Hey Reader, I’m coming to you a few days early because I’ll be at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Miami, Ohio this week! I’m presenting my third panel discussion for oboe studio teachers, this time around the topic of balance. This topic includes not only balance between work and life, but balancing pedagogical subjects with the joy of playing, repertoire with reedmaking, strict policies and making exceptions to those policies, and more. You can find us on Friday, July...

Hey Reader, Last week I hosted an oboe repair workshop with Sean Gumin, a local San Jose oboe repair technician. I met Sean when I first moved to the area when I was having a terrible time getting my top joint in adjustment myself. Since then, he’s my go-to guy for last minute repairs and my student’s instruments. I like to think that I know a lot about oboe care and maintenance, but there are some things that he spoke about that were totally new to me, so this newsletter shares that...

Hey Reader, The school year is really hurtling to an end for me this year, which is why I’m a week late with this newsletter. Amidst the frantic pace of end-of-year wrap ups with students, last reed orders to finish before the summer, and onboarding to a new lesson scheduling platform, I just didn’t have it in me to come up with anything interesting to write about. (The burnout is strong!) I’ve also been struggling to find the willpower to sit down and practice. I’m not sharing this as a way...