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| Scotch College's music building |
After the long haul flight back from the US just over a year ago, I finally steeled myself to visit an airport and get back on a plane so I could head to ADRS 2014 in Melbourne. It was a whirlwind trip - left Friday afternoon, returned Sunday night, but it was oh, so worth it.
I had a couple of goals - learn a little more about teaching bassoon, bassoon tricks, network with other double reeders, play lots of oboes and hope to purchase a few luxury items (mostly because I wanted to carry them home rather than pay shipping later on...yes, I am cheap...)
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| Discussing cors anglais |
One of the most amazing things about joining the double reed community, besides being more in demand as a player, is the welcoming nature of it. There are other instruments or organisations that I have been associated with that can feel like it is a dog-eat-dog world. Oboists and bassoonists seem to recognise the fact that since there aren't many of us there is less competition, and we play instruments that benefit from being in a community due to the nature of reeds, needing to make them, all the variables that go along with that, and the finiky-ness of the instruments themselves. It was nice to put faces to names, and to spend time with people I had only heard of but never met before.
Highlights of the conference for me were:
*A 'teaching double reeds' presentation which turned into an intimate ideas-sharing session
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| Oboes at the Ozwinds display |
*Two wonderful presentations by Anne Henderson/Claire Payne and Celia Craig about the use and success of 'junior' double reed instruments such as the tenoroon/mini-bassoon and the Howarth Junior Oboe. Really got the ideas machine in me ticking - watch this space!
*Playing ALL the oboes. In no particular order: Howarth XL cocobolo, XXL and XM, Rigoutat J series, Marigaux 901 and 2001, Yamaha 831, Buffet Orfeo and the new K.Ge series. My personal favourite was one of the Marigaux 2001s. I also played Howarth, Buffet, Loree and Marigaux cors anglais. It was a tie between the Buffet and the Marigaux.
*Purchasing a shiny new red BAM case for my oboe
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| Reed making equipment |
*Purchasing a Reeds n' Stuff guillotine from Oboe Central. I have just been scraping tips and not finishing reeds just so I can use it!
*Double reed flash mob in the foyer!
*Playing 'side by side' chamber music, with everyone from Ken Furube of the New Japan Philharmonic to 12 yo students. Fabulous! Isn't that what music is about?
Proud to be a part of this community...and looking forward to many more ADRS events in the future!
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