Andrew White of Washington, D.C. is the recipient of the 1984 Dean Dixon Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in the field of classical music. The award was presented on Sunday, February 12, 1984 at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington by Shirley Lyle, director of the Dean Dixon Memorial Committee of New York. Dixon was possibly the first black conductor to achieve international prominence; he served as musical director of orchestras in Goteborg, Sweden; the Hessicher Radio Symphony in Frankfurt, West Germany; and the Sydney Symphony in Australia. Andrew White was chosen for the award as a result of his contribution to the field of classical music as an oboist. His background includes oboe study with Richard White of the National Symphony, Don E. Cassell of the Nashville Symphony, Ralph Gomberg and Louis Speyer, both of the Boston Symphony; Stephen Adelstein at Dartmouth College, Etienne Baudo at the Paris Conservatoire, and Marcel Tabuteau of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. White held the position of oboe and English horn player at the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1965 through 1967, and was principal oboist of the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra of New York from 1968 through 1970. In 1971 Mr. White became president of Andrew's Musical Enterprises, Inc. of Washington, D.C. Since then he has appeared as an oboist only once: at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in May, 1978. He made a recording called Petite Suite Francaise in September of 1982.

John Mack, the principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra, keeps himself well occupied outside his responsibilities in the orchestra. In April, 1985 he presented a recital with soprano Christina Price, accompanied by John Herr, pianist, at the Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. Robert Finn, music critic of the Plain Dealer, wrote: "This was really a joint recital, in which the two soloists participated together in every single number, not one of those affairs in which each person alternates solo pieces. But, you say, oboe and soprano? How much repertory can there be for that combination? The answer is: plenty. An industrious oboist in Buffalo, Ronald Richards, has evidently dedicated his life to digging up pieces for this and other unusual performing combinations. He even formed a group to perform what he found, aptly dubbing it the Buried Treasures Ensemble. John Mack's interest in this project through the oboists' grapevine resulted in this afternoon of unusual music.

There were some widely known composers represented (Mendelssohn, Pergolesi), others you might know if music dictionaries are your idea of recreational reading, (Agostino Stefani, A. D. Philidor, Thomas Linley, Adolph Adam), a couple of genuinely obscure gentlemen (Sarri, Fortunati) and, to vary the menu a little, a trio of living composers (Richard Baroque, A. Cohen, Lewis Jones).

There were tuneful arias by Sarri and Stefani, including one, Sarri's Congiurato Contro Morte, in which the oboe seemed to be playing the part of a piccolo trumpet. The text has to do with a figurative battle between conflicting emotions and the oboe writing has a military ring to it.

Both soprano and oboist had plenty of chance to display technical agility in elaborate arias by Pergolesi (from his opera Adriano in Siria), in a group of showy but musically less substantial French pieces, and in Thomas Linley's virtuosic air Ariel, Who Sees Thee Now? Mack, who of course is the splendid principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra, played all this music with a full oboe sound and superb technique. Price, the soprano soloist of the Plymouth Church, had a clear, strong top register... The two of them did match their sounds nicely in the several pieces where they were required to sing in parallel thirds... Pianist John Herr's playing was always supportive and sympathetic to the two soloists. This was an afternoon of refreshingly unhackneyed music, most of it wellperformed and much of it quite charming. Musicians who take the trouble to research, rehearse, and perform recitals such as this are performing a genuine service by extending the repertoire and reminding us that not all music worth listening to was written by folks whose biographies take up whole pages in the reference books. "

Mr. Mack also gave a recital at Hidden Valley's Master Festival in California in June of 1985. Patrick Franklin wrote in the Monterey Peninsula Herald: "A distinctive feature that marks Mr. Mack's concerts is his remarkable case with the audience. To that he brings other important qualities. Mack merits that overworked term of "world-class" virtuoso. Whatever your feelings about the timbre of the oboe, each of his recitals makes it seem to be the most distinctive of solo instruments. Another of his admirable traits is his constant search for new and unfamiliar material. A Mack recital always includes at least a rarity or two scattered among more standard repertoire. For example, he began with Cimarosa's Concerto in C Minor, an old standby which he patently enjoys playing. His phrasing and coloring were bright, and the allegros as much fun to hear as his amusing comments.

Poulenc's Sonata is almost equally well-known, quite an accomplishment for a piece hardly more than twenty years old... Mack ran its gamut from playfulness to elegiac sadness in magnificent form. Sandwiched between these two standards was Wayne Barlow's 1940 composition The Winter's Passed, a neat exploration of legato oboe lines supported by block chords in the piano. More important were the selections following intermission. Mack undertook to learn Ibert's Symphony Concertante at the request of the Cleveland's new conductor, Christoph von Dohnanyi, and performed the first movement in a piano reduction... For sheer command and extraordinary technique, it's hard to imagine any music for oboe that could surpass the cadenza at the climax. Equally unknown was Britten's Temporal Variations, a relatively short work that took a bare nugget of thematic material through several changes, all novel, and as Mack put it, "imaginative beyond belief. " Written when the composer was 23, they were published only a few years ago. Despite an opening that suggested a sparse exploration into neoclassicism, the work soon showed glimpses of humor. A severe chorale led into a wonderfully wobbly little waltz and a polka of wit and charm. "And now, for dessert, something that will not elude you," Mack promised, offering Britten's Two Insect Pieces, little delights that very programmatically depicted a grasshopper and a wasp... Mack made another fine discovery, and that was in his choice of accompanist. Marc Shapiro, pianist for the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, was easily equal to the demands of some very difficult music... his ear for balance with his partner was always sensitive without being reticent, assertive in proper places and often bold. " On August 17,1985, Mr. Mack was soloist in the Ibert Symphonie Concertante with the Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting, at the Blossom Festival's final subscription concert of the season. Wilma Salisbury, music critic for the Plain Dealer wrote: "Ibert's work, primarily a showpiece for solo oboe, did not impress as a composition of substance. Written in 1948-49, it adapts the baroque form of the concerto grosso to a 20th-century neo-classical idiom. The outer movements push forward in rapid string figurations that give the music an agitated feeling. The adagio conveys the character of an elegiac song. The divided strings play contrapuntal materials that sometimes sound turgid. The oboe is given a vigorous workout in a variety of themes and cadenzas. Though skillfully written, the work frequently sounds contrived, and it tends to meander. Nonetheless, it was good to hear a premiere at Blossom, even though the piece is 36 years old, and it was thrilling to be dazzled by the virtuosity of oboist Mack, one of the orchestra's star principals. He played with complete control, producing a rich tone and a generous nuance throughout the pitch range of his difficult instrument. In the first movement, he emphasized contrasts between long unfolding melodies and jaunty rhythmic themes. In the coda, he played the technically demanding cadenza with great agility and flair. In the adagio he communicated a feeling of tragedy. In the fugal finale, he ran a lively musical race with breath and energy to spare. Dohnanyi kept the tempos alive and the string sonorities sufficiently subdued for the soloist's lines to project with ease. The large crowd responded with enthusiasm, and the orchestra joined in the applause."

In September, 1985, as part of a Milhaud Festival, Mr. Mack performed the rarely heard oboe Sonatina of 1954. Accompanied by Carolyn Warner, the work shared the program with the flute Sonatina, a Duo for two violins, and the second violin Sonata of 1917. Robert Finn, writing in the Plain Dealer, remarked: "These are all delightful small-scale works, full of the bright tunefulness and quirky dance rhythms that seemed to pour out of Milhaud and onto music paper so effortlessly... The oboe Sonatina is a virtuoso workout for both players. Its three movements are all cut from the same bright cloth; indeed, they could almost be part of the same continuous piece. Mack played it superbly well. "

Peter Kjome, a 17-year-old oboist from St. Paul, Minnesota was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts in June of 1985. Surviving an intensive screening program sponsored by the Arts Recognition and Talent Search program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (based in Miami), Peter was one of only twenty award winners in the arts, and the only wind player. In addition to receiving a substantial cash award, he performed at the Kennedy Center - four short French recital pieces - and the following day took part in a ceremony at the White House where President Reagan addressed the award winners. Mr. Kjome studied with Daniel Stolper at the Interlochen Arts Academy for three years, during which time, he won the school's concerto competition three times, an unprecedented achievement; with the school's orchestra, he was soloist in the Mozart and Strauss concertos, and the Hummel Introduction, Theme, and Variations. Mr. Kjome is currently a pupil of John Mack at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Evelyn Barbirolli works with Jonathan Fischer, a senior at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studies with Daniel Stolper. Jonathan is from Green ville, North Carolina.

Evelyn Barbirolli, the distinguished English oboist, visited the United States in the fall of 1985. She gave master classes in Rochester, East Lansing, Interlochen, Ann Arbor, Madison, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Norman, Oklahoma. One of the first real oboe soloists, Lady Barbirolli was the wife of John Barbirolli, the famous British conductor. She performed as soloist all over the world with many internationally famous orchestras. She is the author of Oboe Technique and the Oboist's Companion. She is an honorary member of the International Double Reed Society.

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