Oboe

Faculty: Geralyn A. Giovannetti

Enrollment is limited to 14 oboists

Oboists will take part in a daily master class with the oboe professor. Fundamentals of oboe playing will be stressed, including proper breath support, embouchure, hand position, tonguing, articulation, scales and etudes. Students will also be coached in repertoire and oboe chamber music.

All oboe students will be introduced to the English horn. Some students will have the opportunity to develop English horn playing in their ensemble. Oboe students will also be introduced to the fundamentals of oboe reed making. Students who already own reed-making equipment are encouraged to bring it to the festival. Students will learn how to tie and scrape reeds and the basic principles of reed adjustment. The class will also learn basic care and maintenance of their instruments.

Ensemble placement auditions for oboe take place on Monday morning, the first day of class. Each audition is approximately ten minutes in length. Students will be asked to play at least two major scales from the following list: C, G, F, D, B flat, A, E flat, E, and A flat. Scales should be two octaves wherever possible, up to high C above the staff, and should be slurred and tongued at an even tempo according to the ability of the student.

Students should be prepared to play an etude or solo. Etudes from the Gekeler, Barret, or Ferling books, or a comparable method book would be appropriate. Any solo from the standard repertoire would also be acceptable. It is preferable that your etude or solo demonstrates your level of technical development and musicianship. Each student will also be asked to sight-read.

Based on the audition, each student will be placed in a concert band or orchestra. These groups perform in the final concert. Some students may be asked to perform a solo at the student recital, and all oboists perform in small groups (duets and trios) in the student chamber music recital. Students also have an opportunity to hear the SummerFestival faculty perform on the faculty recital. During the week students have the opportunity to take classes in a variety of music related-subjects, including music theory.

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