January 31 2010
The Gainesville Chamber Orchestra concert is fast approaching. Get your tickets now! If you’re interested in discounted tickets use the “contact” button on my page to send me an email! See you all soon at the University of Florida’s University Auditorium (7:30pm on friday february 5th)
Works by Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakof, Glinka
It is my debut on saxophone! (hint hint, ravel!)
January 26 2010
Time goes by ever so fast! Here we go with a beta test of a project I am just starting to work on. Every tuesday I’ll post a quick tip about woodwinds in regards to practice habits, maintanence, or just something fun (always woodwind related). While this might just be the first in a series it is certainly an important one that no one should miss. Check out the video for all the details.
Tuesday Tips for Woodwinds: Part 1
What you’ll need for this weeks tip?
*1 or more woodwind instruments
*A device that produces a pitch (a tuning CD, a metronome with a drone etc..)
*A musical ear
*Time
August 3 2009
The Great Southern Musical Block Party Recital on August 1st was a great success! I was so very proud of all of my students who performed duets, solo works, chamber works, and even the jazz quartet was phenomenal! It was REALLY hot outside and very humid and the camera was designed for visual not audio (check back soon to watch!), but it has great energy and i’m very proud of Kristin, my wonderful dentistry major turned flute player!
July 4 2009
Welcome to Josephmtomasso.com.
March 27 2009
Putting up all these videos on youtube is helping me out a great deal! I got a gig doing a recording session partly because the person hiring was familiar with my youtube work. Woohoo!!!
So here is what the gig entails…
Clarinet (Bb/A) – pretty standard
Some flute – pretty standard
Oboe – less standard for the doublings
Bassoon – even less standard for the doublings
No Saxophone – woohooo one less thing to carry 
I am in pretty good shape overall so I am excited about this… I have not looked at the music yet so that will be a little tricky but I’m a fairly good reader within reason. The music should be in my inbox tonight and down beat is at 10am tomorrow. As long as my reeds behave (please reed fairy be nice) I should have a good session tomorrow.
March 17 2009
I am changing up my practice routine a little right now to focus on some up and coming auditions.
Yes I will be burning the midnight oil! (probably for the best) No distraction for the next few months and most likely the entire summer [definitely not rejoining world of warcraft]. I am going to really try to reel in some performing jobs here as well as recruit students. If i can swing a lower level orchestra or field band that would be remarkable! I am holding off on cruise ships for the time being… next summer though I will most likely go for one.
Oboe reeds 1 hour per day minimum. If i wrap a reed everyday I should find myself in wonderful shape after a month. I may have to cut back sales of my handmade reeds a bit but if I can find more time I may be able to keep up. I am hoping to get ahead so that come the summer any audition i find wont involve hours of reed making in preparation, just refinement.
Oboe 2 hours per day minimum (although I’m really shooting for 3). I need to push my technique up a level. Doing majors/minors and 3rds is simply just not enough anymore. i am going to embark on 4ths/5ths/6ths, advanced arpeggios, and color scales. Hopefully this will bring my technical level up.
Clarinet 1 hour per day minimum (I really should do 2 but I have to be realistic). I have spent many years of my life playing hours and hours of clarinet and while I wish I could continue to do that I simply know that I can afford to relax on clarinet more than the others. My recording of the copland concerto demonstrates more ability than most will expect from me so my clarinet goals right now are just to hold steady rather than improve drastically. Of course any extra time will go into clarinet. It breaks my heart to have to ’slow down.’
Saxophone 1 hour per day minimum (i really need to do 2). Saxophone went on the back burner in 2007 and i am attempting to bring it back up. In my undergrad I would hit saxophone 4 hours a day and clarinet 2… in my masters the hours were basically reversed. Now that I am hitting oboe so hard and holding steady on clarinet I think I can bring saxophone back up to where I feel comfortable performing serious literature again.
Flute/Bassoon 30 minutes per day alternating. What a shame but I don’t think I can do more than this. It is easy to get in 30 minutes of flute as I love playing the instrument and I’m fortunate to own such a nice one! I have a lot of repertoire on my stand so there is no shortage of works to prepare…bassoon is another story. I don’t like my bassoon and frankly It has been over a year since i’ve really even played more than once a week so this is going to be hard to keep going. simple scales and galliard will be enough.
Basically I just want to stay in shape and push ahead on oboe and if I can saxophone. Come fall I should be in perfect shape to take auditions for performance certificates/dma should I have a change of heart though I do expect to have at least one more year off.
March 14 2009
I am the proud owner of a new oboe.
It is a Marigaux 901. Wonderful sound, stable intonation, and extremely consistent.
It has been a long journey to new oboe land but I am confident that I have found “the instrument” for me to continue my journey as a saxophonist turned multi-woodwind specialist turned oboist. I feel so comfortable with this new oboe that I actually see myself doing well both as an instructor and performer on oboe in the nearer future. Something about this oboe gives me the extra confidence to keep trying for competitions and performance jobs even though I know hundreds of other people are doing the same.
Music is a wonderful hobby, rewarding career, and a satisfying way to spend your time. It is not the easy road but I think we all know that after a few years of serious study. Eitherway, I continue to be refreshed by classical music, woodwind study, and specifically the oboe. I am further inspired to do what I know I am capeable of doing.
Oh, and I named it already too 
“Paul”
March 14 2009
I am the proud owner of a new oboe.
It is a Marigaux 901. Wonderful sound, stable intonation, and extremely consistent.
It has been a long journey to new oboe land but I am confident that I have found “the instrument” for me to continue my journey as a saxophonist turned multi-woodwind specialist turned oboist. I feel so comfortable with this new oboe that I actually see myself doing well both as an instructor and performer on oboe in the nearer future. Something about this oboe gives me the extra confidence to keep trying for competitions and performance jobs even though I know hundreds of other people are doing the same.
Music is a wonderful hobby, rewarding career, and a satisfying way to spend your time. It is not the easy road but I think we all know that after a few years of serious study. Eitherway, I continue to be refreshed by classical music, woodwind study, and specifically the oboe. I am further inspired to do what I know I am capeable of doing.
Oh, and I named it already too
“Paul”
February 22 2009
Some possible audition works per instrument
Saxophone
—————
Maslanka Sonata
Tomasi Concerto
Ryo Noda’s Mai
Maslanka is DIFFICULT but I need to kick my saxophone butt around. I’ve done the Tomasi before but it is such a great work. The other option would be to do the Desenclos instead but I have already done that work several times as well. I’ve done the Mai for auditions once but never really performed it so I am thinking it would be great to pull back out and I need something contemporary anyway. I don’t want to overdue it but saxophone is my main horn so I should really show some serious chops by playing serious literature.
Clarinet
—————
Mozart (of course)
Brahms Trio/Quintet [not sure which...perhaps i should stick with the sonatas]
Rozsa Sonatina
Finzi 5 Bagatelles (or the Finzi concerto)
Clarinet is my strongest double but not by much anymore. Any day now my oboe playing will surpass my clarinet playing and I think that is a good thing. Besides, clarinet and saxophone are so similar I actually find it easier to focus on oboe/sax as it is a bit easier to make the switch back to back (for me). I think this is a really strong solo music program and picking the right excerpts to go with it should show I am a well rounded and accomplished clarinetist, not just a “doubler.”
Oboe
—————-
Mozart (of course)
Malcolm Arnold Sonatina or Saint Saens Sonata (one or the other)
Vivaldi Concerto (maybe Marcello but is that too standard for grad school?)
Britten 6 metamorphosis (is that too standard for grad school?)
Well this is my heart and soul and I hope one day to be a primary oboist with saxophone as my secondary and the rest on the side for lessons or musicals (although I’m mostly into doubling for teaching because I just LOVE doing it). I want to have a balanced program to show I am a capable player but I also want to show what I can do well. No one cares that I have only been playing oboe for 3 years. They care if i’m in tune, have a nice sound, play the right rhythms, and generally act like I know what the heck i’m doing. The arnold is not as standard but it is my favorite work for oboe and piano.
Flute
—————-
Mozart (of course…and G major is the only option
)
Bach Sonata E major
Faure Fantasie or Poulenc Sonata (one or the other)
Bolling Suite for Jazz trio (not really standard but I really love this work…i probably shouldn’t)
The bach and faure are works I know pretty well and just need a lot of refinement. the poulenc I do not know at all but I love. The double tonguing will be tricky but I have plenty of time to do it. The bolling is really awesome to listen to but is it audition appropriate? I’ll have to sleep on it.
Bassoon
—————
Mozart (of course)
Galliard Sonata (i am thinking 3)
Hindemith Sonata
My bassoon chops are not so strong so I’d be stretching it to try anything else and the mozart is honestly a bit of a challenge at this point anyway.
Well thats what is going on in my head. I’m not planning to audition for a while but I really like to plan ahead. Besides… my goal is to walk into my DMA ahead of where they expect me so that I am spending most of my time on artistry… not catching up! There is that whole research thing too. And my idea for the DMA is to get a professorship anyway so I better be the creme of the crop… not just a decent player. Jobs are not so easy to get these days… even if you are a multi-winds player. Instead of hiring one person to take two studios now it seems people are just not hiring! At least finding beginning students has not been impossible.
February 16 2009
With each instrument comes brand loyalty. Since I only play the woodwinds I really can only comment on that family of instruments…and then again I am not the most experienced player on all of the woodwinds so even there my opinions are limited. I really only feel like I can comment on saxophone/clarinet/oboe/flute and to a less extent bassoon. I guess in some ways my flute opinions are probably fairly jaded as well. So I guess here goes with what I know and what I think.
Bassoon (no particular order) might as well get this out of the way since I know so little.
Fox, Moosman, Puchner, Heckel, Schrieber (who is the same company as buffet now but buffet still makes a few bassoons in their own name…in the french style of course).
If it was up to me I’d play a Moosman. No real commentary here other than I have two students on a schreiber and one instrument is outstanding while the other is “ok.” Fox is probably the best bet economically. I play on a Fox (shrug)
Flute (in particular order). I like japanese flutes…just fyi
Sankyo, Miyazawa, Murumatsu, Yamaha, Powell, Trevor James, Haynes, Emerson…
I adore my yamaha but if I had all the money in the world i’d surely play a Sankyo. What a crisp big sound! American flutes tend to sound dead to me. I was very close to buying a Haynes but it was SO much work I just had to say no. The yamaha plays itself and while the sound could be crisper I barely play so the discounted price in comparison sold it for me. My flute has actually appreciated value too!
Clarinet (in particular order). Now we’re getting to home ground.
Rossi, Buffet, Leblanc, Yamaha, Selmer, Patricola
Rossi is by far the best clarinet I have ever played. One piece instead of the typical joints helps a lot but I would assume is crack prone. They are VERY pricey. I own and love my buffet Bb and own and love my Leblanc A. The buffet is sweet and the Leblanc is round. I’d classify the Rossi as truly dark/sweet/round/velvety all in one. The thing i’ll say is Patricola Eb clarinets are my absolute favorite but not so much their other options (for me). I don’t particularly care for selmer but they make a quality instrument.
Saxophone (in very particular order) I could write for days. I am a classical saxophonist so these opinions are those of someone only interested in the best possible options for classical music.
Selmer, Yamaha, Yanigasawa.
How simple is that? Three options and to be honest yanisagawa should only be considered for soprano and possibly alto. Yamaha is my new obsession though I still greatly prefer the overall sound of selmer (at least they do one instrument right). I suppose if I was building my dream selection I would have a Yanigasawa soprano, selmer alto, yamaha tenor, and a yamaha baritone. As it is I only own selmer but they are fabulous horns.
If one played jazz they could consider some of the following
Cannonball, Kielworth (alto/tenor only), and MAYBE a vintage buescher that is in great shape but I hate these instruments.
Here it gets tricky (i think even more than flute)
Oboe (in no particular order…perhaps) wish me luck…
Loree, Marigaux, Rigoutat, Howarth, Fox, Buffet, Covey, Josef, Laubin, Hiniker, Yamaha, Patricola, MCW
That is a lot of options, all handmade (to some degree) and all with a cult following. In this country Loree is worshipped like a God by many. I am not in that camp. Sorry! I was most recently in a Buffet loving crowd and I am doing my best not to blindly follow but I keep finding myself drawn to that brand. For my love of Yamaha flutes/saxophones I really don’t want to discredit the oboe either but at this point I just cannot say. I think the general lightness of a Rigoutat oboe really attracts me but again so much has to do with more than the oboe itself. I think that is probably why as oboists we have so many higher quality options. We are picky! We fuss about reeds. We like to complain (maybe it is just me). If I had to buy an oboe, on brand alone with no worry about money it would be a Marigaux M2 (instead of the joint being between G/F it is before the B… like a flute headjoint, this makes G/F# more stable).
I could go on for hours and and hours in each of the instruments (save for bassoon) but perhaps this is why I am finding the idea of trying an instrument so difficult. If I find the *best* yamaha who is to say that a *mediocre* laubin is not better? Only me! The only problem with this is that everyone wants a full payment to try and instrument and I could probably rack up about 4,000 dollars alone in play testing. Too bad IDRS is in london this summer and its the time I am most likely to buy an oboe.
And then for oboe there is this whole “blow-out” thing that no other woodwind seems to really complain about. I guess if that ends up being true this purchase (being my first really true pro, solid, amazing, perfect, awesome oboe) is only “temporary.” Hey if I do the greenline it means I can probably sell the Fox330 I have. Do I need two crack resistant oboes? I guess a back up is nice but I am woodwind doubler. A day off from oboe is a day on to (x).
I think I just talked myself out of another instrument. sheesh!