The weather cooperated, the beautiful ceremony went off without a hitch, the toasts are over, and the guests ate, drank, and danced with abandon. By any measure, the Hill Country Nuptials were a roaring success.
Now we wish Richard and Julianne much joy and happiness on their life together, which starts today with a honeymoon in Italy. As for the rest of us, it’s back to the real world.
Last night we went to see Julianne perform with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, which is the reason we came to the capital city of Texas in the first place. The ASO delivered a stirring rendition of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, then Julianne’s oboe solo kicked off John Corigliano’s beautiful and touching Music from the Edge. I’d never heard anything by Corigliano before, but I really enjoyed that piece. The concert closed with a return to Copland, for some fine clarinet work on the Concert for Clarinet and String Orchestra (with Harp), and finally Dvorak’s powerful Symphony No. 8 in G Major. Julianne played marvelously — of course!
It was a great performance by a really good orchestra. One other thing about the ASO — its performance hall is world class, with a walkout area that offers a magnificent view of the Austin skyline across the river. And since the ASO doesn’t like photos taken inside the building, I took the photo above to remember a wonderful evening.
Way to go, Julianne!
If you play the oboe, you need reeds. In fact, you need lots of reeds, because the oboe is a double-reed instrument.
But where to go for high-quality reeds if you are a student learning to play the oboe and find yourself in need of reed? Fortunately, there is now an answer: Nightingale Oboe Reeds, where you can get wonderful reeds made by somebody who is an exceptional oboist in her own right. You can even subscribe and get reeds delivered to your doorstep every month. (And the reedmaker can give you oboe lessons, too.)
How do the reeds sound, you ask? Well, listen to this terrific piece by Mozart played by the Yellow Book Project, tune in to the oboe, and see if you don’t think those reeds sound great.
Our friend Julianne Skones plays the oboe in a Chicago-based ensemble called Tempest Winds. She posted this lovely piece by Georges Pfeiffer on her Facebook page, and I had to share it here. If you’re in Chicago and get a chance to catch Tempest Winds in action, go see them!
Webner House 