Here’s a new minor release of the Fingering Diagram Builder with a few small improvements:
I’m back from the Clarinet Academy of the South, a weeklong series of masterclasses by Robert DiLutis and D. Ray McClellan. The “Academy,” in its inaugural year, was held at the lovely campus of my recent alma mater, the University of Georgia. Dr. McClellan is the clarinet professor at UGA, and a former member of the President’s Own Marine Band. Mr. DiLutis is the clarinet professor at Lousiana State University, and formerly of the Rochester Philharmonic and the Eastman School of Music.
Around two dozen clarinetists attended. Most were college or graduate-school clarinet students, but there were also some professionals and educators. Many were current or former UGA or LSU students, and some were newly-admitted students looking to get a leg up for the fall.
Although the attendees found time to socialize, explore the campus, and try some favorite local eateries, the overall tone of the camp was studious. Each day’s itinerary began with practice time at 8:00 A.M., and finished after three intensive masterclass sessions at 9:00 P.M. Most of the attendees stayed in inexpensive and convenient on-campus housing.
Some highlights of the week included an opening recital by Mr. DiLutis and Dr. McClellan, sessions on reed adjusting and reedmaking by Mr. DiLutis, a class on phrasing by Dr. McClellan, a mock orchestral audition, and sessions dedicated to the Mozart concerto and the Nielsen concerto. Read More “Report: Clarinet Academy of the South 2011”
Below are a few audio clips from my recent faculty woodwinds recital at Delta State University.
At this point it’s gotten hard for me to imagine doing a full recital on a single instrument. I enjoy getting to play several, and audiences seem to enjoy the variety. And since this was my first faculty recital at my new gig, I wanted each of my students to hear me perform something from the core repertoire of their instrument.
I would like, ultimately, to be able to put together a full recital of woodwind pieces without making any special concessions for the fact that I am playing multiple instruments. In this case I did play it a little on the safe side: I chose a program that was not overwhelmingly technical, and I programmed something short of an hour’s worth of music so that I could take a few extra minutes between pieces.
One note-to-self for next time: I experienced a few onstage symptoms of not being thoroughly warmed up on each instrument (water in oboe toneholes, low note response issues on bassoon). I purposefully avoided playing too much on the day of the recital, but I think I can find a better balance the next time around. Read More “New sound clips: Faculty woodwinds recital, Feb. 15, 2010”
Attention: woodwind doublers!
The time has come to stand up and be counted. The linked survey is for anyone who considers themselves to be a woodwind doubler of any ability level at all.
All the questions are optional, so you can skip anything you don’t feel like answering, but thorough responses are much appreciated. The survey will remain open for an as-yet-undetermined amount of time. When there are enough responses to be interesting, I’ll post some analysis here.
The more responses, the better, so please share this with your woodwind doubling buddies. You can use the “Share” buttons (to the left, if you’re reading on a large screen) to pass this along to people via email, Facebook, Twitter, and others, or use this short link as you see fit: http://wp.me/pfZdF-TZ
Update: The survey is now closed. Thanks for your participation!
Read More “The Great Woodwind Doubler Census of 2011”
Here are videos from my recent faculty recital at Delta State University. I performed the Saint-Saëns oboe, bassoon, and clarinet sonatas, plus the flute Romance and “The Swan” from The Carnival of the Animals as a baritone saxophone transcription.
“The Swan” is originally for cello, so I assumed it might work well as a baritone saxophone transcription. It turns out it really fits quite comfortably in the alto saxophone’s range, but I decided to take it on as a baritone piece anyway as a personal challenge.
More results from the Great Woodwind Doubler Census of 2011. Enjoy!
Out of 187 total respondents, every one answered this question. The complete wording of the possible responses was as follows:
The biggest surprise to me was the number claiming bachelors degrees in multiple woodwinds. I assume that many of these must be double majors or other oddities, since there are very few true bachelors degree programs in multiple woodwinds available.
Read More “Woodwind Doubler Census results, part 3: education and training”
Kumiko Shimizu, piano
Bret Pimentel, woodwinds
Faculty Recital
Delta State University Department of Music
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Thursday, September 13, 2012
7:30 PM
from Suite for Flute and Piano
Claude Bolling (b. 1930)
I. Baroque and Blue
V. Irlandaise
VII. Veloce
from Four Personalities for Oboe and Piano
Alyssa Morris (b. 1984)
II. White
I. Yellow
Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
I.
II.
III.
Naima
John Coltrane (1926-1967), arranged by Bret Pimentel
Peace Piece
Bill Evans (1929-1980), transcribed by Brent Edstrom
Fuzzy Bird Sonata
Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953)
1. Run, bird
2. Sing, bird
3. Fly, bird
Ballade
Keri Degg (b. 1975) Read More “Faculty piano and woodwinds recital, Sept. 13, 2012”
