Little orphan oboe

"Did you say that the oboe was an orphan...?"

I was trying to register what my eight-year-old daughter had just said to me. It was late and my mind was going through my to-do list for the next day.

“No, not an orphan, mummy. The oboe is an endangered instrument.”

Oh, right, of course, how could an oboe be an orphan that would be ridiculous.  Silly me.

“The lady that teaches flute and oboe told us at assembly that the oboe is an endangered instrument in the orchestra. That’s why Lucy and I want to learn it.”

It turns out she's right. Apparently an accomplished oboist is always in demand.

It's not one of the "cool" instruments, along with fellow ‘endangered species’ instruments such as the bassoon, French horn, trombone, tuba, baritone horn, and double bass.

It also turns out that this instrument would be sorely missed. The oboe features prominently in the Brandenburg Concertos nos. 1 and 2. Vivaldi wrote at least 15 oboe concertos, Mozart focused on it and it evens shows up in rock and pop music including The Moody Blues.

I felt a pang of pride in my daughter. Save the oboe. Long live the oboe.

Now ... where am I going to find one of these endangered species instrument?

This post was written by Charlene, a London Mums Blog main contributor.

Photo credit: tony newell

Comments

[Julie@Cool Mom Guide]

That is so stinkin sweet. In middle school I wanted to play the sax so bad. All the girls played flute or clarinet and I wanted something jazzy and cool. My mom got me a trummpet. I was devistated. I played and played well for 2 years, but I remember being embarassed when I had to carry it around school. Looking back, I'm proud I played something different. It wasn't the sax but I was still pretty jazzy!

[Alyson, the 3 P's Mama]

Too cute. Wise little girl you have there!