When I was a student at Eastman, one of my favorite things to do was casually read through oboe duets with my friends. Often times, we would be hanging out in the reed room or Mr.Killmer’s studio and someone would suggest playing some duets. We had a blast reading through the pieces and it was a no pressure, easy going time. After leaving school and working full time, I started to forget about those casual reading sessions at Eastman because I was to busy. It wasn’t until I started teaching more that I decided to sight-read oboe duets with my students. At first, some of students were nervous because they were more afraid of messing up than having fun. But once I told them to relax they started to see it as an enjoyable music making experience. And the more I started to do this with my students the more it reminded me of my days at Eastman.

I know that we are all busy running around doing a million different things but sometimes it is nice to just take a break and have fun with friends. So, make an effort to carve out some time during the week and break the routine. Call a friend to do a casual reading session of oboe duets. Maybe read through some duets or oboe trios with colleagues you just met at a summer festival. Or maybe get high tech and play oboe duets over Skype with an old college buddy. At the end of the day, music should be an enjoyable experience and music with friends is even better.

Recommended Oboe Duets for fun reading sessions

Handel Air in C Major HWV 597 – $1 (Digital Download only)

Molter Oboe Duet No.2 – $1 (Digital Download only)

Geminiani Oboe Duet in F major – $10 (Digital Download only)

Join the JDW Mailing list