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Bassoon and friends: Performing in Saturday's chamber concert are, front row from left, Jennifer Harris, Keith Koster, Aylee Welch and Cherlyne Allen. In back, from left, are Leandro Espinosa, Denise Hattan, Bruce Anderson, Matt Cooper, Peter Wordelman and Marsha Burkett. (The Observer/PHIL BULLOCK).

By Jeff Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

Oboists and bassoon players spend a lot of time watching weather reports from the south of France.

You would, too, if your livelihood depended on the quality of your double reed.

Keith Koster is the featured performer at the Bassoon and Friends concert Saturday.

Marsha Burkett, a professional oboist and freelance artist from Carlisle, Pa., is among those friends.

When you get to Koster and Burkett's level, you make your own reeds. They come from reed cane, which looks a lot like bamboo, and the south of France is known for the world's best cane.

"Wine has good years and bad and so does reed cane from France," Burkett said.

First the cane is felled, stacked in 20-foot-tall tepees and dried for two years.

Once the musician orders cane reed, another round in the time-consuming process of creating a double reed begins. It take three 30-minute sessions to put together a bassoon reed, Koster said, and then weeks to break it in and determine if it will provide good sound.

"Picture a piece of bamboo," Burkett said. "Split that into two or three parts depending on the tool. Cut it to a certain length. Then use the gouging machine to shape it and profile it."

And much more.

The musician works in fractions of millimeters to accomplish this precision job.

"If it's off by a micromillimeter, it makes the difference between a great reed and a Christmas ornament or earring," said Koster, laughing.

The coordinator of the music education program and teacher of applied woodwinds is now in his second year at Eastern Oregon University following a stint at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Hence, the connection with Burkett; the musicians used to be in a quartet together that reached the verge of

recording.

The unique sound of double-reed instruments drew both Koster and Burkett as young musicians. In fact, double-reed instruments can produce a variety of sounds, from haunting to lively to uplifting. They can also produce some ear-wracking

racket.

"A bad oboe reed can sound like a bagpipe," Koster said.

"Or a duck," piped in Burkett.

Koster and Burkett recommend young musicians build a strong foundation on something like clarinet or piano before moving into the double reeds and risking sounding like a duck. One reason is that the complexity of double reeds can be daunting.

Some examples: There are 17 different fingerings for the high F sharp in the bassoon. And there are 11 keys the left thumb has to know how to work. What's more, once you're above middle C, the fingering follows no logical order.

Cost is also prohibitive. Most students, however, can rent or borrow instruments. The professionals buy the Mercedes-Benz of oboes like the Lore, made in Paris and costing $5,000 to $6,000. The Heckel, the Benz of bassoons, costs $20,000 to $25,000.

The rewards, however, are worth the huge challenge of mastering the instrument.

And the price.

For one, there is a huge body of quality music for the instruments, much of it coming out of the Baroque Period.

"The 17th Century was a great time for oboes and bassoons," Koster said.

Another reward is building bridges to other players.

"Once you get the technique, you have the whole world at your fingertips," Burkett adds.

See REEDS, Page 2B

Reed Fell This includes fellowship with other double-reed players, not exactly a huge crosssection of the population. Koster figures there are about 20 to 30 double reed players in Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington. Both Burkett and Koster are members of the International Double Reed Society and enjoy getting together with likeminded invidividuals.

Other rewards are less tangible.

"Music is something that fulfills my soul," Burkett said.

She tried putting the oboe away. For 17 years she managed just fine, staying busy working at her husband's dental office. Eight years ago, however, she had what she calls a musical mid-life crisis and since has joined community orchestras and done private lessons.

"The oboe is kind of like a vehicle that has taken me to many beautiful places in the world and introduced me to new friends," she said.

It's a universal language, too. She remembers playing oboe with an elderly Japanese gentleman. Neither spoke the other's language. But both understood each other perfectly through the language of music.

And both were concerned about the weather reports coming from the south of France.

SIDEBAR

HED: Imitate the great ones to become good

To become a good oboeist or bassonist, kids need to listen to good sound on the instrument and learn by imitating others.

Some oboeists Marsha Burkett has worked with include John DeLancie of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wayne Rapier of the Boston and Philadelphia orchestras, Pat McFarland of the Atlanta Symphony, Elaine Douras of the New York Metropolitan Orchestra and Heinz Holliger of the Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

Some bassoonists whose work Keith Koster recommends include Kim Walker of Indiana University, Bernard Garfield of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milan Turkovich of the Berlin Philharmonic and John Miller of the Minneapolis Symphony.

You can order their music from your local music store or by going through Amazon.com, Borders.com or the Berkshire Record Outlet.