musician:bassoonist:reedmaker

The Queensland Oboe and Bassoon Competition was this weekend in Brisbane, Australia.  It was presented by the Australasian Double Reed Society and held at the Queensland Conservatorium.  The Conservatorium is in the middle of a beautiful riverside park with big ferris wheel, an open-air market, and cafes.  I ate some churros from a street vendor.  Not quite like real Mexican churros, but still tasty.

I won the senior sections and best overall performer, performing Mozart’s Concerto for Bassoon, Dutilleux’s Sarabande et Cortège, and Mignone’s Valsa da Outra Esquina.

with the judges and sponsor

backstage

Buddha and drum, resting

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This weekend was the Australasian Double Reed Society Competition in Sydney, Australia.  It was good fun!  It was two full days of great double reed players of all ages.  Oboes, bassoons, cor anglais, chamber music, and even a fagottino quartet!

I won first prize in the Senior divison, performing from Weber’s Concerto in F Major and Mignone’s 16 Valsas para Fagot Solo.

Here’s some photos from Sydney:

with the judges

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On the airplane over to Australia, I was sitting in the window seat.  I noticed the woman next to me was working on a book of music theory exercises, so I asked if she was a musician.  She is an early childhood music teacher, and she does these books of theory exercises for fun.  We had a great talk about Schubert, Schumann, Copeland, Shostakovich, Ravel, and Debussy (which New Zealanders pronounce de-BUSS-y).  We traded teaching stories.  All of a sudden, she stops, looks at me very seriously, and leans in as if to tell me a secret.  Quietly, with great emphasis, she whispers:

“I am just mad for Music.”

Here’s some photos from my audition trip to Zürich.  I made the final round, winning 500 Swiss francs.

Löwendenkmal

to Lücerne

his master's voice

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Here’s some pictures Matt took from our hike on Rangitoto Island.  In Auckland’s harbor, it’s a small volcanic island that erupted about 600 years ago.

a lava cave (Lord of the Rings, anyone?)

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The New York Times just ran a big article on Caleb Burhans, an NYC freelancer who went to Eastman (the same time as me).  He is starting up a great career by playing multiple instruments, singing, composing, and performing in many styles.  In many ways he represents the new generation of musicians that are figuring out how to make a living without traditional orchestral jobs.  He works in so many different musical contexts.  There’s a video interview with him as well.

Here’s an old review from Tom Johnson, a music reviewer who wrote for the Village Voice for years, often writing about concerts that wouldn’t have been covered otherwise.  While classical music reviews tend to be ephemeral and largely forgotten over time (except by diligent phd candidates), this one seems to reappear over time.  Maybe sometimes we need that reminder to get back to “just pure natural music.”

Here you can check out the video of Yoko Ono reading a few pieces from Grapefruit, the book that contains her “Tape Piece III.”

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Yoko Ono’s Snow

Tom Johnson

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I work only about 45 minutes away from this beautiful beach!  How lucky!  We went hiking here on our day off.