Changes in Cooper Wright Reeds over the past years.
Monday May 25 2009
Let me also spell out a few changes that have occurred over the past several years:
- Oboes oboes oboes! After much switching of oboes, I have finally settled on one oboe that I will probably be playing until the day of my death. Originally starting out with my plastic top joint Royal, I moved to a Loree DM model, and then again to a Loree CI model. Last summer I purchased a Howarth XL, before finally being offered a Hiniker oboe this December by my good friend Peter Hurd. I’ve since settled on the Hiniker, which plays much like a Loree AK model (except it’s slightly thicker, smoother, and more even overall). The result has been that not only do my own reeds fit better for all of you AK players, but my reeds have settled into a more consistent mold.
- One shape is good enough! Currently, I own more shapes than I know what to do with, and for quite a while, I was dallying with pretty much all of them. I eventually began settling on the Weber 1-C, which seemed to work best for my Loree CI series. The bigger bore of the older Loree required a smaller reed and I could get away with playing on very small openings yet producing a large tone. Ever since switching to the Hiniker, I have not been able to do so, and this forced me to bump up to an original Brannen XN shape which I bought recently. The result has been larger openings, deeper and darker tone, and overall more flexibility. I still can make reeds on the Weber 1-C, but nowadays I make 90% of my reeds on the Brannen XN.
- Stevens Staples do the trick! Like my dallying with tips, gouges, and oboes, I was using many different staples as well, including Weber, Rigotti, and Chudnow. Recently, Mr. Weber himself moved to using Stevens Pro #2 staples 46.5mm for all of his reeds, so I followed in suit. I’ve been very pleased with the quality and consistency of Stevens Staples #2, and have been buying them up by the hundreds. Again, these consistent staples have helped my reeds to become consistent as well.
FInishing up the tidbits, moving on…
Monday May 25 2009
I’m finishing up my school year, and am down to playing on one recital, and one “pops concert” left. This past week we did Mahler “Symphony 1”, and Maslanka’s “A Child’s Garden of Dreams”, both of which had quite a good amount of oboe stuff. I was relatively pleased with my playing on both of them, although I know when I listen to the playback there will be some things that I’ll cringe at.
I really have no more classes or finals, so other than attending a few token things, I’m pretty much done. Commencement is June 13th, and upon the wishes of my parents, I will indeed walk. Meanwhile I’m just catching up with all of my reed orders, and have about 8 left before I’m pretty much caught up.
Looking over my records, I noticed I have lost some clients over the past year and half. I recently ordered some of my competition’s reeds to see what else is still on the market and am convinced that my reeds are the finest on the market. I’m determined to win back some clientele, so if you have moved on to greener fields recently, I encourage you to try my reeds again. Besides, my reeds are always unconditionally refundable within a week of receiving them. I’ll even refund the shipping!
I’ve figured out how to upload audio clips to my website, although there are some odd flaws in my website. I was able to upload movements 1 and 2 of the Saint Saens sonata, but when I went to upload the 3rd, it said I have a MIME… error. So, I need to contact my website designer and see what’s up.
Brava!
Sunday May 10 2009
Today I drove up to Portland to hear a girl I know play her senior high school recital.
Jessica Woolf won the Oregon state high school championship this past year on the Strauss Concerto, and studies with Martin Hebert.
Today she played:
1. Marcello Concerto (in C minor)
2. 1st Rhapsodie from Deux Rhapsodies by Loeffler
3. Saint Saens Sonata
Intermission
4. Poulenc Trio
5. Ravel Pavane for a Dead Princess (transcribed for EH/Piano)
6. Gabriel’s Oboe
It was quite the marathon, and I was quite impressed by her technique, tone and stamina! My god that girl has chops of steel! I must say it was probably the best high school recital I’ve ever been to. Certainly the best high school OBOE… recital I’ve ever been to.
Brava Jessica!
3rd time is a charm
Saturday May 09 2009
So my new website has one major problem.
I’ve tried to write a blog entry twice and it’s automatically logged me out before I could finish my blog entry, and then when I hit the back button, it erased my entire blog entry. Twice. So here I go, Third time’s a charm.
I know I’ve been a bad little blogger here, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things. This past quarter (starting end of March/beginning of April) was extremely stressful, intense, and dramatic, but it looks like things are coming to a close.
At the end of March, I had my recital jury. This is a jury where I have to play most of my recital to prove whether I’m prepared or not. I did just fine, however there was a miscommunication with my pianist so she didn’t come for the Poulenc. It was a “he said she said” situation, which never really got sorted out, but the bottom line was that she didn’t show up, and the committee held me responsible. I played fine, but because of this detail they were ready to flunk my jury, call off my recital for the quarter, and force me to stick around until the Fall to finish my degree. Which didn’t sound enjoyable. Finally, after a week and a half of deliberation, they decided to pass me, and I was cleared to play my April 27th recital.
The April 27th recital was not without a bit of drama as well. Somehow, my intermission got left off, and my teacher told me I needed to just suck it up, go out there and play the recital. So I played the Poulenc Sonata, Tomasi Evocations, Marcello Concerto (in c minor) and Mozart Quartet without an intermission. And I made it somehow without falling off the reed. It was indeed a long recital for me, but I’m proud of the accomplishment, and it certainly was a test of my mental and physical stamina.
Yesterday was my final step; the oral examination. This was again with the same three committee members (my oboe professor, Prof. Wayne Bennett who is the clarinet prof and conductor of the orchestra, and Prof. Bob Ponto who is the conductor of the Wind Ensemble) and they drilled me with difficult questions. The first question was Dr. Kolb put a very modern piece for solo oboe in front of me, and told me I had 24 hours to learn. How would I go about learning it? I listed off a bunch of steps and things, but apparently what she was looking for was for me to put the metronome the kitchen table and set it to 60bpm, and sing through it five times. And honestly, I just don’t sing through my parts often enough, so of course I didn’t get that.
The next question was, “What is the role of the 1st oboe in the symphony orchestra?” This question is so open ended, and while I listed off a million answers that were right, and I did indeed say the 1st oboe needs to lead the wind section, they were looking for me to specify exactly how the leading happens. The first oboe lead the wind section because they’re always audible, and should set the standard in pitch, style (and articulation), rhythm, and be visually leading as well.
The third question was to list 10 common excerpts found on an audition list and their movements, and what was hard about them. I listed Le Tombeau, La Scala, Brahms Violin Concerto, Mendelssohn 3, Beethoven 3, Don Juan, Bach BWV… 82, Brahms 1, Tchaik 4, and Bartok Concerto for orchestra.
My final question was the story behind why the Marcello Concerto in C minor is usually attributed to Benedetto Marcello rather than Alessandro. Actually, my professor seemed to have another story other than the one I had researched, but I managed to get my way through it, and passed the test!
So I guess I will be a Master of Music now!
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