That Time I Played The Nutcracker With Thom Hiniker

What a run of great gigs this December! I had the extreme pleasure of playing with the great inventor, instrument/bocal maker, and oboist, Thom Hiniker!  I learned so much. It was, in fact, my first time playing the complete Nutcracker, and Orchestra Iowa did a beautiful job with the 4 performances—2 in Davenport and 2 in Cedar Rapids.   I absolutely love this music, but when I was called to play english horn at the last minute, I was a bit apprehensive.  I’ve never felt very comfortable holding the instrument. But there I was, playing next to Thom—he giving me plenty of great advice about bocals and unusual fingerings, me feeling like a fish out of water, trying to absorb all that he was teaching me while at the same time play the notes on the page.  After the first rehearsal, I was frustrated. I spent the next day trying to analyze my problem. After numerous phone calls to english horn player friends and taking several videos of my hands while I played, I determined that my right hand fingers simply were not covering the holes!   When I arrived at rehearsal that evening, I sheepishly told Thom my story.   His face lit up and immediately said, “Well, then let’s cover those holes up! You don’t really need them, anyway!”   I didn’t quite understand, but Thom grabbed some gaffe tape from backstage, covered the offending keys on the lower joint of the instrument, and I put the reed on the bocal. To my complete amazement, it was like a different instrument to me. It’s a slightly ludicrous story, but I win the award for “Most Improved English Hornist” in the period of 24 hours in the history of the world. 😂.   I am forever thankful that my path crossed with Thom.