Thanks to all who participated in my 2021 woodwind doubling survey, and to those who helped spread the word. I’ve released the results in installments, so be sure to check out the rest.
I got 284 responses, an improvement over 2011’s 187. The numbers for each of these questions don’t necessarily add up to exactly that number, since not everybody responded to every question.
In the final section of the survey, I gave respondents the option to identify and tell me a little about themselves, including their names, locations, affiliations, websites, and other comments. I’m not sharing personally-identifiable information here, but I’ll respond in a general way to each question.
What is your name?
Almost 180 of you identified yourselves by name. It was lots of fun to scroll through see musicians I know and have worked with, who I have connected with online, and even some of my heroes and role models. And it was also very cool to see lots of names I didn’t know (yet). If you’re out there and would like to connect, I hope you will feel free to reach out.
Where do you live?
I’m sharing these sorted alphabetically and lightly edited.
| 19047 |
| Ada, OK |
| Ada, Oklahoma |
| Archer City, Texas |
| Arizona |
| around Boston |
| Around Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Asheville, NC |
| Ashland, KY |
| Atlanta |
| Auburn, ME |
| Austin TX |
| Austin, TX |
| Australia |
| Baltimore, MD area |
| Bangkok, Thailand |
| Berlin, CT |
| Birmingham, England (studying) |
| Bolivar, MO |
| Boston |
| Boston |
| Boston-area |
| California |
| Cambridge, UK |
| Canada |
| Centra Michigan |
| Charlotte, NC |
| Chatham, Ontario, Canada |
| Chicago |
| Chicago Suburbs |
| Chicago suburbs |
| cincinnati |
| Cleveland OH |
| Coburg, OR (but still gig in San Jose, CA, my previous residence) |
| Colorado |
| ComerÃo, Puerto Rico. |
| Connecticut |
| Conroe, TX (40 miles north of downtown Houston) |
| Coopersburg, PA |
| Corvallis |
| Covington, LA |
| Currently in Tampere, Finland; usually SoCal/ SF Bay Area |
| Dallas – Fort Worth Area |
| Dallas, Texas |
| Dallas, TX |
| Dallas/Fort Worth region |
| Darien, IL |
| DC area |
| Durant, Oklahoma / Las Vegas, Nevada |
| East Bay of SF Bay Area |
| East Lansing, MI |
| Eastern Mass |
| Eastern North Carolina |
| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Eugene, Oregon |
| Fargo ND |
| Fargo, ND |
| Finger Lakes region of New York |
| Florida |
| Fort Worth, Texas |
| Fresno, Ca. |
| Germany |
| Germany |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Greater Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| Greensboro, NC |
| Greensboro, NC |
| Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Hamels, Braughing, Hertfordshire, England |
| Hampton Roas, VA |
| Harrisburg, PA |
| Hong Kong |
| Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Houston |
| Houston TX |
| Houston, TX |
| Ihio |
| Indiana |
| Indianapolis |
| Indianapolis |
| iowa |
| Iowa USA |
| Jersey City |
| Kanagawa, Japan* (originally from Maine) |
| Kansas |
| Kansas |
| Kansas City metro area |
| Lancaster area PA |
| Lancaster, CA |
| Las Vegas |
| Las Vegas |
| Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Liverpool, NY |
| London |
| London |
| London and Cape Town |
| Long Beach, CA USA |
| Los Angeles |
| Los Angeles |
| Los Angeles/Orange County, CA |
| Madeira Beach, FL |
| Manhattan and Connecticut |
| Melbourne, Australia |
| Melbourne, Australia |
| Melbourne, Australia |
| Memphis |
| Memphis |
| Memphis, TN |
| Memphis,TN USA |
| Metro Atlanta |
| Miami, FL |
| Miami, Florida |
| Michigan |
| Middleton Massachusetts |
| Midwest U.S. |
| Milwaukee |
| Milwaukee |
| Milwaukee |
| Milwaukee WI |
| Minneapolis |
| Minneapolis, MN |
| Minnesota |
| Mississippi |
| Mississippi |
| Montgomery, AL |
| Murfreesboro |
| Myrtle Beach, SC |
| Nashville, TN |
| Nashville, TN |
| Nashville, TN |
| Near Eugene Oregon |
| Nebraska |
| Nevada |
| New England, USA |
| New England, USA |
| New Jersey |
| New Jersey |
| New Jersey, US |
| New Orleans |
| New York |
| New York City |
| New York City |
| New York City |
| New York City Metro area |
| New York, Montreal, and Florida |
| New York, NY |
| North Kingstown, RI |
| North Texas |
| Northeast Ohio/Western PA |
| Northeast Tennessee |
| Northeast U.S. |
| Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania |
| Northern California |
| Norway |
| NY |
| NY area |
| NYC |
| NYC |
| NYC |
| Ocean Reef, Perth, Western Australia |
| Ohio |
| Ohio |
| Oklahoma City |
| Oregon |
| Oregon |
| Orlando, Florida |
| Oxford, UK |
| Pennsylvania |
| Perth |
| Perth, Western Australia |
| Pickering, ON Canada |
| Piedmont Triad Area of North Carolina |
| Pittsburgh |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Preston, UK |
| Queensland, Australia |
| Reno, NV |
| San Antonio |
| San Antonio TX |
| San Antonio, TX |
| San Francisco |
| San Fransisco Bay Area |
| San Jose |
| San Jose, CA |
| San Jose, CA |
| San Jose, CA |
| San Jose, CA |
| San Jose, CA |
| San W |
| Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Scenic Martin, TN |
| Scotland |
| Scotland |
| Seattle, WA |
| SF Bay Area |
| SF Bay Area |
| SF Bay Area |
| SF Bay Area |
| SF South Bay Area |
| SF South Bay Area |
| Singapore |
| SLC Utah |
| South Eastern Wisconsin, USA |
| southern Virginia |
| Springfield, MO |
| St Andrews |
| St Paul/Minneapolis |
| St. Louis area |
| St. Louis, MO |
| State College PA |
| Sussex, Wi |
| Tampa Florida |
| Teaneck, NJ |
| Tennessee |
| Toronto |
| Toronto |
| Toronto CA -> Greensboro,NC |
| Toronto, Canada |
| Troy, AL |
| Trumansburg, NY |
| UK |
| Urbana, IL (& Springfield, IL) |
| Va Bch, VA. |
| Washington, DC |
| Washington, DC |
| Washington, DC metropolitan area |
| Wellington, New Zealand |
| Will be moving to Denton, Texas |
| Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada |
What is your main gig, performing group, teaching institution, etc.?
I have edited a number of these (the asterisks are mine) in cases where, based on my best judgment, I felt strangers might be able to identify you through web searches.
| *** Big Band |
| *** College/*** Community College/*** College/private studio/*** Festival Orchestra/*** Philharmonic |
| *** County Schools, Freelance musician |
| *** Ensemble, Broadway shows, recordings, *** College of Performing Arts |
| *** Episcopal School |
| *** High School (band director) |
| *** Jazz Band |
| *** London West End |
| *** Middle School (Teacher) |
| *** Musician |
| *** Quartet, Goodspeed Musicals, Playhouse on Park, etc. |
| *** Symphony Orchestra (Assistant Principal Bassoon/ Contrabassoon and much of the Saxophone work), teach at the University of ***, lots of studio recording sessions. |
| *** Symphony Orchestra, Bassoon |
| *** University graduate teaching assistant |
| *** Videogame Symphony |
| *** Winds, Ballet *** Orchestra |
| ***Winds, ***, *** |
| 2nd Alto Sax, US Navy Band *** Jazz Ensemble |
| 6-12 band director |
| A school big band |
| ABRSM |
| Air Force, formerly with a regional band, but now assigned a non-music job |
| Alabama State University |
| Band Director – High School |
| Band instrument repair |
| Bar gigs w/ a combo |
| Before the pandemic I was regularly doing musical theatre work 3/4s of the year and also was doing a fair bit of big band playing as well. The big band and various offshoots of it play pre 1940s swing music and some smaller “Dixie” stuff so there’s a lot for me to do on clarinet. I also teach privately at a school system and a music store and was leading an after school ensemble and doing sectional work with the other bands at the school system. Those ended up being fairly evenly split, and then I would pick up various odd work at studio sessions or local bar gigs |
| Big band jazz |
| Broadway |
| Broadway and Lincoln Center |
| Broadway pits |
| Certified bad*** (jk, picking up jobs when I can/doing musicals) |
| Church and Various community bands |
| Church Music Director |
| Church of ***, Music Director and keyboardist |
| Coastal Carolina University |
| Community band/ musicals |
| Community bands |
| Community Bands – 4 of them. |
| community orchestra |
| Community theater |
| Community wind ensemble |
| Cruise ship musician (saxes, flute, piccolo, clarinet) |
| Currently all virtual – mostly with the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves at ***. |
| Currently RSO/VVGO/various guest player roles at Chinese orchestras in Singapore |
| Currently teaching orchestra. |
| DMA student at the University of *** |
| Elementary Music Teacher |
| Everywhere 😂 |
| Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre |
| Free-lance musician |
| Freelance |
| Freelance |
| Freelance musician around the west end and London |
| Freelance teaching and performing |
| Freelance woodwind specialist, director of local volunteer big band (Ensemble Swing Time), Singer |
| Freelancer / university adjunct |
| Going to the *** College of Music and Drama for Oboe Performance (with a touch of Woodwind doubling) this september |
| High School |
| High School Teacher |
| Home based teacher |
| I am a high school student at *** High School |
| I attend Brandon University |
| I play the flute family for the *** Symphony Orchestra |
| I primarily teach private students. |
| I work at *** full-time during the days, and sub regularly on Broadway on nights and weekends (under normal circumstances) |
| I’m in high school so this doesn’t apply |
| Instrument repair |
| Instrument Repair at *** |
| Jazz Big Band |
| Just freelance |
| Local high school and regional theater |
| Local theatre groups |
| Mainly in undergrad jazz band and concert band |
| Mars Hill University |
| Mid-*** Symphony, *** Jazz Band |
| Middle school music teacher, play in local symphony and a collegiate wind orchestra |
| Military Band |
| Military musician and private teacher |
| Missouri State University |
| Music bachelors student |
| Music education undergrad |
| Music teacher/Teaching artist |
| Musical instrument repair/orchestral oboe. |
| Musical theater, church |
| My band, The *** |
| My online business as a content creator and educator |
| National or international tours. |
| No main gig during The pandemic. |
| No main gig. |
| None, teach at *** College, produce concerts at ***, run the *** Saxophone Quartet, |
| North Carolina State University |
| Nowadays it’s mostly University ensembles in Cambridge |
| Performing |
| Performing |
| pit orchestra |
| playing in musical orchestras/ bands |
| Playing in musical theater pits |
| Playing on Broadway |
| Playing: Civic Theater and the *** Jazz Orchestra. Clarinet teacher for local school district. |
| Private instructor, various big bands, west coast style combo and various pits when they come up |
| private lessons at *** Music |
| Private lessons teaching |
| Private Studio |
| Private Studio |
| Private teacher & reed maker out of my home |
| Private teaching studio |
| Private woodwind teacher & freelance musician |
| Prof. of Music, The University of *** |
| Professional and community theatre pits. Too many to list. |
| Professional orchestra librarian |
| Professor at *** University |
| Professor at NDSU |
| Put work |
| Recent college graduate, premed, member of *** (funk group), and jazz musician/woodwind instrumentalist |
| Regional big band & GB |
| Regional Broadway caliber theater productions and local hire for national tours. |
| Regional theater, private lessons |
| Retired |
| Rockland County Concert Band |
| Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (studying) |
| Sam Houston state |
| Saxophone with *** |
| School band |
| Schriener University |
| Self-employed |
| senior in college, about to student teach |
| simpson college |
| Six Flags |
| Small School Band Director |
| Software Engineer |
| solo jazz performer |
| Southwest *** Community College |
| Stockton CA |
| Student |
| Student |
| Student right now |
| Substitute teacher specializing in music |
| Teach at ***. Play gigs w/my jazz combo. |
| Teacher (Elementary) |
| Teaching and free lancing. |
| Teaching and instrument repair |
| Teaching at a school(still a uni student) |
| Teaching Bassoon Lessons |
| Teaching middle school band |
| teaching private lessons |
| Teaching the reed studio at *** University. |
| Teaching: *** Music (lesson studio and music store) | Playing: *** (amusement park) Dixieland Band |
| The *** Quartet (baritone chair), freelancer/soloist, Orchestra of *** |
| Theater |
| Theater Musician |
| Theatre |
| There are several |
| Touring Musician (Broadway shows) |
| UNC Charlotte |
| Univ. of ***, *** Technical College |
| University adjunct professor, Broadway touring shows (local hire) and local theater company. |
| University as a student |
| University New Music Ensemble |
| University of *** *** Society (the musical theatre society) |
| University of Nevada, Reno |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts |
| University of Oregon |
| University of Texas at San Antonio/private lessons (self employed) |
| University Professor an conductor |
| University student with some private teaching and freelancing |
| US Army Musician |
| US Navy Pacific Fleet Band |
| Varies |
| VVGO, RSO, UFB – virtual ensembles. |
| WAAPA – Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts |
| Weddings |
| Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts |
| Will be attending UNT |
| Youngstown State University |
What is your website address?
Lots of you shared websites. In cases where I could locate a relevant and reasonably-fresh RSS feed, I’ve added them to my feed reader, which also puts them on my public blogroll.
Any other comments you would like to share?
Some of you took this opportunity to share some general thoughts about woodwind doubling, to expand upon your biographical details or musical experiences, or to offer critique/commentary on the survey itself. Many of you were also kind enough to express appreciation for the survey, my blog, and other resources on my website. It was deeply gratifying and also super weird to hear from a few of you that you drew inspiration from my website as kids and are now working musicians, graduate students, etc. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to say hello or share a few thoughts.
In conclusion, thanks once again to all for your participation, readership, and friendship. It was great to hear from so many of you, and I hope to do it again in 2031.
