The 2017 Barbirolli International Oboe Competition came to an exciting close on Saturday with the final at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin being contested by Rafael Sousa (Portugal), Andreas Oeste (USA) and Ilyes Boufadden-Adloff (France). The day before, these players were joined by Amy Roberts (UK), Kaede Yamamoto (Japan), Fanny Kloevekorn (Germany), Gabriel Pidoux
I am very much looking forward to playing two Bach works this Saturday (18 March) in the Lady Chapel of St Albans Abbey. I will be joined for the Double Concerto for violin and oboe by James Clark, violin, and for the Cantata Ich habe genug, by baritone Julian Godlee. The concert will also feature
It is great to welcome everyone to the Kammermusik Workshop 2016 in Oxford. Starting today, we look forward to five days of chamber music for woodwind and strings. As there was no summer workshop in Santa Fe this year it has been a pleasure to see our friends arriving from the USA – we hope
It is a real pleasure to be back conducting and playing with The Oxford Sinfonia after my last concert with them in 2010. Having played and directed the Mozart Oboe Concerto on that occasion, it seems a natural development to play and lead Dvorak’s wonderful Serenade for Winds, Op 44 between Rossini’s Italian Girl in
The 4th Barbirolli International Oboe Festival and Competition has now been announced for 1 – 8 April 2017 at the Erin Arts Centre, Isle of Man. One of the most prestigious oboe events in the world, it is named after the celebrated oboist and writer Evelyn Rothwell, Lady Barbirolli. Her vision to encourage a wider
It was a real privilege to be adopted as an honorary viola player in chairing the jury for the twelfth Tertis International Viola Competition from 12 to 19 March. Well-established through the patronage of the Tertis Foundation and managed in Port Erin, Isle of Man by John Bethell and his team, the festival and competition
One of the new incentives set up by Okke Westdorp at Codarts Rotterdam is the series of department Open Days that began in January with brass and continued on 5 March with the Woodwind Open Day. It was a privilege to be involved in running this day which combined masterclasses by Juliette Hurel, Julien Hervé,
It was a great pleasure to play a Sunday afternoon recital at Mansfield College, Oxford on 21 February. Now that Jane and I have moved back to Oxford, it was easy to accept the invitation and our plan to do some playing with pianist Jonathan Higgins was finally realised. The recital took place in the
Thanks to the connection that I made with Jörg Linowitzki two years ago when he visited Codarts Rotterdam to undertake the review of the String Department, I was invited by his Hochschüle in Lübeck to visit the class of Diethelm Jonas on 28 and 29 January. I gave a talk on British and Dutch oboe
I returned to Rotterdam on Monday 25 January now in my new role of supporting the Classical Music Department and its new Head, Okke Westdorp. Monday evening was taken up with a very full Open Podium with some excellent perfromnaces from students, notable a delicious Ma Mère L’Oye from Ellyne Wieringa and Elise de Gast,