Stand Partners For Life

Los Angeles Philharmonic violinists Nathan Cole and Akiko Tarumoto share ‘The Secrets of the Symphony’, telling tales and sharing tips from decades on the world’s stages with the greatest orchestras, soloists, and conductors.

Latest Episodes

026: Live from the Fischoff, Day 3
026: Live from the Fischoff, Day 3
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025: Live from the Fischoff, Day 2
025: Live from the Fischoff, Day 2
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024: Live from the Fischoff, Day 1
024: Live from the Fischoff, Day 1
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What does my future hold?
023: What does my future hold?
023: What does my future hold?

Here at Stand Partners for Life, we get a lot of questions about the future: what happens if I’m not playing concerto X by age Y? What will happen if I study with teacher Z, or go to school– I ran out of letters! So even though we can’t give definitive answers to these questions, Read more…

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An unfortunate break
022: An unfortunate break
022: An unfortunate break

If it seems like we’ve been silent the last couple of months, that’s because Akiko’s life has been pretty different since early March! One moment she was working out at the gym like she did five times a week, and the next she was flat on her back with paramedics on the way. Suffice it Read more…

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Nathan performing Brahms with Shlomo Mintz
021: The best orchestra audition concerto
021: The best orchestra audition concerto

OK, you guessed it: it’s going to be impossible for us to narrow things down to one “best”! But Akiko and I give it our best shot, outlining the pluses and minuses for all the popular choices. In this episode we refer to an article I wrote a few years ago, “Which violin concerto has Read more…

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Ray Chen, photo by John Mac
020: Ray Chen – how insecurity leads to maturity
020: Ray Chen – how insecurity leads to maturity

Virtuoso Ray Chen hardly needs an introduction, but let’s start with his Gold Medal at the Queen Elisabeth competition in 2009, at the age of 20! His career since then, by all appearances, has been an effortless climb. But as you’re about to hear, that isn’t the whole story. As I’ve gotten to know Ray Read more…

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Joseph Bein of Bein & Fushi
019: Joseph Bein and the myth of the “Attic Stradivarius”
019: Joseph Bein and the myth of the “Attic Stradivarius”

I met Joseph Bein almost as soon as I moved to Chicago to join the CSO in 2002. We’ve talked great instruments and bows ever since, over dinners, glasses of wine, and even Cubs games! Come to think of it, at Wrigley Field the talk is all baseball… Joe has been immersed in the world Read more…

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card trick
018: Fake it till you make it? How we learn music
018: Fake it till you make it? How we learn music

When it comes to getting all those notes, rhythms, dynamics, and articulations under your fingers, you’ve got to use every trick in the book. In this episode, we talk about how we get through our stacks of orchestra music. Of course, we need different strategies depending on whether we’re trying to revive an old friend, Read more…

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Theater before start time
017: The show must go on – When conductors cancel
017: The show must go on – When conductors cancel

A recent change of plans at the LA Phil leads us to reminisce on other times we’ve had conductors cancel. What happens when the audience is waiting and the show must go on? Transcript Nathan Cole: Hello, and welcome back to Stand Partners for Life with “The show must go on.” That’s the name of Read more…

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What Our Listeners Say

Customer Reviews
4.9 out of 5
215 Ratings
davidmiyamoto , 11/03/2022
Secrets of the Symphony!
A wonderful insider’s perspective of life as a professional musician shared by this phenomenal husband and wife duo, both violinists in the LA Phil. Nathan’s organized, logical approach is well-balanced by Akik…
Awesomeguy11 , 11/01/2022
So glad it’s coming back
Nathan and Akiko are a delight to listen to, and I look forward to the upcoming season learning more about their lives as violinists!
dnewmanm5 , 10/27/2022
This is a wonderful podcast. Highly recomme…
If you have any interest in how an American symphony orchestra works this is the podcast for you. They are wonderfully reasonable and candid about the life of a symphony play…
pghvla , 12/14/2020
Such a great window into life in classical mus…
I love this podcast. They have a wonderful chemistry and unique insight into life in a major orchestra, told with characteristic charm and intelligence. Really enjoying this podcast and keep them coming!
TheeGeneration.org , 06/30/2021
Practice
I love listening to these while I'm at work, thank you for making them! I wanted to see if you could make an episode on how to practice? As a violinist/violist I started a little late and never got a good…
chrishowardsocal , 09/29/2020
Great Behind the Scenes
Great Behind the Scenes Just finished listening to the first 5 episodes––awesome podcast. The hosts are articulate, humorous, and share a brilliant chemistry. If you play an instrument, take auditions, or want to see behind the scenes of a wor…

Free Guide: 8 Most Common Practice Mistakes

If you’re making any of these mistakes in the practice room, you could be killing your progress and wasting your hard-earned time. Here’s what to do instead:

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Free Guide

If You’re Making Any Of These 8 Mistakes In The Practice Room

(and everyone I’ve worked with makes at least 1) you’re holding yourself back! Get back on track today:
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