British Double Reed Society, is it worth joining? Options

[Claire21]

I used to be a member of the BDRS many years ago, but for reasons I forget (possibly student poverty), I let my membership slip. Now I'm considering joining again, especially as their annual convention is coming up quite near me, and I'd save a whole fiver on the fee!

But I'd be generally interested to hear whether anyone out there thinks it's worth the money joining. (Let's face it, I could afford the extra fiver to go their day, if people think it's not worth joining the organisation on the whole...) What do you get for your membership fee?

[AmandaL]

I am hoping that the BDRS might surprise me one day and if nothing else I will continue my membership to support it...I have a nagging suspicion that most of the members are people from the professions who if the journal is anything to go by will be stuffy. Please prove me wrong someone, I would love to meet a fellow live wire as a kindred spirit within the BDRS...I Live in constant hope...

I'm a BDRS member (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) but I have to agree with Andrew here, that the society as a whole seems very stuffy and full of people who you'd imagine smell like very old library books (apologies to those who don't (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) ).

I'm going to be writing an article (A tale of two oboes....) for the next issue of DRN. I've been told it will get published, but you never quite know with DRN. The content of the magazine can be very hit and miss, sometimes there's a few interesting articles but much of the time it's incredibly dry. Personally, I've enjoyed the last two issues, as they've contained articles on Terence MacDonagh, the oboist who taught many of the current generation of top orchestral and solo oboists. I also have a personal interest in Terry's work, as I own both his Howarth oboes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

I'm hoping to go to the annual convention this year as it's no more than 15 minutes away from me, but the 27th April is also my mother's birthday and since it's Sunday I'm not quite sure how I'm going to explain to her that an annual convention for oboists/bassoonists is more important than spending the day with her. (No, I'm not taking her with me, she's not into music and the result would be a miserable day for us both).