Wednesday, October 17, 2007

OctOBOEfest!

I had a fun time this weekend. It was sort of like a mini IDRS convention, except with the majority of participants being college and high school students. I think that's fantastic though! My first experience with the big wide world of oboe playing didn't come until my second year of university. I didn't know ANY famous names at the time, so when I met a nice oboist named Marc Fink, I just thought he was a nice oboist. We had lunch. Lo and behold, he was the current president of the IDRS, a fact I discovered at that evening's concert. It's wonderful for young oboists to be exposed to as many fellow players as possible!

I wrote some notes on the masterclasses by Gordon Hunt, Peter Cooper and Bert Lucarelli, so I'll post some of the tidbits on my blog eventually!

Unfortunately I didn't have any luck selling my English horn or Robin's oboe. I don't know how many people were even in the market for used instruments at this event. One used gouger was sold, but none of the oboes moved. Apparently they were tried out, so maybe some people took the flyers I'd printed up. Fingers crossed.

A highlight for me was the opportunity to catch up with Peter Cooper. We went out for lunch after Gordon Hunt's masterclass on Saturday, and we had a great time. It had been a while since we'd sat and talked, and I felt like I finally had my mentor back. He really came into my life at the right time (or at least I was in Colorado at the right time), and he's been extremely inspirational on a professional and personal level. We chatted about oboe, life, parenthood, jobs, Iowa, Colorado and more. I left him at his hotel (for some much needed reed time...he is one of the pickiest reed makers I know) and saw him again at his masterclass that afternoon. Good old Peter. Some very familiar analogies and stories, and some new ones. He makes some up on the spot (like "telling a story" with the oboe--he used the three little pigs), and they don't always make the greatest examples. He sticks with them though! That must be where I get it from! With my students, I will follow through with an analogy if it kills me! More on the masterclass later. Here's a picture of Peter and me. As he put it, it's his first photo with Junior. (I think I look pretty bad in this photo, but we'll blame it on the rain and it being the end of a long day!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well ... I think you look wonderful! And I can't imagine how anyone thinks you look large (as you've mentioned before). I was so HUGE and you look ... well ... you look darn perfect, Jillian!

You also look gorgeous. Now I realize I'm an fifty year old lady with three grown kids, but truthfully, I just think you look so great. Beautiful.

I'm envious of your getting to go ... AND having Peter as a teacher. Aside from a few master classes, I've not had your experience. I'm a tad jealous!

Do fill us in on more. I'd love to hear!