The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2003-11-27 13:12
Hello everyone!
To explain - we have a local Music Festival which takes place every year in February. I've been putting my recorder and piano pupils in for various classes for about the last 20 years, and am myself on the Festival Committee. So what's all this got to do with clarinets, you might say?
Well, I've noticed that the adjudicator for the orchestral-instrument classes this coming February will be Colin Bradbury. As I've never known there to be a clarinet specialist before now in those classes, I wondered whether to take advantage of the fact and go in for a class or two myself.
I feel it would probably be good for me - I've only been playing the clarinet for a couple of years, and whereas I play recorders in public quite often, I haven't done so much on clarinet. I'd like to get some expert feedback too.
The downside is that there aren't actually any classes for adults, and I think I'd feel rather foolish 'competing' (HAHA!) with youngsters who would be younger than my own children..... In the piano classes they do have a couple of classes for adults, but not in the orchestral section, unfortunately -and of course it's too late now for me to suggest it for this coming Festival!
What do you think? Should I go for it? Has anyone else been in the same sort of situation?
Joanna Brown
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Author: David
Date: 2003-11-27 13:43
Go for it. But unless the rules only allow age-grouping, try to compete in the same class / standard.
Otherwise, if you're unfortunate enough to run into another Julian Bliss, you can do it again later in the carpark. The kid may have the talent, but you have the car, and you'll build up a fierce rep for next year...
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2003-11-27 20:45
That made me laugh, David! But it IS age-grouping, in that it'd be 16 yrs and over, which effectively means that I'd be with sixth-formers, who would probably be much better than me - not that I mind that fact, but I do know that teenagers can be quite scathing in their put-downs and I wouldn't like to feel that they were laughing at me!
Joanna Brown
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2003-12-29 15:23
A month later - well, I've decided to go for it, and I sent off my entry earlier today. I'm going to play the Andante from Weber's Grand Duo Concertant, which I really like, and a friend is going to play the piano part, so we should be able to have some good practice sessions. I'm starting to look forward to performing it now!
Joanna Brown
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Author: rbell96
Date: 2003-12-29 19:38
Make sure your friend know the piano part very well! Its incredibly difficult to get the right balance in this piece.
Rob
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Author: rbell96
Date: 2003-12-29 19:40
Hi Jo,
Just noticed that your email address is BTOpenworld. That must mean you play in the UK? Where do you study since I am in the UK too?
Rob
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Author: jo.clarinet
Date: 2003-12-29 20:42
Rob - my pianist-partner (can't say accompanist for this one!) is a very good musician and excellent piano player, so I think he'll be fine.
I'm in London - not studying anywhere, just living and teaching here. Where are you then? If you want to email, feel free - you can get the address by clicking on my blue name-tag (I only discovered this myself a couple of weeks ago!)
Joanna Brown
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-12-29 21:49
Joanna -
Colin Bradbury is a lovely person and a lovely teacher. You can trust him to help you at any level. I suspect he's older than you are -- he has a big shock of white hair -- so to him, everybody's a youngster.
I'd grab the opportunity and practice like crazy.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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