Among the many recent changes in orchestral bassoon sections, the following have been brought to my attention:

Lucy Mackall, a former student of Steven Maxym and Sol Schoenbach, is now playing principal bassoon in the Mexico City Philharmonic.

David McGill, Curtis graduate, and 1984 I.D.R.S. Gillet Competition winner, is the new solo bassoonist with the Toronto Symphony.

Temporary replacements include an exchange between Eric Arbiter of the Houston Symphony and Kenneth Moore of Oberlin for the Spring, 1986, semester, and I.D.R.S. President, Bill Winstead, substituting for Otto Eifert in the Cincinnati Symphony beginning in January, 1986.

From Boulder, Colorado, bassoonist Bill Douglas, director of the Boulder Bassoon Band, comes word that he will be teaching a course entitled "Contemporary Musicianship" this summer at the Naropa Institute in Boulder. He will be joined by jazz oboist (saxophonist, bass clarinetist, etc.!) Paul McCandless of the group Oregon who will teach a course on "Creative Improvisation" at the same time. For information about these and other courses one can write the Naropa Institute, 2130 Arapahoe, Boulder, Colorado 80302, or call (303) 447-0110.

Bassoonist K. David Van Hoesen from Eastman will give a special 3 day Bassoon Workshop on July I I - 13, 1986 at the Breckenridge, Colorado Music Institute. On July 13th, Mr. Van Hoesen will perform the Weber Andante and Hungarian Rondo with the Festival Chamber Orchestra there as well. The Workshop will include a master class, participant's performances, and lecture demonstrations on orchestral excerpts and reed making. Interested participants should write to the Breckenridge Music Institute, Box 1254, Breckenridge, Colorado, 80424 or phone (303) 453-9142 for further information.

From Finnish bassoonist, Andy Ojanto, comes word of the organization of a Double Reed Society of Finland. The Society met for the first time in Turku in November and wants to have their first general meeting in February or March in Tampere. There is some hope to form a membership link between the I.D.R.S. and the Finnish Society in the near future. For the present the I.D.R.S. sends congratulations and best wishes their way and offers them every assistance in spreading the cause of "double reeding" throughout the world.

Recent performances by bassoonists include a special concert for the 75th birthday of William Schuman, former president of the Juilliard School of Music at the Lincoln Center presided over by bassoonist Joseph Polisi, who is current president of the Juilliard School, on October 2, 1985. The special dinner/concert for Mr. Schuman and 280 of his friends and admirers, featured the premiere of a new work Dances for wind quintet and percussion which was written last summer especially for this occasion. Mr. Polisi also joined Juilliard bassoon students, Martin Mangrum, Celeste Roy, and John Kehayas in a performance of Schuman's famous Quartetino (1939) for four bassoons to open the concert.

I.D.R.S. honorary, Sol Schoenbach, recently performed Remembrance by Robert Capanna at the Settlement School in Philadelphia. Dr. Schoenbach has also accepted the position as President of the Kordon Institute of Music for the Handicapped at the Settlement School, so he will divide his time between Philadelphia and his home in Sarasota, Florida.

Peter Schoenbach, Sol's talented bassoonist son , who is also Chairman of the Department of Music at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, joined bassoonist Paul Ganson for a performance there of the Vanhall Concerto for two bassoons on October 22, 1985. They were accompanied by the WSU Chamber Orchestra conducted by Leo Najar.

Ron Bukoff combined both of his careers, musicology and bassoon, in two separate concerts in Ithaca, New York. On September 28, his bassoon quartet, "I Quasi Musici, " was the highlight of a benefit concert staged for suicide prevention. Mr Bukoff narrated a (facetious) history of the quartet in a program entitled "...it all began with Bach." The group moved from Bach to rock, with stops along the way for Mozart, Mendelssohn, Wagner, traditional music, and jazz. Besides Mr. Bukoff, who is a Musicologist at Cornell University, and the School's bassoon instructor, the ensemble is made up of graduate students and post-doctoral fellow at the university: Fred Cohen (composer), Phil Dixon (ecologist), and Neil Gershenfeld (physicist). On November 7, Mr. Bukoff presented a solo recital at Cornell, "Rarities for the Bassoon, 18th & 19th Centuries, " accompanied by a short talk on the history of bassoon music. His program consisted of the Beethoven Trio for flute, bassoon and piano, the Dietter Sonata VI for cello and bassoon, the Glinka Trio Pathetique for clarinet, bassoon and piano, the Moscheles Grand Duo Concertante for bassoon and piano, and "I Quasi Musici" joined him for Corrette's Le phenix.

Bassoonist Kim Walker performed the rarely heard Symphonie Concertante in F Major for Flute, Bassoon, and Orchestra by Jean Baptiste Breval on November 12, 1985 with flutist Aurele Nicolet, accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of Neuchatel, Switzerland, conducted by Theo Loosli. Kim is a former student of Sol Schoenbach and Roger Birnstingl.

Bassoonist James Jeter performed a solo recital on December 19th, 1985, at Carnegie Hall, as part of its "Debuts and Encores Series". Mr. Jeter performed the Vivaldi Sonata No. 6, Op. 14 (arr. Luigi Dallapiccolo), Handel's "Venti, turbini", from Rinaldo, Saint-Saens Sonata, Dutilleux Sarabande et Cortege, Gordon Jacob's Partita for Solo Bassoon, and Poulenc's Trio for Piano, Oboe, and Bassoon. He was assisted by Benton Hess, piano; Keith Romano, countertenor; Roger Zahab, violin; and Robert Botti, oboe. In reviewing the concert for the New York Times, Mr. Tim Page wrote: "Mr. Jeter proved a splendid player, with dapper phrasing, a diaphanous lower register, oboe-sweet high notes and a certain Mephistophelean elegance."

Bassoonist Christopher Weait, who recently joined the faculty at Ohio State University, performed a recital there on October 21, 1985, assisted by bassoonists Peter Lutek, Douglas Fisher, and Betsy Sturdevant; flutists Katherine Borst Jones and Craig Kirchoff; violist Edward Adelson; cellist Margaret Barstow; pianist Thomas Wells; and harpsichordist Gordon Wilson. Works on the program included the Capriccio Op. 14 by Weissenborn, the Trio for Flute, Viola and Bassoon by Malcolm Arnold, the Quintet in D minor by G. P. Telemann and the world premieres of the Sonatina for Bassoon and Piano, 1984, by Donato D. Fornuto, and From A Leaf In Falling for Bassoon Quartet, 1984, by Peter Lutek. In discussing the two premieres, Chris wrote: "The Lutek was received very well and will be a great addition to the bassoon quartet repertoire. It is not ferociously difficult, and portions of it can be played if desired. The music is available from Pcristera Music, 294 Oak Park Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4C 4N5. Fornuto's piece is a very welcome addition to the short works for bassoon list. A very playable and listenable work with no rhythmical difficulties and a lovely singing second movement."

On September 29, 1985, British bassoonist William Waterhouse performed in a rare concert at Kreuzkirche, Dresden featuring the consort of 5 dulcians playing Heinrich Schutz's 24th Psalm. The performers were Johannes Schutt (bass), Christian Beuse (tenor), Gunther Angerhofer (quintbass), William Waterhouse (bass), and Lutz Klepel (bass).

Mr. Waterhouse also performed the Hummel Concerto at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on May 15, 1985, with the Geraint Jones Orchestra. Besides continuing his research for a new edition of the Langwill Index of Wind Instrument Makers, Mr. Waterhouse will also be a guest artist at the Popkin/Glickman Bassoon Camp at Wildacres, North Carolina in June, 1986.

On October 27, 1985, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, sponsored a unique Double Reed Day for interested oboists and bassoonists. The program included bassoon master classes by Graham Savage, Edward Warren, and David Chatwin, oboe master classes by Peter Graeme and Gordon Hunt, classes in reed making, a demonstration of Four Hundred Years of the Bassoon by William Waterhouse, as well as two concerts of double reed music.

Of particular interest on the program were the performances of the Divertimento for bassoon
solo by Sommerfeldt and the Sonata for bassoon solo by Gunther Raphael , performed by David Chatwin, and the Concertino for Bassoon and Winds by Jurriaan Andriessen performed by Julie Price, bassoon, and the RNCM Chamber Orchestra Wind Ensemble conducted by Caroline Stephenson.

The evening concert opened with massed double reeds (90 oboes and 60 bassoons!) playing Handel's Royal Fireworks Music and also featured Percy Granger's little known Hill Song #1 scored for 2 piccolos, 6 oboes, 6 English horns, 6 bassoons and contrabassoon.

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