In order to try to keep things tidy around here, I’ve reorganized the site a bit (again). One thing that happened was that the old “articles” section disappeared and some of the old articles have turned retroactively into blog posts. The official start of the blog was May of 2008, but some of my old stuff (going back to 2001) can now be found there.
I posted last week about Diane Wood, the federal judge and oboist who is a candidate to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat on the US Supreme Court. (Unsurprisingly, Patty Mitchell, prolific blogger and online curator of all things oboe-related, also picked up the story.)
The oboe isn’t just an instrument; it’s a way of life. … Playing the oboe means living your life entirely at the mercy of tiny wooden double reeds that crack at inopportune moments (weirder and more awful yet, you’re supposed to make them yourself as though you were a 19th century artisan). It also means blowing so hard into them that you risk a brain aneurysm every time you try to hit a high D. It also means you’re a huge nerd.
I am pleased to announce a newly-commissioned piece in progress, for multiple woodwinds soloist and piano, being composed by Sy Brandon. Dr. Brandon is Professor Emeritus of Music at Millersville University in Pennsylvania and an active, prolific composer. He also blogs about his composition process at Composing Insights. The commission is made possible by a Co-op Press Commission Assistance Grant.
I was delighted a few years ago to have a fascinating new piece, seventy times seven, written by Dan Bradshaw, which was a blast to perform but required some instruments I don’t own (baritone saxophone and B-flat contrabass clarinet) and some fairly sophisticated electronics operated in live performance by the composer. I fear that, because of the complications involved (did I mention the composer now lives in Hawaii?) I may never get to perform it again.
In my application for the Co-op Press grant, I made the case that even though there are a small handful of pieces for woodwind doublers, few of them are very portable—most require a large ensemble, hard-to-find instruments, or electronics, or otherwise have logistical barriers to performance. I think there is demand among the doubling community for pieces that showcase multiple-woodwind skill and that can be programmed on a recital with reasonable ease.
I’ll be posting updates here, and Dr. Brandon has already started documenting his work on the piece over at Composing Insights. He has posted the first movement, for flute and piano, and is asking for comments, so surf on over and take a look.
I am pleased to announce that this fall I will be joining the faculty of the Delta State University Department of Music. DSU is located in Cleveland, Mississippi, in the beautiful and historic Mississippi Delta region.
I had the privilege of visiting the DSU campus last month, and fell in love with the charming campus, the outstanding music faculty, the state-of-the-art performance and recording facilities, and, of course, the bright and friendly students, for whom I got to present a performance and masterclass.
I’m looking forward to getting started at Delta State, where I will teach all of the reed instruments (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone), woodwind methods, and other music courses. Classes start August 17th! Read More “Go Fightin’ Okra”
Here are some videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital. I enjoyed tackling Brett Wery’s challenging Sonata for multiple woodwinds (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone) and piano, plus some little oboe pieces and the André Previn bassoon sonata. As always, the goal was to challenge myself, so, as always, the performance had some hiccups. But it was a valuable growth experience for me and a chance to perform some new repertoire.
The Fingering Diagram Builder didn’t get any new features or improvements this year, but I have a new version in progress with some improvements I hope you will like. No promises at this point about release date. These days I’m seeing FDB diagrams pop up in virtually every issue of some of the major woodwind organization journals, plus I’m hearing at least a few times a month from people working on books, articles, dissertations, and other things. I love to hear from anybody who is finding the FDB useful (and of course I expect people working on for-profit projects to touch base). I did write a blog post about using created diagrams: Creating fingering charts with diagrams from the Fingering Diagram Builder.
The big list of woodwind doubling in musicals continues to be a cool way for me to connect with woodwind players from all over the world. The list grows larger and more accurate on nearly a weekly basis. Thanks to all contributors, and I hope to hear from you some more in 2017.
I did another 12 months’ worth of my favorite posts from other blogs. I welcome tips on other woodwind-related blogs I should be following, including yours.
It has long been an ambition of mine for the things I write on this blog to crystalize into a book on woodwind playing. I’m pleased to report that I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that project, and am 85% on track to release it in the first half of 2017. It’s something that I am hoping will be useful for college woodwind methods classes, for school band directors and private teachers, and for woodwind players (especially doublers). If you’re interested, consider joining this mailing list so I can let you know when it’s available. Or make sure you’re following my blog posts on Twitter and/or Facebook for that eventual announcement, plus of course all my latest blog posts.
Thanks for reading, commenting, sharing, and otherwise connecting in 2016. See you next year!
