Announcements and news

Recital 11/3/2008

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I perform my final doctoral recital on Monday. It is my third recital on my “major” instruments (flute, oboe, and saxophone); I also performed one “minor” recital (clarinet and bassoon). The major/minor instruments are somewhat arbitrary, since I’m trying to play them all equally well.

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University woodwinds job postings, 10/12/08

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I would have mixed feelings about taking a teaching job outside the US, but I would definitely willing to fly out for an interview for this one. Maybe for a couple of weeks?

  • The College of the Bahamas – “…play and teach woodwind instruments and teach a variety of music courses. The ideal candidate will have a strong commitment to teaching undergraduate students; evidence of excellence in teaching and creative/innovative pedagogies; knowledge of current trends in pedagogy; skills in programme and course development and implementation; and a commitment to research.” See the listing

Doublers in the news: Douglas Owens

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A nice mention of my buddy and colleague Douglas Owens in the Durango, Colorado Telegraph. Photo, too. Doug was my fellow DMA student in multiple woodwinds at the University of Georgia, and has gone on to a new job at Fort Lewis College in Durango.

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IDRS 2008: Confirmed doubler sightings

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I don’t usually think of the double reed crowd as being terribly interested in woodwind doubling, but there were a number of doublers (ranging from amateur to professional) present at the IDRS conference this year. I know of these ones:

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IDRS 2008 Conference report

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I just got back from a fantastic week at the International Double Reed Society annual conference at Brigham Young University. The IDRS folks really know how to put on a great event, better than any of the various other instrumental organizations whose conferences I’ve attended. They seem to draw lots of high-caliber talent to perform and lecture, and everything is always impeccably organized. And being both an oboist and a bassoonist, IDRS is a nice two-for-one deal for me.

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Important people in woodwind history

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In my ongoing quest to learn all things woodwind-related in time for my doctoral comprehensive exams, I’ve compiled lists of important woodwind players, makers, teachers, composers, etc., with very brief biographies. Here’s the result.

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Essential woodwind literature

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I’m spending the summer studying for my doctoral comprehensive exams. One major component of the exams will be woodwind literature, so I’ve been trying to narrow down lists of really essential pieces. It has been an interesting challenge to select a list long enough to have depth and short enough to be manageable (I’ve was shooting for around 100 pieces total – I’m a little over).

I wanted the list to be a balance of a lot of different things: commonly-taught and commonly-performed literature, pieces of historical import, pieces representing style periods from Baroque to the 21st century, pieces covering a range of difficulty levels, and so forth.

Here’s what I’ve come up with.

University woodwinds job postings, 5/30/08

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Being a doctoral student in multiple woodwinds performance, I like to keep an eye on the job listings for university faculty positions that involve teaching multiple woodwind instruments. There usually aren’t many, at least not many that involve a national search. But two positions were posted to HigherEdJobs.com this morning:

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