--How would you describe what you do? 
What I aspire to do as a performance musician is first and foremost to master the technical aspects of a piece. I then try to determine what emotions and feelings the composer felt while writing and performing a piece. Finally, I figure out what the piece says to me, how it makes me feel, and how it relates to my life, and try to infuse some aspects of that into the performance as well.
--Is this different than what other people think you do?
I think most performers do some variation of this process, adding these personal and maybe historical touches are what makes performance interesting.
--How do you know if you’re on the right track with a project?
I personally am lucky to have a very knowledgable and talented teacher to coach me in the process. but when practicing or performing on my own, when the music really moves me, I feel the tension of the harmonies in my body, which is how I know I'm on track.
--How do you go about making choices?
I've been so lucky to have so many good teachers and coaches in my life that I am able to consult with my experience with them. I can ask myself how they would handle difficult decisions. On my own, I try to keep decisions as true to the composer and the composition as I can.
--How do you know when you’re done?
I rarely feel like I'm done. I could practice something forever and always be improving and becoming more comfortable with the work. I don't think I've ever given a performance and thought nothing could be better.
--What’s your workspace like?
At school my workspace is the practice rooms, which were built in an architectural dark age. tiny, poorly soundproofed cells with questionable stains on the carpet. However, despite being uncomfortable,  I actually prefer them to practicing at home, because they allow me  to work with less distractions. At home I like to practice in my bathroom, which has the best resonances.
--What are your essential tools?
My instrument and my music. and the various accessories that come with it. Occasionally i use a piano but apart from that I can play anywhere under many different circumstances. --What’s the most surprising tool you use? 
I think one of the coolest and most surprising thing about instruments are all the different techniques that can be used to create a diverse range of sounds.                                               
--What was your biggest mistake or the one you learned the most from?
My biggest mistake actually happens occasionally, when I don't adequately prepare for a performance. I think a lot of the time there is a discrepancy between an ideal of a performance and the reality.
--An example of your work:
Here is a video of myself playing first violin on Mozart's string quartet no. 19 in C major, fourth movement. This was at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, VT 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWLb5JyTb58&feature=relmfu