When this time of year rolls around, I always get nostalgic for all of those good school memories I have of being at Eastman, in Rochester NY. By now, it is REALLY fall in Rochester and I associate that with getting back into the swing of things, oboe-wise.

The school year always started with an oboe studio meeting (and sometimes a party) that allowed all the new and old oboists to meet. The thing that was always so special about going to school there was how all of the oboists interacted and treated each other. We certainly weren’t all best friends, but our teacher fostered a feeling of unity among us that always stuck.

Along the same lines, we didn’t audition for our “seatings” in orchestra. It was at this first fall meeting where our teacher would read off the assignments for the year. Everybody always seemed to get the concert, or piece assigned to them that suited them the best. It was divided equally, in that we all played a concert as principal oboe, but the repertoire was vastly different from one concert to the next.

I don’t remember ever being disappointed at these assignments, and it wasn’t because I was always assigned the “best” piece. There seemed to be a reason that only you and he knew, based on what you had been working on and what the “big picture” was for your long-term oboe playing goals.

Also at these yearly meetings was a feeling of excitement about the year ahead and all that you hoped to accomplish. I don’t always miss being in school, but I do miss the camaraderie and vision that our studio of oboists shared with one another at this first meeting, and throughout the school year.

It was truly a special time and a special place.