I Love the Bassoon!!

Until my daughter was three-years-old, I never paid much attention to the bassoon.  I liked it, of course.  As an orchestrator, I ­love every instrument, and believe the bassoon to be an unusual and misunderstood instrument—filled with character and often comic, color support for lower strings … but beautiful on its own—and essential to overall orchestral sound.  But until I took my child to ESSO (Eastman School Symphony Orchestra) concerts, I had never stopped to think about it as an instrument that ignites someone’s passions.

In picture books about the orchestra, she was instantly drawn to the bassoon, knew all the instruments by name, and what they sounded like because of my work.   At the concerts, we would look for the instruments, but what was amazing is that while the orchestra was warming up, she would pat my arm and say, “Mama!   Mama!  Do you hear the bassoon? Do you hear the bassoon?”   

 

No!  I didn’t.  

 

Honestly for me, it was hard to hear a bassoon in a mixture of orchestral warm-ups, although if you listen specifically for its timbre, you can hear it.   That’s why it was so amazing that she could hear it so easily and get so excited about it.   

 

When she was four-years-old, I was working on my post-baccalaureate music teacher certification, I studied woodwind methods and brought a bassoon home, which she LOVED!   She was enthralled when putting a bassoon together and loved to help me.  

 

It is quite the process, and she would lay the seat strap down, go get clean water for the reed, watch me put the bassoon together, and wait for me to practice.   She loved blowing into the reed.  She even loved helping me take it apart, clean it, and put it back into the case. 

 

For a long time, I thought she would become a bassoon player, but she chose to play the flute instead.  From elementary school through college she played ... until she went through an Immersion Program at Eastman three years ago.  

 

There, she checked out a bassoon during the Christmas break and started studying with a teacher through the Eastman Community School.  In the Spring, she bought a bassoon (expensive and no small feat) and took her bassoon to Austria during her Fulbright, and studied in a conservatory for two years.  Now, she is back in Rochester, studying again with a teacher, recently auditioned for the orchestra, and now plays in the University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra.   

 

To watch such growth in such a short period of time is remarkable, but seeing an instrument bring so much joy to someone is thrilling.  This is love in action, and I love the bassoon because of it.  I can’t help but reflect on that excited question of long ago: “Mama! Mama! Do you hear the bassoon?”

 

Yes!!  You bet I do! ... and I love the bassoon!!

I Love My Violin!

When I say “I love my violin!”, I am not only saying that I love the physical instrument, or only one violin.   I have several—one in my house in New York, one at my sister’s and two in Washington State.   While each came to me in various and odd ways, the convenience of having them gives me no excuse.  The violins are there wherever I go, and I must practice. 

 

My violin study has been a mish-mash of teachers over the years.  In 2002, I was introduced to violin playing when I did my post-baccalaureate music teacher certification at Nazareth College.  Nancy Hunt, who plays with the Rochester Philharmonic, was my teacher, and she was wonderful.  In her class, it amazed me how comfortable I felt with the violin.   I loved the power and openness of the violinist’s stance. I even liked the way the hard wood of the violin felt under my chin.  At times, I dreamed of continuing to play, and it was my father’s generosity that allowed me to buy a very nice instrument, an 1870 Silvestre, which I love very much.  

 

But … life got in the way, and I didn’t pick up the instrument until much later … in 2016, when I was inspired by Betsy Turner Sprague’s playing of my score of AUSTEN’S PRIDE.  What an amazing player and teacher!  Unfortunately, with my travel schedule, life again got in the way.

 

In 2019, I met another wonderful player and teacher in Washington State, Lynn Thompson.  She also played my score of AUSTEN’S PRIDE at the Seattle 5^th Avenue Theater.   (It’s amazing how you get to know someone’s musicality and ability by the way they play your music.)  I love her too(!), and studied with her as my travel schedule allowed—enough to reclaim my knowledge of the instrument and begin shifting.  That is, until C-19 interrupted.   

 

For over a year, I have been without an in-person lesson, relying on myself, my musical training, and everything I can read about the violin and learn from my own practice.   For many reasons, I do not want to do a Skype or Zoom lesson during the shut-downs.  I don't know why exactly--I suppose it boils down to the fact that I am old-school--but! what this decision did was to make me really dig into my life as an artist in completely different ways.  

It has been extraordinary, and I often think about early settlers alone in their cabins who played violins: how did they learn to play?   I suspect, they picked up the instrument and kept practicing until they liked what they heard.  They had to experiment with their bowing and intonation and vibrato … so that means that much of playing an instrument is simply putting in the hours, learning to listen, observe, and try again.   Teachers get you there much faster, for sure.  They know many tricks of the trade, but ultimately the journey is the same, and it is a personal one.  

 

So, when I say “I love my violin!”, it is the sheer pleasure of learning to play another instrument—of being a beginner and growing into an intermediate player, and recognizing this accomplishment.  It makes me so grateful for my teachers; it helps me appreciate myself for being highly skilled as a pianist, composer and orchestrator.  My daily practice makes me less cynical, understanding of others, and vulnerable to the process, and in return, I receive the inexpressible joy of making music.