Teaching day yesterday…. meeting early with one senior student at the Glenn Gould School of Music to hear his Hummel concerto, then a first-year student to hear his Vivaldi, then meeting with the director to talk about the future of bassoon at the Glenn Gould School of Music, then rehearsing Rossini and St-Saens with Cecilia Lee for two hours for the upcoming weekend recital (Fat Gurl Presents Found Things), then listening to 3 hours of Vivaldi Concerti rehearsals of the bassoon students and their string quintet at the University of Toronto, then meeting wonderful old friend/repairman Shane Wieler and the bassoonists of the U of T double reed class for a two-hour review of maintenance principles.

His class covered all aspects of preventive care and he brought along George Zukerman’s beautiful 60-year-old Heckel to demonstrate many points.  I should tell you in great detail about what he said, but for now, remember to carry chewing gum in case a pad falls out and round toothpicks in case you lose a pivot screw. And a clean brush to get rid of dust.  And remember to suck the moisture out of all the keys (I only did the g resonance on the boot!).  And much more.  Today I was awake at dawn, working on administrative stuff and dealing with an embarrassing Twitter virus all day.  Still not sure it is gone.  Realized I have 3 days to learn the new Christopher Willes piece for bassoon and electronics (In Reference to a Passerby).