Twas The Day of the Concert Twas the day of the concert when all through Sue’s house, the sound of her reed making was waking her spouse. And the noise from her scraping and clipping and crowing, was causing the pain in his head to keep growing. He said, “Don’t you think you could stop for a minute? I keep having this dream and your reed tools are in it.…
Just got back from taking the kids to “Out of Africa…” It’s a zoo/safari hidden in the middle of nowhere in Cottonwood AZ. I have to admit, I’ve been to a lot of zoos and THIS left them all in the dust. I saw more animals (lemur, lions, leopards, rhinos, bear, and more) in a two hour period than I’ve seen in my entire life. It might sound funny, but…
“We’re swallowed up only when we are willing for it to happen.” -Nathalie Sarraute The beginning of the school year is often the beginning of the work year as well for many oboists. For the last few months, you may have had an outdoor concert or two, but nothing too serious. Now the phone is ringing off the hook with wedding jobs, teaching jobs, playing jobs, adjudicating jobs. All at…
Over the years, we’ve collected a ton of excellent questions about oboe reeds, oboe playing and other oboe stuff. We’re finally going to answer them… some of them. (We have hundreds and hundreds of them.) But instead of just answering the question for the player who asked it, we’re publishing the answers for everyone. It’s called the BIG Book of Oboe Questions and Answers. And we’re trying something new this…
I just read of the passing of Cynthia Steljes, oboist and founding member of Quartetto Gelato… I didn’t know her personally, but just a few weeks ago, I sent her a letter to tell her about a new project we are working on at MKL Reeds and to ask for her input. I am telling you that only because, for some reason, it made the announcement of her death so…
Yesterday I was listening to the 9/16/06 NPR interview with Liang Wang, the new Principal Oboe of the New York Phil. The piece was called “Oboist Liang Wang: His Reeds Come First” and really focused on communicating just how important the art of reedmaking is to being a great oboist. Liang Wang is 26 years old and has already played in some of the greatest orchestras around. Hearing him play…
When my husband and I sat down the other month to discuss the future of MKL Reeds, we both had the feeling inside that something needed to change. You know when you just have that feeling inside you but you just can’t put your finger on it? As a musician, you are probably more in tune (no pun intended) with noticing that feeling than most people. Well, that’s where we…