Newest Project

So I am reading Ray Still's online book and I've decided to seriously start to collect a solid teaching repertoire.  I use a lot of method books to give beginners a chance to learn how to move their fingers, air, embouchure, etc. But I always get bored of the student just going through the motions since the books get really repetitive.  Still suggests using actual music or making actual music to hone the basic skills.  This is a great idea!  That being said I need to start collecting pieces (experts to full tunes) that are good for all levels.  I find that I will get ahead of myself (actually my student) and assign an actual composed piece and then it is too much for them to handle.  I am still learning how to teach better everyday so any suggestions are welcome. 

So far I have Sinfonia from Cantata 156 (JS Bach)
Also the solo melody from Swan lake I've started to use and that seems to be going well for intervals and jumps for a beginner.
More to come! Feel free to share your knowledge.

More Genius Thoughts from Ray Still

"The body is smarter than the mind; if you think in terms of the goal, the body can do the rest, unhindered by too much thinking."

-Ray Still
http://www.raystill.com/book/part1-chap1.html

Reading

So I just started reading the Ray Still book Playing the Oboe. 

I am on the introduction :) Literally I just started reading it. That being said, I already want to share some of it with you.  Hopefully to inspire you to read it as well.

It's All About the Music

My own experience has taught me that it is only this passion for music that can motivate us to persist in the hard and often discouraging work of mastering an instrument. Though years of teaching students at every level, I've observed that the most important principle for any musician is to keep your eyes on the goal—the ability to play music as close to your ideal performance as possible.

Love, of course, can't be taught. But a method that works and is not destructive or too discouraging (or too boring) should be one that engages our love of music and focuses on the works created by the greatest minds in music history, the music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven, Schumann, Haydn, and Handel for starters. I believe that it should be a method that insists on the vital connection between the sometimes tedious work of learning to control this seemingly obstinate instrument and the glorious experience of expressing music.

Still, Ray. Playing the Oboe. http://raystill.com/book/intro.html, accessed March 12, 2015.

I really enjoy how his approach is to inspire musicians through the love of music, not beat them over the head with tedious traditions, but try to incorporate the need of those traditions with what we love about music and making music.  Nothing worth having comes easy, it will always be hard work.  But as a teacher try to show the love part early on.  Show the students the part of making music that gets your blood to stir and inspires you to continue to improve.

Again I just started to read this. so we will see where it takes us!

Sharing!

So not sure to put this on my oboe or personal site so here goes on both.  Love this guy.  I am not a jazz expert but he has great insight into the craft.  Check it out!

Tour De Fourths by Mike Lebrun

Cool Article-Music is the BEST! ...take oboe lessons! ;)

New study takes note of music’s benefits

Taking lessons at an early age helps brain’s health later

BY AMY ELLIS NUTT THE WASHINGTON POST

Learning to play an instrument in youth helps older people retain listening skills, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

In an experiment at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto, scientists studied 20 adults, ages 55 to 75, half of whom had music training in their youth and half who did not.

All the subjects wore headphones and were tested using electroencephalography for how fast they could identify random speed sounds, the scientists said.

The ability to recognize and comprehend speech diminishes with age even without measurable hearing loss, but in the experiment those who had experience playing an instrument were 20 percent faster in identifying random speech sounds than the nonmusicians, suggesting that music training protects against certain age-related cognitive declines.

“Musical activities are an engaging form of cognitive brain training,” said lead author Gavin Bidelman, now at the University of Memphis, in a news release.

“In our study we were able to predict how well older people classify or identify speech,” he said. “We saw a brain-behavior response that was two to three times better in the older musicians compared to non-musician peers.

“In other words, old musicians’ brains provide a much more detailed, clean and accurate depiction of the speech signal, which is likely why they are much more sensitive and better at understanding speech.”

Bidelman and his team concluded that engaging in formal music training before the age of 14 and continuing for at least a decade produced the most positive changes in the brain.

While the study did not look at learning a musical instrument later in life, the results add to a growing body of evidence that suggests learning to play an instrument at any age is beneficial to brain health.

Earlier this year researchers at the University of Vermont found that the more a child trains on an instrument the better he or she is in attention, management of anxiety and emotional balance.

And in 2013 scientists in Montreal provided evidence suggesting that ages 6 to 8 were a kind of “sweet spot” for music training in terms of producing long-lasting positive effects in motor skill and sensory perception.

“In our study we were able to predict how well older people classify or identify speech.”

— Gavin Bidelman, lead author of the study

Sectional Coaching for LPHS tomorrow

So I am learning some scores for a sectional rehearsal tomorrow for LPHS that I am helping with the Oboe section.  AND this lovely tune came up in my youtube feed while I am trying to find recordings.

I a not a band lit expert (I am an orchestra lit expert). So this might be a super common tune, but I really enjoyed it. SO I am sharing it.

Nice recording too by the North Texas Wind Symphony.  Oh Texas and their great land of bands!

Anyways.  I really enjoy this piece. Nice arches, nice flow, nice movement and use of instrumentation.  I hope you do to.

Oh and some great oboe solos ;)

Blast from the Past!

This is a bit frustrating since the NIU site does not let you embed this youtube page, BUT click the link below for a little of me and my quintet in Grad School a couple years ago.

NIU Honors Convocation - Milhaud - La Cheminée du Roi René - III - Jongleurs

Flute: Zach Weiss

Oboe: Stepher Eng

Clarinet: Amanda Kayser

Bassoon: Martha Jacobson

French Horn: Kate Swope

New Gouger

 Here is a short one!  I recently purchased my very first Oboe Gouger! It is an RDG 11 mm Gouger!  I found it on ebay for a steal! Yay!

Oboeing hard core right now.

www.stephereng.com

Recent Audition

Hello world,

So I recently audition for the the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Oboe position.  I generally get all mysterious and don't like to talk about my audition process or preparation or results with people because I am insecure and doubt myself.  That being said I am trying to move past those negative feelings to be able to share them with the world.  Maybe they will help someone, maybe being more open and less insecure will help me too! 

So the MSO is a great musical organization.  In the US their are only a select number of full time (salaried) orchestras that pay a livable wage.  The MSO is one of them.  (Pressure Pressure Pressure.)  That being said, when people win these auditions they hold onto their posts for as long as they can (or until they win another audition with another ensemble).  That being said (again!) the amount of full time orchestra openings are slim pickings. THAT is for the entire United States of America! And if you have a life, or other commitments that keep you in a certain area of the country your options are even more limited. All of this puts a lot of pressure for the vast amount of talented players that are pumped out from our college and conservatory systems in the US.  The audition committees have a vast selection of really great players that line up for these auditions.  (More pressure!)  SOOOO all of this culminates to me being VERY NERVOUS and  second guessing my abilities to interpret and retell my version of the music.  Not only the technical aspects of getting all the notes, rhythm, intonation, dynamics, phrasing....all of it, but being musical and actually enjoying what I am playing.  

Now we are at the MSO audition that just happened.  I was prepared.  The list of excerpts was reasonable with measure numbers (phew! I hate when they don't list the exact requirements and scare you into thinking you have to play the whole symphony!)  I felt great about some and ok about others.  I had a reed that I loved, but nervous since my backups were iffy.  Then it comes time to actually audition and classic Stepher I miss my high D :( on the Barber excerpt.  This mistake kills  me because it is mostly in my head.  I have taught myself over time to be terrified of slurring up to a high D because I always grunt it out and miss the entrance.  This being said.  I actually don't miss the high D anymore, I USED to miss the high D, but that fear has been so entrenched in my playing that my fears like to come true.  

So my convoluted diary entry about auditions is really about this: Don't worry about missing notes ahead of time.  What does that do!!!?? Nothing!  Just expect to play the notes they way you are planning to play them.  Expect to play the music the way you prepared it.  Then most likely you WILL play the music the way you expect.  I miss that note because I EXPECTED TO MISS IT!! STOP IT!  ok enough yelling at myself.  

Moral of my story: expect greatness from yourself and you will get greatness.  Expect to mess up stupid little mistakes and you will find yourself messing up stupid little mistake cause you are thinking about them instead of the great things. 

Thank you for reading another set of ramblings from www.StepherEng.com  Enjoy your day

Upcoming Holiday Concert with IVSO

Tonight I will be performing with the Bel Sonore Chamber ensemble for one last round of holiday music.  It has been a pleasure and joy to play with these guys. 

This Saturday I will be performing with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra for our annual Holiday Concert.  Come check us out!

Holiday Music!

So this season I have had the pleasure to perform with the Bel Sonore Chamber Group.  This past Sunday we did a lovely holiday concert at the Addison Public Library.  We have two more performances that I will be joining in December on Sunday the 7th at 2 PM- Bartlett Public Library (800 S. Barlett Rd, Bartlett IL) and on Tuesday the 9th at 7 PM - Lemont Public Library (50 E Wend St, Lemont, IL)

http://www.belsonore.com/

Admission is free.  Come check us out!




Further information on my website:
www.stephereng.com

Be an ACTIVE listener!

Hey all!

So I am excited to post that I am attending the Chicago Sinfonietta this Saturday night at the Naperville Wenzt Hall!  My dear friends and mentors Ricardo Castañeda and Lucia Matos will be performing!  I think it is very important for musicians and music lovers to actively partake in listening to music.  This means supporting local ensembles (big to small) and being a supportive active listener.  

This is how one can improve as a player too.  Listening to what is currently being performed in your local scene you will have a sense of what music is relevant, what people are responding to, and how you can fit into that community.  It is important to listen to musicians that you aspire to as well.  So, you can see, and hear, how they interpret and perform their craft.  

Feel free to check out this ensemble.  They do great collaborative work in the Chicago area and strive to bring new music of diverse backgrounds to our city.

  

El SIstema-Musical Revolution

Sorry I've been horrible with keeping up with this little old blog!  I recently started teaching with the Ravinia El Sistema program and I've been running around feeling like a deer in headlights.  I am so thrilled to be working through the Ravinia program and the beloved El Sistema program.  I've always been such a fan of the work that El Sistema does.  Gives me goose bumps to think about it.  Their goal is to promote community through music.  To give self worth and the ability to create through music.  Again I get all tingly just thinking about how powerful music is.  In my own life it has been such a powerful force in so many positive ways.  Check out this video about the program and Jose Antonio Abreu who founded the movement.

Website Update

Hey all, just updated my website.  Check it out!    Stephereng.com

BACK TO BASICS!

Belated blog post!  Sorry fan club (of just me) it has been a while!  I thought I would talk about my current project....SCALES!

Lately I have been focusing on the basics.  I am spending the majority of my practice time working scales and other basic things that one takes for granted.  Perfecting my scales helps improve my overall ability to play and my understanding of key.  Focusing on something as simple as moving from note to note I can really listen to my playing.  As a musician we assume we are listening to ourselves, but so often we actually hear what we want to hear and don't take the time to listen to what we are doing.  Actively listening allows you to hone your technique and finger coordination, tone quality and control, dynamics, vibrato, and so on.  I definitely suggest giving some of your practice regiment to work on the basics!  Here is a nice little article about scales for more reading :)

  

Educational Tid Bit of the Day

So many of us musicians run into ruts with our practicing.  It is a never ending part of our life and we are never good enough!  I have found that I get really down on myself in the practice room. I rework bad habits or find myself practicing in circles instead of improving.  Burton Kaplan's Practicing for Artistic Success is a god send to help improve the skill of practicing.  

Practicing For Artistic Success 

by Burton Kaplan

Since I was young the act of practicing has been instilled upon me.  To improve as a musician I must be diligent and patient and put in my time in the practice room.  This is a known fact to our community, but what gets so many of us is the use of time in that practice room.  It is so easy to go through the motions, put in the quantity of time, but not the quality of time. 

This book gives a pedagogy to the practicing.  Kaplan gives you tools to develop to improve your ability to practice.  Practicing is about putting in the time, but the time has to be utilized to its fullest.  

Some of the fresh perspectives that Kaplan gives in his pedagogy are how to set goals, how to actively listen to your practicing, being positive about your successes.  He speaks of settting OBTAINABLE goals.  Don't look at all the work you have to learn and say you'll learn it in one day.  Pick out specific problem areas and work note by note, measure by measure, phrase by phrase.  Then be POSITIVE when you've improved those four measures.  Your goal was to improve those four measures and you nailed it!  Great job.  Don't look at the fact that you still have not perfected the whole movement, work bit by bit.  While practicing learn how to listen to what you are playing.  Your ears (or a recording device) are your best friend.  As a musician you have to be able to hear what you are playing, hear the things you did well (maybe intonation and expression), but then find the things you came up short on (maybe rhythm and articulation).  Active listening is imperative to practicing and performing.

This book goes into much greater detail on the philosophy of practicing.  This book is a great asset to how to refresh your approach to the monotony of practicing.  I highly recommend you give it a read! 

Want to learn oboe?

Want to learn the oboe?  

The coolest instrument in the orchestra!  Contact me for private instruction at stepher.eng@gmail.com

Also check out my website at

www.stephereng.com

Concert This Weekend

FYI!!!  Another concert series is happening this weekend.  I am subbing with the Fox Valley Orchestra on Kabalevsky's Symphony No. 2

We have concerts Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 3 PM.

Come on out!  Tickets and Info Here

Upcoming Concerts!

Upcoming Concert this weekend. I get to start off the concert with the English Horn solo from Berlioz's Roman Carnivale!!!

Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra

When: Saturday March 1st at 4:30 PM

Where: Ottowa High School Auditorium

This concert features our student concerto winners! 
We have a talented flutist on Teleman (Suite in A Minor) and a virtuous pianist on Mozart (Mozart Concert No. 20 in D Minor).

We will also being performing Bizet's Carmen Suite, Berlioz's Roman Carnivale and Saint-Saens' Dance Bacchanale

Blank Slate

I recently hit a bump in the road.  I was turned down from an audition, which is a first for me.  It threw me for a loop last week because I was feeling really prepared (this never happens for me!) and I was honestly looking forward to doing the audition.  Auditions are a tricky matter with me since I get really nervous (yes we all do).  So I constantly feel like I under represent myself as a musician and oboist.  I've taken on two approaches to solving this issues.  One, I am making an effort to perform, or "mock" audition, as many times as possible in front of others to get their feed back.  Being put on the spot with others around to do my best gives me practice at having to be on in the moment, instead of alone in my practice room with out any one to critique me.  Second, I am practicing being able to play the pieces without warming them up.  For me that means I still practice the parts that I struggle with.  But at the beginning of each practice session I start with the audition repertoire cold.  I play through it all as if it was an audition, just like if I had been sitting in a waiting area for the past 15 minutes.  This all seems rather obvious, but saying it out loud and actually doing it is half of the battle.  So last week was a bit of a bummer for me, but here is to moving on to the next challenge.

This week I am starting new.  I started with a day of tying blanks so I have a fresh set to work on this week :)

New blanks for a new week

Blast from the past

My old quintet!  Miss you guys (some of which I thankfully still play with!)

From Left to Right (Martha Robinson on bassoon, Kate Swope on horn, Stepher Eng on oboe, Zach Weiss on flute, and Amanda Kayser on clarinet)

Fun Fact of the Day!

Marcel Tabuteau was one of the most influential oboists and teachers in America.  He came from the Paris Conservatory where he was taught by Georges Gillet and came to the United States to play with the Philadelphia Orchestra and teach at the Curtis Institute.  He influenced the use of F.LORÉE oboes in the United States as well as helped to create the American Woodwind sound that is distinct to the US.  For more information feel free to reed this great book by Laila Storch (former student and friend). 

Website Happening!

I have been behind with this but SLOWLY my website is coming together!  I got some great pictures take by my dear friend Michael Swope, awesome trumpet player, and I just added a couple sound bites to tempt your ears with.  More info to come, but in the meantime check out the site please!

www.stephereng.com

Reeding

English Horn Reed Making Day 

'Tis the Season

Hey all!  Come check out the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra performing the Nutcracker this weekend at LaSalle-Peru Highschool.  Saturday at 4 pm and Sunday at 3 pm.  Should be fun!