A Sound Post

       On my third day in St. Lucia, the sound post inside my cello went down.  As my body was acclimatizing to the heat and humidity,  so was my instrument. The sound post is a vertical dowel with angled ends that connects the back of the cello to the front.  It's set in place with a sound post setter, an angled metal bar that stabs into the dowel.  With infinite patience and a flashlight, one can insert the dowel into the cello and set it upright. An experienced luthier can dramatically change the sound of the instrument by moving the post location in one direction or another.  I've reset my sound post four times in the last two weeks.  It's completely annoying.                                                                                          So, in this blogpost I celebrate an enterprising 17-year old cellist named Runley.  Maintaining a wooden instrument near the equator requires vigilance and determination, and, as of yet, there are no luthiers on St. Lucia.  Perhaps that will change soon, but until then, I've adopted Runley as my luthier apprentice.   

       Runley came to the St. Lucia School of Music five years ago when there were funds to support a music immersion program in the Marchand ghetto.  This inspiring program targeted youth at risk and saved the lives of a dozen or so young musicians.  Without music Runley would most certainly have gotten involved in gang activity, and, perhaps, wouldn't be here today.

        Here you see Runley proudly displaying a cello in which he has just set a sound post.  Not only did he set the post, but he also measured and cut it to fit with a serrated kitchen knife.   Runley is also training as a plumber and performs both Bach and Mingus effortlessly.