Bassoon and English? Bass-nglish?

In the time between my last update and now, I’ve added an English major (with a concentration in creative writing) to my bassoon performance major. I’d been thinking about it since October of my freshman year at Eastman, and kept deciding against being a dual degree student because of the increased workload. After all, when [...]

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A New Update — A New Summer!

It’s been almost a year since my last post — and I’m so sorry for disappearing like that!
A lot has happened in the past year, but even more is happening this summer. I’m playing my first real gig as a professional bassoonist (in the pit at the Ohio Light Opera), getting a new bassoon (a [...]

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a reedy sort of trio

I’m playing in a reed trio at the moment, and it has been a complete blast. Picture an ensemble where all reed complaints are immediately understood, where the instruments have similar technical concerns (although I win when it comes to the question of thumb dexterity), and, perhaps most importantly, where we all have a similar [...]

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lesson… lessoon?

Yesterday I had a lesson at Northwestern — my last lesson with Professor Kirk until next year! (He takes me on as a temporary student when the breaks for Eastman and Northwestern are different, which is always a good time. And I have a lesson with my old teacher scheduled for tomorrow. So there hasn’t [...]

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the problem of self-esteem

One thing I hate: musicians with obnoxiously low self-esteem. Well, actually I don’t mind those with low self-esteem, I mind those people who broadcast their feeling to the entire world. It’s emotionally draining — there have been people who I have to assure, practically on every encounter, that yes, they are a good musician, yes, [...]

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sixth-grade bassoon poetry

In the sixth grade, my English class did a survey of many different poetic forms.
Also in sixth grade, I started playing bassoon.
So if you find really awful poetry amusing, then you, my esteemed reader, are in for a treat.
The Story of ‘Oon
I know a bassoon named ‘Oon
Who sometimes sounds just like a loon.
Her mistress tries [...]

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thoughts on the merits of sight-reading?

Later today I have an audition for the Wheaton Municipal Band, an audition which is almost entirely composed of sight-reading, except for a short prepared excerpt.
The bassoon excerpt, incidentally is a Handel Allegro in C minor, probably arranged from something for cello, which is full of sequences and scalar lines like any good Baroque solo [...]

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crisis and a half!

Sometimes I feel like life at Eastman is a constant crisis.
Take today: My normally busy Thursday seemed pretty much under control, even though I found out that my best reed, despite good tone and response, has the most terrible staccato attack. Still, that would be okay, right?
So of course there’s this gig that my quintet [...]

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it may as well be me!

Today has been filled with a lot of emotional highs of all kinds and right now, I am almost sad to go to bed soon because then today will be over and who knows what will happen tomorrow?
Clearly my neuroses are completely opposite of Little Orphan Annie’s: while I’m guessing the sun will come out [...]

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sometimes the orchestra donates a solo to the bored bassoonist!

I finally tracked down a copy of the bassoon solo in Shostakovitch’s Ninth Symphony and oh my goodness, I am madly in love with it. It’s officially my new favorite bassoon excerpt — and since that’s already the dorkiest statement ever, I’m going to take the time today and list my Top Five Bassoon Excerpts. [...]

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