Who is this guy?

Thursday January 15 2009

Thanks for stopping by to ANOTHER… reedmaker’s website. Hopefully, it will be the last website you’ll have to look at! I was raised in Eugene, Oregon where I studied with a fine local oboist who spent countless hours with me detailing the intricacies of the craft of oboe reed making. My Senior year of high school I transferred to the Interlochen Arts Academy, where I graduated with honors. I went on to do collegiate studies at the New England Conservatory and Michigan State University. My primary teachers included Larry Brezicka, Daniel Stolper, Laura Ahlbeck, Jan Eberle, and David Weber, while doing other studies with John Mack.

I decided to go into the oboe reed business after having spent endless nights as an undergrad staying awake trying to make an “acceptable” reed so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself at rehearsal the following morning. The pressure drove me to a near breakdown, and I quit oboe for several years after a while. Upon my return, I vowed to learn oboe reeds, embouchure and playing “the right way” so that I didn’t have to physically hurt myself trying to play the instrument. The result has led me to make responsive, flee-blowing reeds following the in Philadelphia school of oboe. My reeds require a freer embouchure, with absolutely no biting (although rolling in and out is essential to compensate for pitch differentiations.) Because I originally studied in the “Cleveland school of oboe” for so many years, upon request I am capable of making heavier, “thicker sounding” reeds which require more lip in and sometimes slight biting.