Music Faculty, Student Perform at International Conference

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – This summer, Ronda Mains, chair of the department of music and professor of flute in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, attended the International Double Reed Society’s annual conference.

The five-day conference included concerts, recitals, master classes and workshops presented by some of the leading double reed artists from around the world. Five members of the university’s music department participated the conference. Professors Theresa Delaplain (oboe), Er-Gene Kahng (violin), Ronda Mains (flute) and Richard Ramey (bassoon) all performed as did graduate student Lia Southern (bassoon).

“Attending the International Double Reed Society’s annual conference was amazing,” said Mains, professor of flute and chair of the department. “Double reed instruments are particularly difficult to master, and it was an honor to have our department and the University of Arkansas represented by such outstanding artists.”

Double reed instruments use a type of reed in which two pieces of cane vibrate together to create sound rather than single piece against a mouthpiece of metal or resin. The oboe and bassoon are the most common double reed instruments, but other modern orchestral and period instruments also use double reeds. 

 This was the society’s 41^st annual conference. It was held July 7-11 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The International Double Reed Society has 4,400 members from 56 countries. Past conferences have been held at universities and conservatories in Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina and across the United States.