by oboelafitte
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by oboelafitte
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We all know how terrible the Covid shutdown affected live music. Fortunately in New England, a group of musicians formed the New England Musicians’ Relief Fund, https://www.nemrf.org which helps our performing musicians during a huge loss of work. This organization continues to help those of us who have still not recovered from the financial loss of work. I made a video for their site, and to bring awareness to our dire straits.
Personally, the loss of work, and the silence, caused me to reconsider my entire life style. Honestly, my expenses living in Boston were going to be a huge struggle, so I thought about where I could live that would be beautiful, affordable, and still be able to live in a place where I could continue to teach at Berklee, live in a state with politics that I agree with, and have access to great medical care. I want to stay in Massachusetts.
In September of 2020, I moved to a beautiful place in the Berkshires. Having been a Tanglewood fellow way back in 1980, and having played numerous performances at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony organization, I felt inspired to be here. We are now teaching in person at Berklee, so I take a bus to/from home to Boston, staying overnight to fulfill my commitments and my passion for teaching. It is working, for now, and I come home to a really peaceful place!
(watch video below)
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Teaching is an honor. Teaching music is especially deep because it taps into so many different skills and emotion. Teaching is sharing. We learn about different cultures and experiences, through each other and through the composers we play. I have had students from Turkey, Ecuador, China, Japan, and through all of them I learned more
March 2022 Finally feel confident to go out to hear live music, after the years that quietly went by during the worst of Covid shutdown. Daryl’s House Club is Daryl Hall’s venue in Pawling, NY, where they have many great groups play, and host “Daryl’s House” video shoots with his legendary friends, like Kenny Loggins!
Boston Ballet Orchestra February 25-March 8, 2020 Learning to relax while you play I recently had the opportunity to play principal oboe on Stravinsky’s Agon, which has a particularly challenging oboe part in the Double Pas-de-Quatre. Notice that much of it is up an octave, putting it in the squirrely fingerings for our upper register.
