Introductions

First Blog! Who am I? What is this? Why do I play this confounded instrument? Why do I exist?

The first two are easily answered, the third a bit more challenging and the last one... I leave that one to philosophy majors.

I'm currently in the thirteenth year of my relationship with my lovely oboe. Over the years, I've picked up various pieces of information and techniques which I would love to share with the oboe community at large. Perhaps I will even discover new ways to solve my own problems.

My first Oboe Yoda was the amazing Cheryl Priebe Bishkoff. She is the person I blame for the love I now have for this amazing yet annoying instrument. I started in fifth grade with her and continued studying with her through high school and even a few years after that.

My second Oboe Yoda is Dr. Sarah Hamilton of SUNY Fredonia, known fondly by the music department as Doc. She is the person I blame for the love I have of finding new or obscure music for the instrument.

My other love in life is coffee. We started a relationship about ten years ago, and while it is not as tumultuous as the previously mentioned, it is easily as important. Without coffee, how else would I be able to spend hours slaving over my child-like reeds, bending them to my will? How else would I spend days scouring the web, looking for new pieces, new concepts and help for all my struggles?

While these relationships are very different, both are equally important to my survival and life. As crazy as they make me, I wouldn't change them for the world. Seriously, who needs a boyfriend when you've got the oboe to fight with?