Editor's note: Presently professor of oboe at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, Nancy Fowler has degrees of Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy from the Ohio State University. She attended the Berkshire Festival (Tanglewood) and studied in the Netherlands on a Fulbright Scholarship with Haakon Stotijn. She has played with various orchestras in central and north Florida, as well as being a member of the Florida State University Chamber Orchestra and the Tallahassee Woodwind Quintet.
In response to Dan Stolper's invitation, I am pleased to write some impressions of two oboe workshops that I attended last summer. Actually it was an extension and culmination of work begun while on a sabbatical leave last spring quarter. The first workshop was with Ray Still, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony, at the Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, from July 17-21. The second one was with Heinz Holliger, renowned Swiss oboist, at the International Summer School Oboe Master Class in Folketane England from August 21-28.
The Still Master Class had 30-35 in attendance, mostly oboists, with 10 performing participants. All others were auditors. We met each morning for three hours of very intensive sessions. As a college oboe instructor I felt the observation of Mr. Still working with the participants to be a most instructive and beneficial experience. The literature studied was from the standard oboe repertoire and included works by Bach, Handel, Telemann, Poulenc, Schumann, Hindemith, and Saint-Saens. The final session was devoted to orchestral excerpts plus instruction on the oboe d'amore.
It was rewarding to watch Mr. Still work with the performers. His approach was to first listen to the work prepared by the participant. Comments and suggestions were then made -- usually with him demonstrating exactly what he wanted. Then the student played again. Frequently it was necessary for Mr. Still to approach the problem in several different ways before the student understood and could do what was desired. In every case the improvement was quite noticeable. At times the transformation was simply amazing. Much of Still's approach dealt with basic tone production: breathing, embouchure, reed, and concept. Mr. Still's beautiful tone and outstanding level of musicianship were evident at all times.
Afternoons and evenings were for the most part unstructured. Participants became acquainted with each other through informal gatherings for meals, concerts, reed-making, duets. etc.
Later in the summer I attended the Holliger workshop in England. This was held on the premises of the Dover Boy's School in Folkstone, a beautiful small seaside town in Kent, about one and a half hours by train south east of London. A total of 72 oboists attended, including five from the U.S. The majority were from Great Britain, though all countries of Europe were represented. Since we were all housed together at the school, it gave us the opportunity to get to know Mr. Holliger informally. The atmosphere was friendly and unique. People of varied backgrounds and stages of playing had met together for one purpose--to learn more about the oboe from a master performer and teacher.
Classes were held twice daily for a total of about seven hours. Other activities were scheduled, including time to browse through the bookstore for music or to meet at the clubhouse for a social visit. We had the pleasure one night of attending a Vivaldi flute concert by Trevor Wye, founder of the International Summer School. The last night was reserved for a recital presented by some of the class performers. This was followed by a farewell bonfire and cookout.
Performers for the classes were selected by auditions on the first day. The repertoire list this year was very unusual but interesting. Holliger preferred not to use any of the standard compositions. Instead, lesser known works were studied, namely concerti by Kalliwoda, Molique, and Rietz. I was glad to become familiar with these pieces and intend to incorporate them into my teaching and performing as a result of this class. Contemporary works studied were the Globokar Atemstudie, Krenek Vier Stücke, and the Berio Sequenza. We were also allowed to present an additional piece of our own choice.
Mr. Holliger is undoubtedly one of the foremost authorities on contemporary oboe techniques. Though a very humble, almost shy man, his demonstrations on the oboe make things seem much simpler than they actually are. After spending several hours one evening working with students on the Globokar piece for oboe alone, Holliger was asked to play through the entire work. He agreed to do this, although he must have been exceedingly tired at the end of a long day and week. This was one of the most incredible performances that I've ever heard or expect to hear of such a demanding work. The Atemstudie is actually an exercise written for him and utilizes such demanding techniques as circular breathing, humming while playing, clicking of keys, multiphonics, glissandi, double-tonguing, reed noises, and micro-tonal trills--plus a great deal of endurance, It was a revelation to me to discover that Holliger flutter-tongues by "gargling" in his throat, rather than by rolling an "r" at the tip of the reed.
Though very different in structure, these two workshops were similar in several aspects. Ray Still and Heinz Holliger, both leading oboists of the world, were untiring in working with students. They were interested above all in making music and provided excellent models by their own performances.
Besides the enjoyable meeting and discussions with other oboists, I very much enjoyed the travel experiences, especially to England. Pleasant hours were found to visit the beautiful cathedral at Canterbury, the White Cliffs of Dover, and the scenic county of Rye.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have attended these inspiring and stimulating workshops. I would also encourage others to expand and broaden their musical world by taking advantage of such events.