Blog

Recital Recaps

I was super excited to give two recitals in the past two months: my first solo faculty recital at the University of Maryland and a guest artist recital at Howard University in DC. Both were in collaboration with my good friend, Sophia Kim Cook. The program at UMD (11/19/2018) focused…

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William Winstead 75th Birthday Celebration

I’m thrilled to announce that we have a finalized program for William Winstead’s 75th Birthday Celebration Concert at CCM on December 4th at 8pm. I’ll be playing his arrangement of Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy and other former students will be performing his original compositions and arrangements. All are welcome to what…

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Guest Artists at UMD!

One of the aspects of a university teaching position that I was most looking forward to was the ability to bring in guest artists to work with the students. I’ve recently hosted two wonderful bassoonists who have both given recitals and masterclasses open to the public, Darrel Hale and Laura…

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40 Reeds, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera

Whew! We just finished our 5-week run of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I at the Kennedy Center. Playing one show 40 times was a first for me, and necessitated some different approaches. I have to give credit to our conductor, Jerry Steichen, who has been traveling with the…

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First Publication!

A few months ago I arranged the second movement of Respighi’s Trittico Boticelliano for oboe, bassoon, and piano. I was really happy with how it turned out, and it’s now published and will be available soon at TrevCo. I first played Trittico Boticelliano at the Aspen Music Festival and I’ve…

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UMD – It’s Official!

I’m happy to announce that I’ve been appointed to the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Music in College Park, MD (just outside of DC). The School of Music offers the following degrees in Bassoon: Bachelor of Music (BM) Bachelor of Music Education (BME) Bachelor of Arts (BA:…

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Practicing While Traveling

It’s important to practice while traveling. Whether it’s for a gig, an audition, a cross-country drive, or even vacation, musicians need to stay in shape and keep their skills sharp. There are some strategies that we can employ to stay on top of our game.

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Surviving Roadtrips

This summer I made my yearly round-trip drive to Boulder, Colorado, where I play in the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. From my home in the Washington, DC area it takes about 1,700 miles and 25 hours of driving to reach Boulder. I make the drive in 2 long days. I would typically take…

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UPDATED Ivory Rules for Traveling Musicians

Yesterday, June 6th, 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service released a final rule regarding the importation and exportation of ivory. More severe restrictions and a near total ban on elephant ivory domestic commercial trade have been put in place. This is great news for the elephants of the world and it…

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The Southwest Companion Pass and How to Get It

I’ve already publicly stated my love for Southwest Airlines for auditions, but now I want to share one of the greatest tools of the frequent traveler’s trade: the Southwest Companion Pass. What this wonderful little tool does is allows the holder to designate a companion and take them on any…

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