The Next Step

“If all the musicians in Europe performed as you did today, there would be peace on Earth.” – Anonymous listener at NewBO’s premiere, 2/9/15

On September 2nd, my most important project to date came to fruition. As part of the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival’s Fabulous Fringe series, NewBO (The New Baroque Orchestra) celebrated its premiere performance with a program of English music from the middle of the 18th century. As administrator and co-director of this project, a lot has rested on my shoulders over the past few months and I can’t tell you the feeling I had when we stepped onto that stage in the Hertz room at the TivoliVredenburg.

NewBO was conceived in the bar of the Hôtel des Ardennes in Echternach, Luxembourg, almost two years ago. After hours of discussion, as well as a few more weeks on tour, it was clear that a fire was lit. Following two seasons as EUBO, our desire to play together burned ever stronger. After our final tour to Malta I began preparing the materials for our Utrecht debut.

Proposing a Project?

I have recently begun to offer my services as writer to individuals or ensembles wishing to increase the profile of their English-language promotional materials. If you know of someone in need of copy editing, a completely new bio, or wanting to bring their application materials to the next level, please feel free to direct them to the blog. They can contact me through the link on the menu bar at the top of the page. 

Recommended samples: 

http://www.theheckeler.ca/2014/12/enlightenment.html

http://www.theheckeler.ca/p/about-author.html

http://www.theheckeler.ca/2012/06/upon-reflection-sur-la-montagne.html

The Post-Camp Decline, Part 2: Machines

The last evening of the camp saw a presentation of a revolutionary gouging system and automated profiling machine by Greg James. The three-stage gouging system gave incredibly precise results: with good cane being gouged at an accuracy of plus or minus 0.01mms. The secret, Greg said, was the way the cane was clamped to the bed. Traditionally, this is done by clamping the cane end to end as it lays in the bed. The drawback of that system is that the cane cannot be gouged evenly unless it naturally conforms to the bed. Greg’s system clamps the cane on either side down along the length of the carriage, forcing it to conform to the bed’s diameter. Of course, the effectiveness of the process depends on how close in diameter the cane is to that of the bed, but the standard bed diameter of 25.4mm produced outstanding results for cane ranging from 23-27mm. That’s a huge window for accuracy without needing to reset the machine.

David A. Wells, You are a God

I've just discovered a very important tool created by David A. Wells. Blank baroque bassoon fingering charts! Not only one, either. Three! Based on Bret Pimentel's Fingering Diagram Builder, Wells has designed a chart for for a four-keyed instrument, another for a French-style instrument (low Eb for the LH thumb), and a third for a German-style instrument (low Eb for the RH little finger). Thank You, Sir!

Click here to check the page out.