It is customary for the president of a new organization to issue a statement of purpose. Being something of a traditionalist, I shall do just that. However, for those many members who joined IDRS on blind faith, a resume of events leading to the formation of IDRS is pertinent.
In a very literal sense the concept of IDRS came into existence with the publication in June 1969 of the first issue of To The World's Bassoonists, the newsletter for bassoonists, created by Gerald Corey, now Editor-in-Chief of IDRS Jerry's enthusiasm for his subject was matched by his knowledge of it; and of further help, he had acquired a very wide circle of bassoonist friends throughout the world, all of whom encouraged him greatly with his undertaking. He himself notes especially the encouragement and aid proffered by Sol Schoenbach, former principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and William Waterhouse of London, England, presently co-principal of the BBC Orchestra. The newsletter was an instantaneous success, and it now has subscribers in such distant countries as Russia, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa.
So popular was the newsletter that several oboists asked Jerry if he would edit a similar publication for the oboe. As can be imagined, editing one newsletter is a major undertaking, the more so when the editor is a full-time professional performer, (formerly principal with the Baltimore Symphony, now principal in the Canadian Center for the Arts in Ottawa), and Jerry was reluctant to take on another such time-consuming task.
The warm reception accorded the newsletter had, however, stirred the interest and imagination of several of Jerry's friends, and most particularly Lewis Hugh Cooper, professor of bassoon at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Alan Fox, well-known manufacturer of bassoons. As early as 1970 these three started to discuss the possibility of forming some sort of organization dedicated to serving the needs of all double reed enthusiasts. Support for the idea was voiced by oboists and bassoonists from all over the country, and it was decided to have an organizational meeting at the Mid-Western Band Masters Convention, held in Chicago in December 1971.
The actual meeting was held December 16, in a banquet room of the Sherman House. Alan Fox very generously underwrote the expenses of this first meeting. In Jerry's own words, "The meeting was . . . a tremendous success." Forty-eight people attended, and their response indicated that there existed a sufficient number of people who believed in the concept to warrant a call for volunteers to act as a forming committee. To the three prime movers were added Richard Lottridge, professor of bassoon at the University of Wisconsin, Richard Rath, oboist from South Dakota, Don Christlieb, well-known studio bassoonist, Donald Muggeridge, oboist from California, and Patricia Stenberg, oboist from Florida.
At this point Hugh Cooper and George Cavender, Director of Bands at the University of Michigan, offered the facilities of their School of Music for a meeting the following August, this meeting to be held in conjunction with another meeting already scheduled, and at no expense to the newly formed organization. This generous gesture led directly to the final formation of IDRS, and if IDRS succeeds, it will be most directly attributable to the vision of Gerald Corey, and the generosity and support of Alan Fox and Hugh Cooper.
Those present at the Chicago meeting all contributed five dollars (Fox Products Corp., gave $100, as did William Roscoe of Meason, Inc.). This money was used to help defray expenses incidental to the preparation of the Ann Arbor meeting. Those who contributed were to be known as charter members, and their names are listed alphabetically on pages 4 and 5 of this Journal.
The meeting at Ann Arbor, in August of 1972, demonstrated that the idea was indeed viable. The program included lectures and lecture-demonstrations by Don Christlieb (The Bassoon Reed), William Waterhouse (The Baroque Bassoon), Hugh Cooper (Maintenance and Care of the Bassoon), Ray Still (Breathing and Phrasing on the Oboe), Larry Intravaia (Comparisons of Bassoon Reeds), Robert Cowart (The English Horn). There were also concerts presented by University of Michigan student groups. And, of course, there were the two organizational sessions which defined the scope of IDRS, chose the name for it, approved a working constitution, and elected the present officers of the organization.
One of the first decisions the officers had to make was to choose an editor for the oboist newsletter. As president I proposed the name of Daniel Stolper, professor of oboe at Michigan State University, formerly principal oboist of the San Antonio and New Orleans orchestras, and my esteemed colleague in the Richards Woodwind Quintet. Like Jerry, Dan is dedicated to his instrument and all facets thereof, and even more coincidentally, he too has an international coterie of oboe playing friends in the professional ranks. Most happily, the two would be renewing an old friendship formed while both were students at the Eastman School. The first issue of the oboists newsletter demonstrated the wisdom of our choice, and IDRS must count itself fortunate in having two such brilliant, knowledgeable and articulate musicians as editors of its publications.
A pragmatic note must be inserted here. Both editors are extremely active professionally. For that reason it is unrealistic to expect them to be able to meet an inflexible publication deadline. IDRS is committed to issuing three copies yearly of each newsletter, and one issue of the Journal. This commitment will be met, but not on any set schedule.
Once the choice of editors was made, the officers then had to face up to the problems inherent in any new group. These are not of general interest, and no purpose would be served by detailing them. The major problem was that of mounting a membership drive, and in this connection it is necessary to remark upon the efforts of two people, Catherine and Robert Probasco. Bob is professor of oboe at the University of Idaho. The two of them initiated a mass mailing to AFM locals and to schools and colleges which brought the membership total to over 500.
This, then, is a brief history of IDRS to date. I have deliberately mentioned only a few of the many people involved, not because the contributions of the others were less important, but because it would be quite impossible to list all who have aided the society. The time given so freely by so many is obvious evidence of the idealism surrounding the functioning of IDRS
Now as to the goals of IDRS, these are many and varied. Some will be realized rather easily and soon, others will take much longer to complete. The first goal, and one which seems certain to be met, is the publication of the newsletters and the journal. These represent the most immediately pragmatic benefit of membership in IDRS, and as such will do much to enlarge the number of members.
The second major goal is the planning of a convention. This is still very much in the formative stage, but if all goes as planned, the second annual meeting will be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, August 20 and 21, using the facilities of the Augustana College. Richard Rath, P.O. Box 2199, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. 57102, is program chairman. Complete details of the convention will be published in the second newsletter, which will probably come out in early July.
The third major goal is the formation of a central library, to be a repository for every conceivable bit of information pertaining to the double reeds. This is a project to which every IDRS member may be useful. Those of you who have rare recordings, unknown or unpublished music, who own or know of the location of articles written about any of the double reeds, in short, any material which you think ought to be in this specialized library, are urged to contact Mr. Lawrence Intravaia, School of Music, University of Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Illinois. University of Southern Illinois has agreed to accept the library, and Larry has agreed to be the head of the library committee for IDRS. Elsewhere in the Journal is a message from Larry setting forth his plans for the library. Eventually, it is planned that all material will be available at a minimum cost to members.
Less well-defined goals include the commissioning of new music; competitions for student members; close cooperation with those manufacturers and publishers who business is centered around the double reed instruments, the re-issuing from the library of out-of-print music; also in conjunction with the library the publishing of carefully graded lists of music for the double reeds; from the secretary's office a list of the membership by country.
As indicated by the title, the society is international. As soon as finances permit, and translators are found, the society will print foreign editions of the newsletters. For the foreseeable future English will be the language of the Journal, but contributions from members in all countries are most welcome. If the articles contributed are suitable for inclusion in the newsletters, IDRS will arrange the translation to English. If the article is of sufficient length and gravity to warrant its inclusion in the Journal, IDRS will follow the common practice of printing the article in its original language. (In the case of an article in Russian or Japanese, IDRS, recognizing that these are not commonly studied languages, will attempt a translation.)
In any event, all contributions, regardless of language, will be most welcome, and the editors are hopeful of receiving many articles from double reed players all over the world.
Well, enough has been said. You know how we originated, and what we hope, with your help, to accomplish. As my old teacher, Vincent Pezzi, used to say, "May all your reeds be cadenza reeds."
--Edgar Kirk