Where Are All The Oboists These Days? Options

[flobiano]

My sick leave got renewed today. For another month. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Cleared for swimming. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) And for travelling at Christmas (if I can afford it, which I doubt).

No cycling for another month. And "at least two more weeks" off the oboe.

Doc insisted again that the oboe was a contributing factor to health problems ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ) but that when repairs have healed I will be back to a "normal life", including oboe. ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

Wondering whether to play in Xmas concerts or not. Rehearsals start a week on Tuesday but it won't matter if I miss the first one...

oh dear - hopefully the end is in sight now though...I am not sure how the oboe could be a contributing factor to health problems.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) but hopefully you will be back to normal pretty soon.

I think if I was in your position I would probably pass on the Christmas concerts - it will probably take a while to get back into it and it is probably not a good idea to try to do too much too quickly....frustrating though it is you should give yourself time to get back up to full strength gradually. Or at least see when you can leave the decision till. It will feel an added bonus if you think you can't play, but then end up playing - but it would just add to general frustration to commit to it and then have to pull out because you can't do it, or struggle though it finding it a trial!

Take care of yourself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

[Hardying]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

My sick leave got renewed today. For another month. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Cleared for swimming. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) And for travelling at Christmas (if I can afford it, which I doubt).

No cycling for another month. And "at least two more weeks" off the oboe.

Doc insisted again that the oboe was a contributing factor to health problems ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ) but that when repairs have healed I will be back to a "normal life", including oboe. ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

Wondering whether to play in Xmas concerts or not. Rehearsals start a week on Tuesday but it won't matter if I miss the first one...

oh dear - hopefully the end is in sight now though...I am not sure how the oboe could be a contributing factor to health problems.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) but hopefully you will be back to normal pretty soon.

I think if I was in your position I would probably pass on the Christmas concerts - it will probably take a while to get back into it and it is probably not a good idea to try to do too much too quickly....frustrating though it is you should give yourself time to get back up to full strength gradually. Or at least see when you can leave the decision till. It will feel an added bonus if you think you can't play, but then end up playing - but it would just add to general frustration to commit to it and then have to pull out because you can't do it, or struggle though it finding it a trial!

Take care of yourself. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

So sorry to hear his Katica - but I agree with all that Flobiano says. Do take care & try to be patient & hope you'll soon be feeling so much better & able to play again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

[Roseau]

So sorry to hear his Katica - but I agree with all that Flobiano says. Do take care & try to be patient & hope you'll soon be feeling so much better & able to play again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Patience now ought to pay dividends later.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

Could you perhaps play a percussion instrument of some sort (triangle, tambourine...) in the Christmas concert? That way you could be part of it but without running the risk of doing yourself any damage.

[Roseau]

I've just got back from playing the 1st movement of a Telemann Sonata for two flutes with an adult flautist in a pupils' concert at the music school. We managed to get the time wrong by 15 minutes so didn't have time to warm up beforehand (our respective teachers hadn't realised that the "traditional" time for these mixed instrument concerts had changed) but apart from that I am quite pleased with how it went. Slightly shaking fingers meant I inadvertantly started one phrase with a left-hand D# trill and there were a few bars when we were not quite together but on the whole I think it was OK (neither of our teachers was there so we don't have an expert's opinion, only my daughter who said it was good and her daughter (who doesn't play an instrument) who thought it was too loud). I really appreciated playing with another adult, instead of being the only adult in a group of children (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

My teacher is (I think - he didn't tell me yesterday but my daughter came home from her lesson today and told me) organising his own concert on December 15th so I expect we can give it another airing. It also means I have to decide how much of the Molique Concertino I think I am capable of playing in public (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[Hardying]

I've just got back from playing the 1st movement of a Telemann Sonata for two flutes with an adult flautist in a pupils' concert at the music school. We managed to get the time wrong by 15 minutes so didn't have time to warm up beforehand (our respective teachers hadn't realised that the "traditional" time for these mixed instrument concerts had changed) but apart from that I am quite pleased with how it went. Slightly shaking fingers meant I inadvertantly started one phrase with a left-hand D# trill and there were a few bars when we were not quite together but on the whole I think it was OK (neither of our teachers was there so we don't have an expert's opinion, only my daughter who said it was good and her daughter (who doesn't play an instrument) who thought it was too loud). I really appreciated playing with another adult, instead of being the only adult in a group of children (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

My teacher is (I think - he didn't tell me yesterday but my daughter came home from her lesson today and told me) organising his own concert on December 15th so I expect we can give it another airing. It also means I have to decide how much of the Molique Concertino I think I am capable of playing in public (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Glad it went well (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[katica]

oh dear - hopefully the end is in sight now though...I am not sure how the oboe could be a contributing factor to health problems.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) but hopefully you will be back to normal pretty soon.

Thanks for your good wishes - also to kerioboe and Hardying. While I could explain how the oboe (along with terrible cough) exacerbated my "health problem" I am pretty sure that putting the gory details in public on here would raise a few eyebrows...! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Could you perhaps play a percussion instrument of some sort (triangle, tambourine...) in the Christmas concert? That way you could be part of it but without running the risk of doing yourself any damage.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Now there's an idea!!! Actually, I am not a big fan of badly played, sentimental Christmas music anyway. But if you have to hear it it's much more fun to play it. I'll check in with the Director and see what he thinks. If I'm in shape for it I could probably play the oboe off the cuff on the day but it would be a bit "non U" for me to propose that to him - I'll leave it to him to make a suggestion... Last year it was such chaos that when we got to the pieces that the combined orchestras/bands and choirs were to play, there was one (Adeste Fideles i.e. Come All Ye Faithful in the common parlance) which our orchestra hadn't rehearsed and for which I had no music. I had to squint over at the piano part to check the key and wing it by ear. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) It wasn't too hard but if any notes were out the general din was so awful, and I got shoved right to the back for that bit of the concert, that I don't suppose anyone noticed at all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Congratulations on the concert, kerioboe! And dare I say it, WELL DONE for coming over as "too loud"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

I hope the Molique goes well. By coincidence, my flatmate is studying it too but he hasn't been around this week so I haven't heard him play it yet. Actually, I don't hear him very often as he prefers to leave his oboe at the Sinf?nica as it's bit of a risk lugging it around on the buses, so he mainly practises there.

[Arundodonuts]

Congratulations on the concert, kerioboe! And dare I say it, WELL DONE for coming over as "too loud"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

In orchestra last night, we oboes were told to pipe down. Apparently we were loud enough for a wind band (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Roseau]

Can anyone think of a showy-sounding oboe piece with an easy piano accompaniment that I could learn in two weeks?

My plans to play some of the Molique concertino in my teacher's concert have come across a slight hitch...
The music school accompanist (who is not always very good because she doesn't practise accompaniments) was on sick leave and had been replaced by someone else who is a very good pianist (and whose brother is a professional oboist so she is familiar with most oboe pieces already). This week the normal pianist came back and my teacher has serious doubts about whether she will bother to learn the Molique in two weeks.

He said he had a quick look through his music at home for something with an easy piano part but then thought it was a bit much asking me to learn something and perform it in two weeks simply because the pianist isn't up to it and wondered if I had something at home that I'd played for more own enjoyment that would fit the bill. He wants something "showy" because he hasn't got any other advanced pupils and he wants it to finish the concert.

He also wants me to demonstrate the cor-anglais (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (This is pay back for having told Katica she should buy an English cor-anglais so no one else could play it in Costa Rica (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) ) The music school has apparently decided to have "educational" concerts this year in which the teacher presents the instrument and since he sold his cor anglais and he can't play mine because it's the wrong system, he is going to do the talking and I'm going to do the demonstrating (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (He said he would tell me next week what exactly that involves).

On a brighter note, I had a longer lesson today so he could look at some reeds I had made and help me fine tune them. He didn't like any of them much (but said it was the cane which was not particularly good, rather than poor scraping) and gave me two very nice ones of his own instead (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) And because we spent more time on reeds than he had intended, and he has a pupil who is away tomorrow, he asked me if I wanted to come back tomorrow for another lesson (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[katica]

Good job on the oboes, pushpull!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
How many in your orchestra?

Lucky you with extra teaching time, kerioboe. I am missing my teacher SO much! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I have to confess I don't really notice how difficult piano accompaniments are for the pianist. I ought to pay more attention because it's often so difficult to get an accompanist here too. I know that things like the Schumann and Nielsen Romances are more challenging but then they're more duets than mere accompaniment. For the Stalybridge concert earlier this year flobiano opted for Piazzolla over Schumann (which I was very happy about) because the Piazzolla is easier. It would be rather a simple piece for you to play, though. But quite possible to jazz up a bit to make it sound more impressive and it's the kind of thing that goes down well with unsophisticated audiences.

He also wants me to demonstrate the cor-anglais (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (This is pay back for having told Katica she should buy an English cor-anglais so no one else could play it in Costa Rica (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) ) The music school has apparently decided to have "educational" concerts this year in which the teacher presents the instrument and since he sold his cor anglais and he can't play mine because it's the wrong system, he is going to do the talking and I'm going to do the demonstrating (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (He said he would tell me next week what exactly that involves).

How long a piece would you have to play? What do you think you'll play?

I'm going to make a bit confession here. I know the Swan of Tuonela is often considered the "piece de resistance" on the cor anglais but I don't find it terribly inspiring. Does anyone else feel that way?
(I hope our resident Sibelius fan doesn't come down too hard on me! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )
Maybe I'll feel different when (if) I actually get to play it...

Here "didactic concerts" are often part of the menu too. The symphony orchestra does "didactic concerts" on their tours round the country and junior bands/orchestras/ensembles quite often do them for local communities too. This is different from doing a more specialist presentation, though. Our band did our first educational concert a while back - for the local volleyball teams, goodness knows why!!! Basically, the concert consists of a few basic pieces from our repertoire interspersed by spiel from the principal of each section on their instrument (sometimes padded out by the conductor) and a short demo.

[Arundodonuts]

Good job on the oboes, pushpull!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
How many in your orchestra?

Oh it varies from 2 to 4 depending who turns up. On this particular occasion there were 3.

I'm going to make a bit confession here. I know the Swan of Tuonela is often considered the "piece de resistance" on the cor anglais but I don't find it terribly inspiring. Does anyone else feel that way?
(I hope our resident Sibelius fan doesn't come down too hard on me! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )

Well I think it's probably overrated as a showpiece though in the context of the piece as a whole it's OK. I too have a confusion to make. I'm not exactly bowled over by the cor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) I far prefer the oboe.

[Roseau]

Lucky you with extra teaching time, kerioboe. I am missing my teacher SO much! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

When's your next doctor's appointment to see if you've got the "all clear" for going back to the oboe?

I have to confess I don't really notice how difficult piano accompaniments are for the pianist. I ought to pay more attention because it's often so difficult to get an accompanist here too.

I usually play through the piano parts to get an idea of what they sound like and how the oboe fits with them. If I can "bash" my way through at more or less the correct speed the first time I play them, I class them as "easy". The first two pages of the Molique are easy enough but unfortunately what would be the slow movement if it was a proper concerto doesn't end with a cadence, it moves straight into the fast movement. I had decided I would play the 1st page and a half of the fast movement as well in order to end on with a cadence but this is considerably harder to play at speed (even though my "speed" is not that fast). More problematic is that at one point the oboe has triplets while the piano has quavers and I have already had an unfortunate experience of this with the pianist, which I would rather not repeat (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

For the Stalybridge concert earlier this year flobiano opted for Piazzolla over Schumann (which I was very happy about) because the Piazzolla is easier. It would be rather a simple piece for you to play, though. But quite possible to jazz up a bit to make it sound more impressive and it's the kind of thing that goes down well with unsophisticated audiences.

I don't know the Piazzolla (and haven't got a copy of it) and I'm not sure that his music is really "me".

How long a piece would you have to play? What do you think you'll play?

No idea! He told me this as I was walking out the door. I'm going to suggest a duet with him but if he really wants something with the cor anglais by itself then probably something out of Rothwell's "Difficult Passages for Bach" book (whichever one I can remember best).

I'm going to make a bit confession here. I know the Swan of Tuonela is often considered the "piece de resistance" on the cor anglais but I don't find it terribly inspiring. Does anyone else feel that way?
(I hope our resident Sibelius fan doesn't come down too hard on me! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )
Maybe I'll feel different when (if) I actually get to play it...

I feel a bit the same and in fact haven't ever felt any desire to play it despite having a cor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)
The piece I really want to be able to play well is Bozza's aria (which I have on a CD played by Lajos Lecences).

Our band did our first educational concert a while back - for the local volleyball teams, goodness knows why!!!

Maybe they were hoping to convert them into musicians when they are too old for volleyball (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Barry Toner]

If the audience is the volleyball team, I would guess at not a huge level of musical sophistication.

In that case, playing "live" the best known piece of music for the cor would probably showcase the instrument best. That would have to be the passage from Dvorak New World Symphony, which they will recognise as the Hovis advert. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[Roseau]

In that case, playing "live" the best known piece of music for the cor would probably showcase the instrument best. That would have to be the passage from Dvorak New World Symphony, which they will recognise as the Hovis advert. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Possibly not in Costa Rica (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

My French husband and I were talking about music which gets used in advertisements and he said, of course something like Dvorak's New World Symphony could never get used to advertise any old thing because it is so clearly telling its own story (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) He didn't believe that it was used to advertise bread and was trying to convince me that I had mis-identified a childhood memory.

[katica]

Well I think it's probably overrated as a showpiece though in the context of the piece as a whole it's OK. I too have a confusion to make. I'm not exactly bowled over by the cor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) I far prefer the oboe.

To listen to, I prefer the oboe too - the cor sounds a bit nasal for my taste. I prefer the oboe d'amore. I've only "tasted" a cor i.e. a few seconds playing but it felt nice to play.

Lucky you with extra teaching time, kerioboe. I am missing my teacher SO much! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

When's your next doctor's appointment to see if you've got the "all clear" for going back to the oboe?

I have an appointment on 19 Dec. But the doc said at the last appointment to wait "at least two weeks" before going back to the oboe, which is well before the appointment. To be on the safe side I may just stick to the reed at first, as you suggested before.

Music school has now broken up, except for the Christmas concerts. I was hoping to see my teacher for a reedmaking session but it hasn't happened. I've been a bit under the weather anyway. Lessons don't start again until February and I may not even be able to start right away as I have to go to a Conference in Canada in early Feb (Winnipeg. Ugh. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/winter_brr.gif) ). Practically FOUR MONTHS without lessons!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

At least there's the prospect of the music camp the second week of January.

[Roseau]

I have an appointment on 19 Dec. But the doc said at the last appointment to wait "at least two weeks" before going back to the oboe, which is well before the appointment. To be on the safe side I may just stick to the reed at first, as you suggested before.

My teacher came up with a new reed exercise to get the air-stream and embouchure functioning correctly and help with vibrato (it might be a bit violent for abdominal muscles so I suggest you don't try it too soon); put the reed into your mouth so that your lips close round the cork (hold it in place with your lip muscles, not your hand). 1. Blow "ha, ha, ha" as if you are croaking it (no tongue). 2) Blow a continous air-stream and at the same time with your fingers gradually remove the reed from your mouth back to its "normal" position while keeping the air-stream constant and your lips rounded. 3) Put the reed in the oboe and do the same thing while fingering an A. It sounds ghastly when you have the whole reed in your mouth but when you remove it to just the right place, the tone is lovely. (And it has enabled me to discover that I wasn't putting quite enough reed in my mouth).

Practically FOUR MONTHS without lessons!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

How awful (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thereThere.gif)
Is there any chance of visiting your sister in New Zealand? I'm fairly sure that the New Zealand double reed association (I can't remember exactly what they're called) has an oboe course during their summer break.