliberate, and quietly ambitious. On violin (Jamie Chimchirian’s The Violin Method for Beginners guiding each bow stroke) she arrives at posture and phrasing with the shy confidence of someone who savours practice. At piano, Randall Faber’s Hanon‑Faber selections have seasoned her technique; scales and arpeggios now glisten, supported by the online Hanon-Faber resources and TeachRock’s Musical Ratios, which have sharpened her rhythmic palate. The combined reading of Kindling the Spark and Think Like an Artist has coaxed curiosity and inventive rehearsal strategies, and Raven Lite has brought listening into the garden — birdsong informing nuance. Her tone is warm, her timing assured; repertoire is performed with taste and a delectable sense of line. Progress is exemplary to proficient: technically secure, musically expressive, and courageously exploratory for a novice violinist and an intermediate pianist.
Continue to blend disciplined routine with playful listening, to season practice with imagination, and to relish the small, nourishing triumphs that make music irresistibly delicious. Next year, add modest tempo challenges, duet repertoire, mindful sight‑reading sessions and continued aural work with Raven Lite; these small flavours will deepen artistry and keep practice delightfully appetising always.