oboeinsight

So Jessica Duchen, whom I always enjoy reading, has Nutcracker on her list of desert island music works.

Hmmm. My carpool pal and I were talking about our hope for a different job this December so we can skip Nutcracker.

Don’t get me wrong; I know it brings great joy to the audience, and I love seeing those bright young faces peering down at us. I love hearing the kids ask about our instruments. Heck, I answer their questions unless I’m in reed limbo at the moment.

But after playing it for well over 25 years, I wouldn’t mind “missing” (without missing it!) it for a year.

So Jessica, if you are on a desert island I think I’ll have to skip joining you for that one. I will, however, gladly join you for a listen of the Ravel Piano Concertos or some Faure! 🙂
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Our son, Jameson, will be going to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh soon. I now see that he could see a Really Terrible Orchestra while he’s there. What a crack up! Here’s the bio of an oboe player there:

George Russell
An oboe player with unbridled enthusiasm and limited talent seeking recognition after 40 years of playing to a grade 3 standard. His claim to musical fame is a last second unrehearsed public performance in 1964 of the 30 bar solo at the start of the 2nd movement of Brahms’ violin concerto. That was the peak of a musical career which has been on the slide ever since.

Doesn’t it make you want to hear him?

Or perhaps not!

But hey, I love the sense of humor, and it does make me want to hear them (and maybe offer a few free lessons to the oboists!).

That’s right. Zero shows left. It’s all over. And now it feels as if the time just flew by. Funny how that happens.

Tomorrow I’ll go through withdrawal of course. Or call it a music hangover. Call it whatever you want … but I’ll be going through it! The Day After The Music™ is always difficult for me, and especially so when I’ve done a job that took so much energy. Doing 8 shows a week also mean that we became a bit of a family. So I’ll miss everyone.

I’m so grateful for the work. I’m so thankful that I had seven weeks of good employment. And I’m glad I was involved in this since it is the last time Les Mis, in this form, will ever be in this area. Now I’m hoping to go see the show sometime … it will be in Seattle sometime in this next year so we are hoping to plan a trip up there.
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I am getting more and more comfortable with the new (old) oboe. It’s really a wonderful instrument, and I’m so thankful to have found it! I have been going back and forth between both oboes during the show, since my original oboe is so predictable and I know what to expect from it, but it’s a bit fussy about certain notes right now, one of which is the first note of the sewer solo, so it’s been demoted. Poor oboe! I’ve been using the new one for the Les Mis “sewer solo” and it is so reliable I’m ecstatic! I call them oboe “1” (my original Marigaux) and oboe “A” (the “new but older”, Marigaux). Don’t want either to feel bad, you know? 😉

And the count is now … drumroll … 54/1.

I can’t believe I have one show left. Amazing.
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