The Lion, the Witch and the War Oboe would have been a way cooler title
Received from Michael Adduci, the oboe instructor at San Jose State University:
On Saturday, November 2, oboe maker Mark Chudnow (Mark Chudnow
Woodwinds, Napa CA) will be spending the day at San Jose State
University to give a masterclass on oboe maintenance and repair. This
workshop is open oboe players from the advanced high school level
through to professionals. There will be two 2.5 hour sessions with an
hour break for lunch: 10-12:30 and 1:30-4:00. The first session will
use a question-and-answer format, and in the second session Mr.
Chudnow will systematically take us through his process of oboe
adjustment. At the conclusion of the class, he will be available to
look at the attendees’ oboes, he will be making repair
recommendations but will not be doing any personal repairs on site.The cost to attend this day-long workshop is $20, and we are limiting
the class to 30 people. Registration and payment need to be taken
care of in advance, we will not be taking walk ins on the day of the
workshop.
Clarinetist Paul Miller has something to say about the audition process. It begins:
Here’s a story we’ve all heard too often over the last few years:
A national-level orchestra announces auditions for a principal position, to be held in three months’ time at the orchestra’s home venue. Applications and resumes are sent and screened; letters of invitation are returned. 100 musicians, many of whom have advanced degrees and a decade or more of professional orchestral experience, prepare for months. They travel to the orchestra’s home city at personal expense, and following four days of intensive auditions, word comes down:
Three people in semifinals. One made it to finals. One other musician was auto-advanced.
Nobody was hired.
I am really weary of hearing the “no one was hired” story. C’mon. Really? All of these players pay a lot of money and give so much time and energy to these auditions. I have a very difficult time believing that there wasn’t one that was qualified for the position.
Call me skeptical.
