At Laurier we have the good fortune of being taught by two of the best oboists in Canada–Dick Dorsey and Jim Mason.  They each teach a masterclass; Jim’s are on Monday and are the regular playing kind, and Dick’s are on Friday and are usually technical masterclasses where we learn about articulation, vibrato, dynamics, repair of the oboe, and so on.  Now, there are not *that* many technical elements to playing the oboe when you compare the list to the number of Fridays in a school year. So, naturally, there is some repetition, almost to the point where the older oboists make jokes about it (peep peeps!).  This past Friday, however, Dick asked us what we wanted to talk about.  I have a lot of interest in the history of the oboe, and I always feel so uninformed when people start talking about famous oboists, so I asked Dick to tell us about different oboists and their students and so on.  So he did! I could not *believe* the amount of knowledge this guy has, we made a giant list, a family tree in fact, coming down from Georges Gillet through Tabuteau (and on down through Ralph Gomberg and John deLancie to Jim and Dick, to us).

But, I thought, how cool would it be to find out where a whole bunch of other oboists came from?  So here’s my idea: Here is the family tree we made up from Dick’s knowledge alone.  If you could email me or post in the comments about your “oboe lineage” I will add them to the tree! And if you know some other people’s lineage, tell me that, too! Wouldn’t it be *crazy* to trace everyone’s teachers back to Tabuteau? We are like family, guys.

I shall scan the tree soon, after I get Jim to add his considerable knowledge to it. Anything you give me will be added as well!

In other news: iTunes has the complete Eugene Ormandy Original Jacket Collection, listed for over $70.00 on Amazon for $9.99! Best deal in life.  It comes with a digital jacket reproduction, too.  I am excited!

Do you know what else I am excited about? Aimee is a finalist in the WLU Concerto Competition, and both Danie and Kristen are winners of the Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition! Jim has heard from his colleagues that they are all impressed with the strength of our oboe studio. I am so proud of you guys, Gwen, Kristen, Danie, and Aimee!