oboeinsight

I’m over the hill in Santa Cruz (well yeah, I’m over the hill the other way too), and I’m enjoying a nice latté and bagel with cream cheese at a place new to me, called The Abbey. It’s a coffee shop located at a Presbyterian church here. I drive right by it every week, and finally decided to check it out. (The pastor at the church I currently attend really frowns on stuff like this. Oh well. I don’t.) The room is full of comfortable couches, decorated in a artistic way, and has music playing that isn’t too loud and isn’t annoying. Nice. I’m thinking they can use just a bit of work on the coffee part, but maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m not exactly a coffee expert, like some other oboists!

This is a nice way to begin the teaching day. Better than receiving a student email canceling yet another lesson.

I think the writer of this article didn’t hear SSV play last week. Feste Romana was loud. And I’m certain we can play louder than any beginner if we choose to. Perhaps the beginner doesn’t have the control to play softer, but we can beat ‘em on volume. Trust me.

School music teachers have been warned to wear earmuffs or stand behind noise screens to protect their hearing.

This is because beginners tend to blast away much louder than professionals.

Found here.

Gee … thanks, Robert!

Robert, over at Abu Bratsche, has awarded me a Premios Dardo Award, that comes with these instructions:

Acceptance is conditional on the following conditions, however, which I hereby declare I’ve met:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
Pass the award to at least 5 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

In an attempt to not overlap with Robert or others I’ve seen receive this, I’m attempting to choose what might be new blogs to some of you. Ones I enjoy and hope you do too. Here are my five:

Satruday Matinee Notes of an Anesthesioboist

Hoboj A Basa

Oboerista

Lone Oboe

Now to those bloggers above … please don’t bother to “play along” if you aren’t up to it. I promise not to take offense. I do wonder whether things like this turn into troublesome chain mail sorts of things.

Okay. Over and out.

So as I watch the quartet play this little arrangement of Simple Gifts CBS decides that it’s just too boring to merely focus on the musicians and has to show a church of people watching and listening. And then they see they are on camera and start to laugh and applaud.

Heaven forbid we just watch and listen.

Never mind, CBS. I’m moving to another station. (Should have been on PBS, I’ll bet. I’m guessing they can be quiet …?) OR … thinking more … are all the stations using the same feed? Sigh.

-time lapse-

And now we have a new president. (Am I supposed to capitalize that, I wonder?)

… and listening too.

Music is a part of the inauguration, of course, and I’m obviously tuned in to that. We’ve heard marches, fanfares, and some of the Vaughan Williams’ Folk Song Suite (making me feel like I’m back in high school when I played a lot of that stuff). What I’m really waiting for is the quartet by John Williams. (And I’m hoping it doesn’t sound like a movie soundtrack.) I’m also curious about the poet. I used to dabble in poetry (never managed to get good enough … sigh) so I do love to hear poetry and see real poets.

Okay. Back to the “show”.