On Sep. 9 and 10, the Lionel Hampton School of Music hosted the Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival. The clarinet studio was delighted to learn that The Argonaut wanted to do a story on the significance of the festival and what it meant to us here at the University of Idaho. However, upon reading the article, we were all very disappointed that what was written was not what was expressed by those involved.
We, in the UI clarinet studio, believe the article was written with a strong bias that made all of the participants seem ill-mannered and disrespectful towards our colleagues and peers.
The point of the clarinet festival is to be educational and to develop a network of colleagues within the Northwest region. At no point was it meant to demean, or be disrespectful towards any other musicians who do not play the clarinet.
There are national organizations dedicated to specific instrument groups and families for this exact purpose, like the National Flute Association, the International Double Reed Society, the International Horn Society and even the International Trombone Association.
These organizations are meant to spread knowledge about the music field specific to our instrument and gain a deeper understanding and higher level of musicianship on our instruments.
It is quite common for these types of instrument specific organizations to meet on a regional, national and international level to celebrate, collaborate and learn from one another. The Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival was an opportunity for the UI clarinet studio to welcome our regional clarinet colleagues to our campus to engage in a mutual learning experience.
This year, we were delighted to welcome two guest artists to campus, Shannon Scott from Washington State University and Eric Mandat from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Our two-day festival featured these two artists in both scholarship, teaching and performance, as well as faculty clarinetists and saxophonists from Eastern Washington University, Montana State University, University of Montana and Boise State University.
They joined our very own Rajung Yang, LSHOM Associate Professor of Piano in performances throughout the second day of the festival. Students from Boise State University, University of Montana, Washington State University and the UI had the opportunity to play for Dr. Scott and Dr. Mandat. Our evenings concluded with world class performances of Scott and Mandat that left us all in awe and wanting more.
It is our sincere hope that the lasting impression of the Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival here at the UI is one of learning, collaboration, and celebration and not the initial impressions conveyed through the first article printed.
Thank you for your time,
University of Idaho clarinet studio