So here is an article about Alex Klein for the less oboe-oriented of the people who read this comic.

Basically, he’s a totally ridiculous oboe player. Jim was playing one of his CDs at Reed Jail a couple of weeks ago, and I more or less wanted to give up the oboe because of it. I’LL NEVER BE THAT GOOD! *goes off to cry*
Anyway, Jim wants to get him to come give a masterclass. It would be pretty amazing if he did. However, we *probably* would not perform brain surgery on him.
In other news, I’m playing the Hindemith Sonata for Oboe and Piano for the fall, and I have a student recital scheduled for November 1st. I’m nervous already. Man…recitals are not my strong suit.

A bunch of us went to see the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra’s first concert–it was good! I think Edwin Outwater is going to be good for them, he seems like a great conductor. They played Ravel’s Piano Concerto (with the crazy-long English Horn solo, played by Faith Levene, who did a nice job), a piece from John Adams’ opera “Nixon in China,” a more modern piece called “Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety” which Outwater dealt with very nicely, and Beethoven’s Fifth.
I think a lot of music students are kind of sick of it–especially the first movement–but I like it because it was the first symphony I ever played in. Memories!
There was a reception afterwards, but I only stuck around long enough to make sure Jim knew I’d been, and then I buggered off. Too many people…I was twitching and a few moments from screaming and dashing out, knocking hot coffee into old ladies. AAH!
Waiting at the bus stop was *freezing*.

I’m waiting to get an mp3 hosted, and then you will get an awesome blog, analyzing a song by Stars that I happened upon a few weeks ago that is based on (and incorporates) a theme from the third movement of Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique.
Later, skaters!
-Ren