by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
Who is the most indispensable musician in a symphony orchestra?
While many would name some of the more numerous players like the violinists or the flutists, most people in the symphonic know will let you know that the lowly oboist is the “voice” of the orchestra.
When the orchestra starts to tune up, it’s the oboe that makes the first sound. The instrument, if played properly, produces the pitch of A on the music scale. With that sound in their minds, the other performers can tune their own instruments.
And, the oboe has some of the great solos in symphonic music, too.
And according to a recent New York Times article, oboists are in high demand around the country — several of the largest orchestras in the country are currently looking for replacement oboists.
Eric Olson, the principal oboist for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, said he has seen a fairly large increase in openings for principal oboists recently but said it is a hard position to acquire. Olson should know — he already has or currently is auditioning for several of the mid- to larger-sized orchestras with open oboists positions.
“There are more positions open now that ever,” said the Northwestern University graduate, who has been with the local symphony since 1986.
Olson said he thinks there are enough candidates out there to fill all of the open positions but said the audition process for some of the larger orchestras is flawed and many of the best oboe players get cut before even the first round of auditions.
“The top five of six orchestras want someone that can come and walk on water,” he said. “They want God to come down and play the oboe for them.”
Another reason oboists are hard to come by is because each individual has their own unique sound, Olson said.
“A conductor is looking for a certain sound,” he said,”and there is more variety with the sound of oboists.”
The reason for the wide variety in sound among oboists is based on the nature of the unique instrument. The oboe belongs to a small family of woodwind instruments that use a double reed to produce their sound, as opposed to a saxophone, which is a single reed instrument.
Oboists also whittle their own reeds. Therefore, each oboist has a signature sound depending two things - their skill level and how they carve their reeds.
So far, Olson has already auditioned for the principal position with the symphony orchestras in Cincinnati and Baltimore but is considering going for the position available with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, one of the top orchestras in the country.
There’s not a huge pool of candidates. The serious oboists, either professionals like Olson or amateurs in colleges — belong to the International Doiuble Reed Society and it has fewer than 2,000 members. In all of the nation’s music schools, there are no more than 350 faculty members who teach the oboe.
But symphonies, large and small, need the instrument.
Olson explains that there are three tiers of symphonies in the U.S. The top tier orchestras — for example, New York and Los Angeles — tend to seek and acquire the best of the best and also have a much larger full time staff of musicians, usually more than 100.
Middle tier orchestras like Cincinnati, Atlanta and Baltimore usually have the same amount of full time musicians but often employ musicians with lesser skills when compared to the upper crust orchestras.
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra happens to fall in the bottom rung of orchestras. Not because of lack of talent, Olson said, but because of its size. The JSO has 53 full time musicians, which affects the depth of sound when compared to a performance by a 110-member symphony, Olson said.
“We have a pretty good orchestra in Jacksonville,” he said. “A good performance by us is very enjoyable and maybe has more energy than some top orchestras like Cincinnati.”
Olson is the principal and the local symphony has two other oboists: Claudia Minch and Charles McGee.
Though Olson is seeking employment with a larger orchestra, he said symphony changes are part of the industry and most of his fellow artists understand and support that. He said if someone were to leave the JSO for a job with a symphony in New York, hard feelings would not be a problem.
“Everyone is very encouraging,” he said. “If the principal flute player (at the JSO) gets the principal job at a larger orchestra, I would be pretty sad but I would be very encouraging and probably a little envious.”
He’s the only oboist in the family. Wife Ellen is a violist with the orchestra and their seven-year-old daughter, Gina, recently started piano lessons.
He got started as many oboists do — on the simplest of the wind instruments, the recorder. His mother encouraged him and it led to the more difficult oboe.
He has performed with the Baltimore and Chicago orchestras and also at various national music festivals.