It’s now been announced: James Laase has won the principal oboe position in Symphony San Jose. He is a very musical player, and I can’t wait to hear him this coming season!
Congratulations, James!
I had Das Rheingold, but that’s not a big surprise since I’d read about the Ring Cycle coming in 2028
But the others? Well, I might have guessed the Mozart because of the wedding cake, and I did wonder if the bloodied knife was Tosca. But since I didn’t guess publicly those don’t count, do the?!
Here are the operas that San Francisco Opera has now announced.
Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, September 12-27, Conductor: Eun Sun Kim
Thea Musgrave’s Mary, Queen of Scots, September 20-October 4, Conductor: Clelia Cafiero
Jules Massenet’s Manon, October 15-November 1, Conductor: Eun Sun Kim
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, October 31-November 29, Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold, May 29-June 22, Conductor: Eun Sun Kim
Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, June 4-July 2, Conductor: Clelia Cafiero
Am I jazzed? Maybe by a few. Not by all. But so it goes. They didn’t ask me, so I didn’t tell.
San Francisco Opera sent out a teaser yesterday, with six images that hint toward the upcoming season.
Well, I could guess, but I’m not great at guessing, so I did what I really shouldn’t do: I tried AI. It gave me these:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Lincoln in the Bardo
Silent Night
The Wedding Banquet
But really? Are those right? I did a new AI search and suddenly different titles appeared, and the new suggestions didn’t make any sense: some were just done recently, and two are the operas that are scheduled for this June.
So much for AI.
So using the images above, what do you predict? (The lower, middle image I would guess to be Das Rheingold.)
It’s been done. Finally.
Yesterday I handed Robert Massey, Executive & Artistic Director of Symphony San Jose, my letter of resignation.
This 2025-2026 season ends my rather lengthy tenure: if I may include San Jose Symphony in the mix (since that’s how we begun but suffered a horrible end some years back and were, in a sense, resurrected by Andrew Bales) I’ve been playing since I started in the fall of 1975.
So it’s time.
I’m so grateful for all the years. I’m so thankful for my incredibly talented colleagues and for the staff who has worked hard to keep the organization going. (Support your local arts organizations!)
Because of some travel plans, the next symphony set, at the beginning of March, will be my last if all goes as planned.
…. yes, again!
Our fabulous new principal oboist, Brooks Fisher, quickly won a spot in San Francisco Symphony after winning the Symphony San Jose spot. It’s incredibly well deserved and I am delighted for him. But that means, of course, that we have an audition again.
You can read about it here. Music isn’t yet available there (although I, of course, have it!), but I’m hopeful it will be there soon. Of course anyone doing auditions will already have everything, so that’s not a huge issue.
Now for my bits of advice. Please oh please show us your musicality. Notes perfectly played are NOT the all of it. We need more. Think line. Think color. Put yourself into it. If we want something played differently we can ask. And do remember dynamics.
But mostly, it’s the musicality that is frequently missing. It’s as if everyone has decided they have to be note perfect and that’s it. Trust me, it’s not. I’m quite weary of hearing the perfect yet personality-less player. Really.
I received a news release today: Erin Hannigan has been appointed as the new professor of oboe, starting July 1, 2025. Click here for the entire press release.
As my career is gradually winding down I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see younger oboists landing jobs and doing so well out there in our somewhat difficult and challenging world. It just makes me giddy when I hear good news. I love that I can honestly say I don’t feel any sort of jealousy … merely gladness at their successes.
Today: Congratulations to Daniel Gurevich, who will, this fall, start his position as Instructor of Oboe at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
My heart is happy.
Congratulations, Daniel!
Announcement time!
This Opera San José season was the final one for my friend and colleague Pam Hakl. I will miss her, for sure. Twenty years of playing together in opera, and even more in symphony. What a time we’ve had!
The opportunity, however, spoke loud and clear to me. I submitted a request, and it was approved: I am no longer principal oboe of Opera San José. I will, instead, play second oboe and English horn.
I am so grateful for all the years I was able to play principal, and when I think back on all the repertoire we’ve done I’m even more grateful. But principal oboe is a bit stressful, and I’m ready to move to a slightly less stressful (most of the time, anyway) position.
I don’t know, yet, when auditions will take place for principal oboe. As soon as I do I will certainly announce that here.
When San Jose Symphony failed, Andrew Bales came to the rescue of the musicians in the orchestra. He formed Symphony Silicon Valley (now renamed to Symphony San Jose). We didn’t have as much work, and we didn’t have a resident conductor, but we HAD work, and I’m forever grateful. He added the movie series (a live orchestra playing the soundtrack while the movie played on the big screen), which included the Lord of the Rings trilogy — surely that weekend is one I’ll never forget! He scheduled weeks of “kiddie concerts” (and I even have a photo of him helping them cross the street to get to the theater). He did the Summer Pops concerts at San Jose State University. And when Covid struck he did what he could to provide income for us.
And now we enter a new era.
Andrew is leaving at the end of this season, and it is now announced that Robert Massey has been appointed as the new general director. I look forward to seeing what he will bring to our orchestra. I’m sure there will be changes, as there usually are and should be when a new GD takes the reins.
Here is an article about the appointment (I must say it is odd that Tito Muñoz is featured at the top of the article and Robert Massey is a smaller image below that, so he is pictured here for you, nice and large … you’re welcome. ?). Sadly the Mercury News hasn’t published a word. (But they also didn’t publish a review of last weekend’s concerts. It appears we don’t exist in their eyes.)
Update: NOW there is a Merc article.
So welcome, Robert Massey, and thank you, Andrew Bales, for all you’ve done!
Katherine Needleman and Philippe Tondre Appointed to Lead the Oboe Faculty
Celebrated oboists will jointly lead the department beginning in the 2022–23 school year
