Summer Festivals!

It's time to start thinking about SUMMER!  Well,  SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVALS,  that is!  For an aspiring professional oboist,  summer festivals are a great way to gain lots of performing experience,  improve LOADS,  and have some lessons with a different teacher for a few weeks. Oh, yeah,  they're REALLY FUN too.  And the deadlines for applications are often in January or February,  so it's good to start researching and planning/ practicing/recording a great audition CD NOW. Below is a list of varied programs around the U.S. and around the globe--I'm sure at least some of them will interest you. 

Oboe and out,

-CG

• AIMS Festival Orchestra (A festival in Graz, Austria!)
• Aspen Music Festival
• The Banff Centre
• The Baroque Performance Institute
• Blossom Music Festival (Study with members of the Cleveland Orchestra)
• Blue Lake
• Brevard Music Festival
• Chautauqua Institution
• Eastern Music Festival
• Hotsprings Festival
• John Mack Oboe Camp
• Luzerne Music Center
• Le Domaine Forget
• Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras Summer Program Listings (has many good links)
• McFarland Master Class (English horn specialist!)
• Music Academy of the West
• National Repertory Orchestra
• Norfolk Chamber Music Festival
• National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute
• Rocky Ridge
• Roundtop
• Schlern International Festival of Music
• Scotia Festival of Music
• Tanglewood
• Texas Music Festival
• Thomas Stacey English Horn Masterclass

Great Concert in Stevens Point

The four UWEC oboists and I drove to Stevens Point Friday evening to hear Nancy Ambrose King perform a world premiere for oboe and band written by UWSP prof. Stacey Berk.
The trip was fun,  albeit "cozy" in my litte car,  but we made it to UW-SP just in time to catch a quick dinner and head to the concert.

Kudos to Nancy Ambrose King for a fine performance--beautiful sound,  impeccable technique and expressive,  singing lines. Very enjoyable!  Stacey Berk's concerto,  "Flight," for oboe and wind band is a lovely,  two movement piece written in memory of her father.  Each movement draws upon memories or experiences while in an airplane.  The first movement is full of long, soaring lines that evoke feelings of  warmth, love and remembrance. The virtuosic second movement musically depicts Berk's father taking a flying lesson and captures the excitement, adventure,  and freedom of the experience. A fine new addition to our literature!

It was great to reconnect with Stacey Berk and meet Nancy King for the first time.  It was also great for my four students to meet them too.

Below is a photo of Alex, Sarah, Jonathan, and Katie after the concert "exploring" the works of a art in the UW-SP Fine Arts Bldg.  I'll soon share a pic of the students with the oboe soloist soon,  but this photo captures some of the fun of the evening.

Oboe and out,

CG

Breaking News! World Premiere in Stevens Point!

Hi All!


This just in:
 Nancy Ambrose King will be performing at UWSP this Friday at 7:30 with the UWSP Wind Ensemble. She'll be performing a work UW-Stevens Point oboe professor composed this summer entitled "Flight". It's a two-movement work based on two different airplane experiences. 


Tthe concert is in the music building -  Noel Fine Arts
Center, and the street address is 1800 Portage Street, Stevens Point. Park
in lots on either side of the building.  The box office is on the 1st floor on the east side of the
building, under the suspended staircase. Some concerts do sell out, but
usually for combined ensembles. If you're concerned, check with the ticket
office. Here's the concert/ticket info:

As a part of the Music Department Scholarship Series, tickets are $7 for
the public, $4 for senior citizens, $3 for youth and free the day of the
concert for students with a UW-Stevens Point ID. Tickets are available at
the University Information and Ticket Office in the Dreyfus University
Center, by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378 or athttp://tickets.uwsp.edu <http://tickets.uwsp.edu/>. Visa, MasterCard or
Discover are accepted. Tickets may also be purchased at the door if seats
are available.


See you there??


Oboe and out,


-Christa

UW- Eau Claire Honors Band Applications Due Oct. 4th

Calling all high school oboists!

I'd like to personally invite you to apply for participation in the 2011 UW-Eau Claire Honor Band. The Honor Band is comprised of talented high school musicians throughout the region and features a musically-intensive day filled with masterclasses/workshops especially for oboe in addition to rehearsals and a full band concert performance that evening by the Honor Band and the UWEC Wind Symphony.  The band will be directed by Dr. Peter Haberman,  the UWEC Director of Bands and I will be leading the oboe workshops. The date of the Honor Band this year is November 12th;  the application deadline is Oct. 4th.  I encourage you to check out the website below that provides more information and has links to the application forms:

http://www.uwec.edu/Mus-The/bands/honorband.htm

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Oboe Sound Gallery! Check it out!

Hi All-

Here's a link that I encourage you to explore:

http://www.oboistgallery.8m.net/

The site lists LOTS of oboists and has short clips of their playing.  It's a grrrreat way to compare how these different artists sound.

Then check out this site:
http://oboewhoswho.wetpaint.com/
It was started a few years back by the UWEC Oboe Studio.  I encourage you to find out information about your favorite players and add them to the wiki!



Happy listening!

Oboe and out,

-CG

The English Horn of the Sea!

This is an instrument made of bull kelp in Southeast Alaska.  The sounds definitely drew the attention of  sea lions!  No reeds needed :)

Blast from the past photo: Can you name the oboists/english hornist? What year was this taken?