Klarinet Archive - Posting 000106.txt from 2002/06

From: "Forest E. Aten Jr." <forestaten@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Majoring in Clarinet Performance
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 13:22:03 -0400

Anne,

Why worry...because I have children......I worry about their future.

Why worry...tax dollars (mine)....ill spent.

Just a few......I could give you many more reasons to be concerned about
incompetent educators.

F. Aten

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Lenoir" <AnneLenoir@-----.net>
Subject: [kl] Majoring in Clarinet Performance

> Recently there has been some talk on the list about the "incompetence"
> of music educators and clarinetists. I want to make the point that you
> can't always predict what the outcome of one's choices will be. I
> remember years ago, when I was a performance major at Oberlin, that I
> had two friends that I felt really sorry for because they sounded so
> bad. One was Larry Guy, who had transferred to Oberlin from Capital
> University in Ohio, and I used to spend hours trying to "help" him with
> his tone, and trying to teach him to articulate correctly. My sister,
> Jane, who was (& still is) an outstanding flutist, used to worry about
> what would happen to Larry once he graduated. We should have spent more
> time worrying about our own careers, because as it turns out, Larry is
> doing much better than either of us. If I could take any of you in a
> time machine back to the year 1967, I'm sure all of you, (& Larry too)
> would agree with me. Tim Foley was another clarinetist that I felt sorry
> for, because his tone was so bad and he played so unmusically. Somehow
> Tim got a gig with the Marine Band in Washington, D.C. and he is now LT
> COLONEL FOLEY, conductor of the President's Band. Both Larry and Tim had
> great personalities and knew how to get along with people and how to
> learn.
> Anyhow, in 1967 we all went to NYC to perform with the Oberlin
> Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. I played principal clarinet on PETROUSHKA,
> Tina Ward played principal clarinet on TCHAIKOVSKY'S 5TH, and I can't
> remember who played 2nd. I think Larry did. I will be meeting up with
> Larry at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium this weekend, and he was kind
> enough to "consult" me about teaching articulation to a couple of his
> students from NYC that he will be bringing to the symposium. Tina, who I
> despised at the time, went on to play 2nd clarinet in the St. Louis
> Symphony for the past 30 years or more.
> I, on the other hand, am very proud to announce to all of you, that
> I did get my licence to be a Manitou Springs Street Musician for the
> summer. I had to audition my "single act" in front of the Chamber of
> Commerce to get this gig, and I believe it is the only audition I have
> passed since Oberlin. The gig pays $30 per service, plus all the CD's
> you can sell or tips you can get.
> So you never know what the future will bring. If people are
> incompetant, maybe it's better to just let them be incompetant and just
> worry about your own career. ANNIE
>
>
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