Last July, four undergraduate students from the music department at UH Mānoa were asked to perform at the International Double Reed Society’s 53rd annual conference.
The double reed quartet (Erin Matsushita, oboe; Emily Fujii, English horn; JP Ovens, bassoon; and Michael Martin, contrabassoon) traveled along with UH Mānoa’s lecturer of bassoon and the quartet’s coach, Marsha Schweitzer, to this year’s conference location at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Packed with double-reed instruments and their respective players, the IDRS conference was lively with lectures, discussions, reading sessions, and workshops, giving Michael Martin, who played contrabassoon in the quartet, the chance to play in “The Contra_Band,” a twenty-seven-strong contrabassoon choir. The students also took in a performance featuring a heckelphone and encountered both a baroque oboe and a sarrusophone. “It was really amazing to see all the variety,” said Emily Fujii, who played English horn in the quartet. “We also heard so many different styles and tones.”
Perhaps a double-reed player’s dream, Schweitzer noted, “also present were exhibitors ready to fulfill every conceivable desire of double reed musicians– instruments, reeds, reed-making tools, sheet music, books, and more.” Visiting all the vendors was one of JP Oven’s favorite part of the experience: “there were so many instruments and accessories to try out–I think I tried every bassoon on earth within those few days.” Speaking with the vendors was inspiring, and he “gained incredible insight on many aspects of double reed craftsmanship that [he] wouldn’t have learned anywhere else!”
Many musicians can sympathize with Erin Matsushita’s acknowledgement: “being a double reed instrumentalist comes with a certain set of difficulties that only other double-reeders really understand.” For Michael Martin, bringing reed-making tools to the public schools he student-teaches at is no longer met with the same restrictions. “I bought a ‘knife’ from the American company ReedGeek,” Martin said. “This ‘knife’ never has to be sharpened and it is safe to bring it into a school because it’s not considered a weapon. I feel more comfortable bringing my tools into public schools now without the fear of them being misunderstood.”
Double reed-related complexities aside, there was another hurdle to conquer– which stood about 7,000 feet high on the Colorado Plateau. “The weeks leading up to the performance shaped me into what I’d consider to be the best musical shape of my life,” reflected Erin Matsushita, who played oboe in the quartet. “When we finally arrived in Flagstaff, nothing could have truly prepared us for the city’s altitude and lack of humidity. I think this was the biggest obstacle we faced in terms of playing. My lungs had difficulty accommodating the altitude, and the dry air did all sorts of weird things to our wooden reeds and instruments,” she explained. Despite the environmental factors affecting both player and instrument, Erin said, “we got through it and I’m very happy with what we accomplished! It was incredible and inspiring to be surrounded by these musicians that shared our niche.”
This milestone marks the first time Hawaii music students have performed at the International Double Reed Society (IDRS). “It was both an extreme honor and profoundly nerve-wracking to represent the University of Hawaiʻi at IDRS.” Erin Matsushita expressed. For all, being surrounded by so many bassoonists and oboists was “truly unique.” Emily Fujii said, “performing with the double reed quartet in Arizona, I felt really lucky.”
The group began their program with Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in C Major, arranged by their coach, Marsha Schweitzer. In addition, the quartet honored Hawaii’s heritage by performing Queen Lili’uokalani’s “Aloha ‘Oe,” arranged by Filipino-American bassist Angel Peña. Schweitzer congratulated the quartet, saying, “the group did a wonderful job, as you can hear in the recording. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with these talented and dedicated musicians.”