I just met Amy last week. She is the new interim bass clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic. We went to dinner with friends from Backun Musical Services and then I popped in on her and Morrie the next afternoon. Her small clarinets were in clamps after repadding, but her bass was finished up and she was just checking it out. She sounded marvelous, really warm full tone and unbelievable fluidity. She tried out one of my Backun wooden bass bells and was just floored…ended up leaving her bell behind for a conversion.

I got a lesson from her based on material from legendary teacher David Weber that focussed on listening to the connections beteween notes on extremely slow chromatic scales and arpeggios…played so slowly with fingers like “pressing into a sponge” that you can hear the “gliss” between each note. She has amazing ears and I’ve never listened so hard to note connections in my life. It brought a whole new meaning to slow and deliberate practice…and it is what leads to that incredible fluidity. As Amy says, “It’s not in the fingers, it’s in the air.”

Expecting more of the same from Jessica Phillips of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra on the small clarinets in August. These are the lessons that you can chew on for years.

The Rousseau VCC Sax Workshop is done for another year, and that marks the beginning of my summer. No teaching, no repertoire (except for some chamber music with the Best Coast Basses and Roy & Jewal.) I can just work on me! Will be getting a lesson from Jessica Phillips (clarinetist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Amy Zoloto (bass clarinet with the New York Philharmonic) so will be focussing mostly on clarinet and bass clarinet this summer. Will also be trying out the new Vandoren V12 Alto sax reeds on saxophone and on alto clarinet.

Am also looking forward to both a synthetic and wooden Leblanc by Backun Bliss clarinet within the next few weeks and will sell my original Leblanc Cadenza model.

My web manager Brayden set me up to blog, post gigs and add pictures to the sites over a year ago and I am finally getting around to all of this…guess it is good to be that busy!

Right now busy practing Bass Clarinet for the upcoming PSWE Movie theme concert, alto and baritone sax for the Rousseau master class (Paquito d’Rivera Two Dances on alto, Poulenc Oboe/Bassoon Trio transcribed for soprano and bari sax), and clarinet with Roy Sluyter piano and Jewal Maxwell for a recital in the fall.

The studio has had a flood of talented young female students who are inspiring me. Good thing, because I will be sorely missing working with Elvin Chang who is graduating this spring. He is off to play with the International Honors Wind Ensemble at Lincoln Center in New York in a few weeks and then we will play together at the Rousseau Master Class in June.