Bassoon With a View

Légère bassoon reeds On May 22, 2014 I began trialing a Legere synthetic bassoon reed - a reed I have long been interested in.  I was originally piqued when I discovered youtube videos of the bassoonist with WindSync wind quintet using a Legere reed.  Like many, I assumed the Legere reed would be like the plastic Fox bassoon reeds we all have likely experienced at one time or another - hard, inflexible, unresponsive, and totally without color or finesse.  I was further piqued when Paul Hanson traveled through Montana to give a few performances (which I was unable to attend) and was informed by colleagues that he was using Legere reeds exclusively.  http://youtu.be/7s2eF_yaNpM Checking out his youtube videos, I was impressed with the obvious facility of the reeds.  To that end, myself and five of my Montana bassoon colleagues decided to jump in and give them a try.  Justin Miller was gracious enough to give us a discount since we bought them as a group.  We had to wait

A few weeks ago I took another 2nd bassoon audition. It was a good experience, as they all are.  This being my second audition since winning a salaried gig, I am reminded that it is vastly easier to take and prepare auditions mentally when you know that you have a secure gig to return to. Winning your first gig is such an incredible hurdle to clear.  For so many different reasons, being in a job puts you in a very different place than those in school, newly graduated, working odd jobs, even some free lancers.  However, HAVING a job and then trying to advance into a "better" job is very tricky. One of the challenges I keep facing are scheduling conflicts.  I promised myself I would take one audition per season to help keep me "fighting fit" and maintain my awareness of what bassoonists sound like out there.  (Because I DO listen to everyone around me in auditions.)  In reality, because I had so many scheduling conflicts, there was only one audition this season