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Re: A Fresh Start

Author: WoodwindOz
Date: 2011-12-28 17:56

I can offer you a couple of stories...and a little advice as well.

I started oboe 5 years ago at the age of 24. This came about as I was interested in doubling, was an instrumental teacher wanting to expand my employability and because the clarinet which I had picked up a couple of years earlier was, frankly, not my cup of tea.

I m currently involved with the oboe studio at a prominent university, and in a recent round of mock auditions, placed about halfway. There are post-grads and extremely talented upperclassmen in this studio, so I was pretty proud of myself. The disclaimer here is that I was (am) a professional flautist with a music degree before this.

One of the students who ranked in the top 5 (of 25) in these auditions is a freshman who started playing in her sophomore year of high school. She is amazing. The disclaimer here is that she quite often forgets to sleep because she's so caught up practising and making reeds.

I hope these stories offer a certain perspective, but my main advice is to completely immerse yourself in everything oboe and music before you commit to anything. Attend every orchestra and band concert in your area. See if any recitals (oboe and others) are happening and attend those. Research main oboe works and listen to them until you have almost memorised them. Talk to college level oboists about their commitment. Get a really good teacher. Then after all that, ask yourself if you still want it.

I wanted to be a ballet dancer when I was in my early teens (I had been studying since 5), and the older I got, the more I experienced injuries, the cutthroat nature of competition, the cost, the physical demands...I realised it was more work than I was willing to commit (and besides, I was a much better musician anyway!)

Good luck!

Rachel

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