I’m joined in the backyard this week by Violympian and VMC participant Travis Maril, as well as his fellow USC alum and my Director of Operations, Kate Reddish. Our wide-ranging conversation includes no small measure of pedagogical geekery, as well as such diverse topics as Tae Kwon Do bribery and Michael Jordan’s private Space Jam gym.

Violist Travis Maril is String Coordinator and Viola Faculty at San Diego State University (SDSU), where he has taught since 2007. At SDSU he also serves as Co-Director of the Community Music School’s String Academy, a pre-college program for young musicians, which he co-founded in 2012. 

As violist with the Hyperion Quartet, Travis was a prizewinner at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Over the years he has collaborated in chamber music projects with principal players of the LA Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Miró Quartet, and Brooklyn Rider, among others.  Locally he performs frequently with Camarada, Art of Elan, and with the San Diego Symphony.

Inspired by the Violympics in 2021, Travis started String Gym, his own online program for violinists and violists. Through String Gym, Travis works with players across the US, Australia, Germany and Taiwan.  From time to time he also writes about music-related topics on his blog, String Theory. You can also follow Travis on Instagram.

If you’re interested in joining us for the fifth iteration of VMC, starting in 2023, you can find out more information here, and apply here.