The Australasian Double Reed Society Inc. (adrs) is a non-profit organisation which promotes and enhances knowledge of double reed instruments (oboe and bassoon family).
ADRS
The adrs encourages performance, education and interaction between double reed players of all standards, and maintains close links with similar societies throughout the world.
Membership of the adrs consists of a large cross-range of the Double Reed community, including professional players in major Symphony Orchestras, freelance professional players, woodwind educators, students in the Secondary and Tertiary sectors, enthusiasts and amateur players.
The adrs achieves its aims with a team of enthusiastic committee members who generously give their time and talents voluntarily to further the cause of the adrs objectives. Our Society is privileged to have active representatives located in major cities throughout Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.
Popular events are held in each represented state and include Recitals, Masterclasses, Activities Days, Reedmaking Demonstrations and Workshops, Examination Workshops, Lectures, and Teachers Forums
The adrs is proud to have been the host for two major double reed events – the first ever held in the Australasian region. This is significant not only for the expansion in the interest of double reed practice in the region but also as an indication of the advancement and achievement of the adrs, Australasian music and of double reed performance.
Success has been achieved through the promotion of events, the publication of Reeding Matter, support from music trade and service organisations, and an ever-increasing membership base.
The adrs actively supports music organisations and business in both the Australasian region and internationally by providing exposure to the niche market of double reed players and to the wider musical community.
Opportunities include sponsorship of events, advertising in Reeding Matter and adrs event programmes. Tailor-made opportunities are also available by negotiation with your state representative.
Local Bocal January 2024
Dear Double Reeders, Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2024 is full of playing and listening opportunities for us all.
Thanks to those who participated in any or all of our events last year and keep up the good work, everybody.
Our last playing opportunity was Carols on Ninth Avenue on the 17th December. It was a lovely balmy night
and the 18 or so players entertained a lively and appreciative crowd.
QUIZNIC
It’s on again this year. 4th February at Josie and Tom Hawkes’ beautiful garden, 420 Carrington St, Adelaide.
30-5.30. BYO picnic, drinks, glasses and a chair. Bookings essential (
$15 members, $20 non-members.
An added feature this year will be a sheet music stall.
We know a lot of you have sheet music that is no longer required but could well be something that others would like. You can put a
price on it or donate it. Bring it along and we’ll try to find a new home for it. Thank you for the suggestion Maarten Ryder!
FUTURE PLANNING SPECIAL MEETING.
We are keen to truly reflect the needs and wants of Double Reed players in SA and would like to involve the
membership a lot more. We are having a meeting on 24th February at Josie’s place at 3 pm for all those who
wish to offer ideas, suggestions, help, expertise, vision (you get the picture) so be thinking not of what your
society can do for you, but what you can do for your society! We would like as many as possible to attend and
formulate plans for our future. Please let us know if you will be able to participate. If unable to attend you can
let us know of any suggestions for future activities, or how you can support us in other ways.
ADRS MEMBERSHIP DUE
Make sure to renew your membership by going to the ADRS website and clicking on Membership.
So, put the 4th February and 24th February in your diaries, and look forward to a fun and productive 2024!
Best wishes,
Caryl, Josie, Tim, Josh and Charles.
Local Bocal March 2024
Dear Double Reeders, we have already had a couple of events. Good to see so many participants.
The QUIZNIC on 4th Feb was as usual a lot of fun with Josie as the Quiz Mistress and the rest of us clutching at straws. Extravagant prizes were taken home by the winning tables. An extra feature this time was a Music Jumble Sale thanks for the idea, Maarten Ryder) and we raised a good sum of money for ADRSSA to enable us to present other events during the year. Thanks to Josie and Tom Hawkes for the use of their beautiful garden and to whoever organised the weather. 
Download Flyer.
The FUTURE PLANNING SPECIAL MEETING was a attended by a small but interested group. Thanks to them and to those of you who couldn’t attend but sent suggestions. We have taken some ideas on board but it seems that, in general, people are content with what we provide and we shall continue. We rely on you to let us know if someone relevant is visiting Adelaide and could be incorporated into our events such as:
JANE DOWNER who is from Adelaide, studied oboe at the Conservatorium under Jiri Tancibudek and now lives in Oxford UK. Her group Austral Harmony travels widely and she is an expert on Baroque Music especially for Double Reeds. She will be in Adelaide soon and has sent a list of the concerts they will be performing here. Unfortunately, her schedule and ours do not coincide happily enough for us to present an event but it’d be wonderful if you could support her by attending a concert or two. I have attached her flyer.
TEACHERS, please encourage your students to add their names to our mailing list so they will get information about sessions we are running or events they may wish to attend. We rely on you to let us know who your students are so that they can be included in our plans. We are thinking to have more sessions devoted to technical matters of interpretation and instrument maintenance and these could be very useful. It seems the performance practice events are popular as well as the Big Blows and of course the St John’s Concert. After our next committee meeting we shall let you know the dates of the various activities we have planned.
Sadly (for us, but not him) our committee member Charles Klein has left us to go and live in Belgium. We shall miss him tremendously and hope he settles into the musical community there as well as he has here. We had a farewell party for him on Sunday 17th March that was attended by many of his Double Reed friends.
Best wishes,
Caryl, Josie, Tim, Josh.
Local Bocal June 2024
Dear Double Reeders, here is some news and dates for your diary.
Most of the Committee is back on deck after our various illnesses, surgeries, overseas trips and life in general which has conspired against us!
It is time for you to register for the following activities and note an extra special one on 1st September
Marryatville HS has been booked for the following dates. (Thanks, Josie!)
Sunday 28 July 2pm to 4pm (Performance Practice). Please register now for this opportunity to play with an accompanist to an audience. Let us know by the 14th July what you will be playing and give us the accompanist’s part. You may have a duo or trio that you play with which would like to perform. They don’t all have to be double reed players.
Wednesday 14 August 7pm to 9pm (Big Blow)
Wednesday 4 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 1)
Monday 9 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 2)
Friday 13 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 3)
Sunday 27 October 2pm to 4 pm (Concert for Exam Prep or Performance Practice.)
St John's Church has been booked for Sunday 15 September @ 3pm for Impressionist Music to Reed By!
Put these dates in your diaries now!!
As promised, here is some information about the Elder Conservatorium Double Reed Mega Day that’s taking place on Sunday, September 1st. The day will include a warm-up session, oboe and bassoon masterclasses, audition preparation discussion and a concert with solo, chamber and mass double reed choir performances. Matthew Wilkie (Principal Bassoon with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Principal Emeritus Bassoon with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) is flying in from Sydney as a special guest for the day.
If you have any more suggestions for activities/events please let us know.
The ADRS Conference and Competitions will be held on the Gold Coast at the end of September. See the ADRS website for details. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the Double Reed world (and where would you rather be?). It is school holidays so you could combine it with a trip to Queensland Sun, theme parks, glorious scenery, night-life (ok, I won’t give up my day job and go to work at the Tourist Commission).
Congratulations to Josh Oates, Jack Schiller, Angus McBride and Jade Elsdon for participating in a wonderful concert at Elder Hall on Friday lunchtime, 14th June. Their rendition(with clarinets and horns) of the Mozart Serenade in C minor was excellent~ tight, expressive and fluent.
Here is a letter we received from member Anthony Radogna.
I'm excited to announce that I will be performing the Vivaldi Oboe Concerto in A minor RV461 with the Flinders University Chamber Ensemble at the following concerts. Both concerts are free and will feature Vivaldi's Gloria and Haydn's Insanae et Vanae Curae incorporating the combined forces of the Adelaide Cathedral Choir and the Holy Cross Choir.
Friday 12 July, 7.30pm at St Francis Xavier Cathedral - 39 Wakefield Street, Adelaide
Sunday 14 July, 12.30pm at Holy Cross Church - 165 Goodwood Road, Millswood
I'm also performing the Martinů Quartet H.315 for Violin, Oboe, Cello and Piano at a Chamber Musicians Concert on Sunday 11 August 2024 at St. Theodore’s Anglican Church - 46 Prescott Tce, Toorak Gardens at 2pm. For more details, email Anthony at
Violin - Emily McDonald
Oboe - Anthony Radogna
Cello - Janis Svilans
Piano - Shawn Hui
Kind regards,
Anthony
Please consider supporting fellow players by attending their concerts.
And by letting us know when you have gigs coming up so we can all be there for you.
TEACHERS, please encourage your students to add their names to our mailing list so they will get information about sessions we are running or events they may wish to attend. We rely on you to let us know who your students are so that they can be included in our plans.
Best wishes,
Caryl Lambourn
Josie Hawkes OAM
Alison Stewart- Klein
Tim Rosen
Josh Oates
Local Bocal July 2024
Dear Double Reeders, here is some news and some dates for your diary.
It is time for you to register for the following activities and note an extra special one on 1st September
Marryatville HS has been booked for the following dates. (Thanks, Josie!)
Sunday 28 July 2pm to 4pm (Performance Practice). Thanks to those who have registered already. If you have not, please register now for this opportunity to play with an accompanist to an audience. Let us know by the 14th July what you will be playing and give us the accompanist’s part. You may have a duo or trio that you play with which would like to perform. They don’t all have to be double reed players.
Wednesday 14 August 7pm to 9pm (Big Blow)
Wednesday 4 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 1)
Monday 9 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 2)
Friday 13 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 3)
Sunday 27 October 2pm to 4 pm (Concert for Exam Prep or Performance Practice.)
St John's Church has been booked for Sunday 15 September @ 3pm for Impressionist Music to Reed By!
As promised, here is some information about the Elder Conservatorium Double Reed Mega Day that’s taking place on Sunday September 1st. The day will include a warm-up session, oboe and bassoon masterclasses, audition preparation discussion and a concert with solo, chamber and mass double reed choir performances. Matthew Wilkie (Principal Bassoon with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Principal Emeritus Bassoon with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) is flying in from Sydney as a special guest for the day.
Put these dates in your diaries now!!
Carols on Ninth Avenue will also be happening but we haven’t an actual date yet.
If you have any more suggestions for activities/events please let us know.
The ADRS Conference and Competitions will be held on the Gold Coast at the end of September. See the ADRS website for details. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the Double Reed world (and where would you rather be?). It is school holidays so you could combine it with a trip to Queensland Sun, theme parks, glorious scenery, night-life (ok, I won’t give up my day job and go to work at the Tourist Commission). A flyer about the competitions is attached.
Anthony Radogna will be performing the Martinů Quartet H.315 for Violin, Oboe, Cello and Piano at a Chamber Musicians Concert on Sunday 11 August 2024 at St. Theodore’s Anglican Church - 46 Prescott Tce, Toorak Gardens at 2pm. For more details, email Anthony at
Violin - Emily McDonald
Oboe - Anthony Radogna
Cello - Janis Svilans
Piano - Shawn Hui
Please consider supporting fellow players by attending their concerts.
And by letting us know when you have gigs coming up so we can all be there for you.
TEACHERS, please encourage your students to add their names to our mailing list so they will get information about sessions we are running or events they may wish to attend. We rely on you to let us know who your students are so that they can be included in our plans.
Best wishes,
Caryl Lambourn
Josie Hawkes OAM
Alison Stewart- Klein
Tim Rosen
Josh Oates
Local Bocal August 2024
Dear Double Reeders, here is some news and some dates for your diary.
Congratulations to all those who participated in the Performance Practice session on Sunday 28th July. We heard pieces played by Anthony Radogna and his Trio( Martinu, Oboe Quartet), Tim Rosen (Dutilleux, Sarabande and Cortege), Genevieve Lim( Gliere, Song) Eva Li (Handel, Siciliana), Steve Salomon (St Saens, The Swan), Maddy Glover( Vivaldi Sonata 3in A minor)), and Mia Callaghan (Pleyel Andante and Rondo). The accompanist, Stephen van der Hoek, did a mighty job of supporting the players and the mentors, Josh Oates (oboe) and Margot Dean (bassoon) were pleased with all the players and gave personalised oral and written feedback. We are sure that all the participants enjoyed and benefited from the session. It is good to take the challenge to play in front of an audience. There seems little point in putting in all the hard work and then not actually performing to anybody anywhere. It as also reassuring to know that even experienced players can find solo playing unnerving.
Marryatville HS has been booked for the following dates. (Thanks, Josie!)
If you have not yet, please register now for the following:
Wednesday 14 August 7pm to 9pm (Big Blow). More people are needed or it will be a very Small Blow.
Wednesday 4 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 1)
Monday 9 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 2)
Friday 13 September 7pm to 9pm (Impressionist Music to Reed By! Rehearsal 3)
Sunday 27 October 2pm to 4 pm (Concert for Exam Prep or Performance Practice.)
St John's Church has been booked for Sunday 15 September @ 3pm for Impressionist Music to Reed By!
Put these dates in your diaries now!!
As promised, here is some information about the Elder Conservatorium Double Reed Mega Day that’s taking place on Sunday September 1st. The day will include a warm-up session, oboe and bassoon masterclasses, audition preparation discussion and a concert with solo, chamber and mass double reed choir performances. Matthew Wilkie (Principal Bassoon with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Principal Emeritus Bassoon with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) is flying in from Sydney as a special guest for the day.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Wind Quintet will be in Adelaide in the last week of September. The French horn player is originally from Adelaide. There will be a double- reed masterclass at the Conservatorium on the 24th September, 4.30-6.30 pm with Ricardo Barbosa(oboe) and Whitney Crockett(bassoon). It will be for senior students but those who are less experienced are urged to attend for the very valuable experience of listening to high calibre teachers giving advice to up- and coming players as you all are! The quintet will also be giving concerts at the Conservatorium on Friday lunchtime 27th September and at Ukaria on Sunday 29th.
The ADRS Conference and Competitions will be held on the Gold Coast at the end of September. See the ADRS website for details. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the Double Reed world. It is school holidays so being in Queensland would be fabulous.
Anthony Radogna will be performing the Martinů Quartet H.315 for Violin, Oboe, Cello and Piano at a Chamber Musicians Concert on Sunday 11 August 2024 at St. Theodore’s Anglican Church - 46 Prescott Tce, Toorak Gardens at 2pm. For more details, email Anthony at
Violin - Emily McDonald
Oboe - Anthony Radogna
Cello - Janis Svilans
Piano - Shawn Hui
Please consider supporting fellow players by attending their concerts.
And by letting us know when you have gigs coming up so we can all be there for you.
TEACHERS, please encourage your students to add their names to our mailing list so they will get information about sessions we are running or events they may wish to attend. We rely on you to let us know who your students are so that they can be included in our plans.
Best wishes,
Caryl Lambourn
Josie Hawkes OAM
Alison Stewart- Klein
Tim Rosen
Josh Oates
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