My exposure to the oboe as a kid was purely accidental. My mother worked as a web designer, and one of the websites she was developing continually played Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Spending so much time on the website, I became accustomed to hearing it. The piece includes a melancholy oboe solo, and ever since, I’ve recognized the oboe’s distinctive sound in a few unexpected places, such as in some of my favorite movies like Mission Impossible and Lord of the Rings.
My mother placed a huge emphasis on my childhood growth, and when she began to notice the pattern of me peeking my head into her room every time the oboe solo played, she surprised me with the opportunity to play the oboe.
Growing up without a father figure, I had to figure things out by myself and let my curiosity wander with the oboe. I am the only one in my family who has ever touched an instrument, and my mother could only do so much when she was out coding her next website or mowing the front yard. I realized that every second I spent practicing was a second not helping my mom, so I made every second count.
From elementary school to middle school, I found myself craving orchestral music instead of band music, as it was the music to which I was first exposed to. I began auditioning and playing for local youth orchestras, but one stood out in particular. Dave, a mentor, always filled in for the 2nd oboe seat and sat by my side. His eyes were dark but filled with life, and his face could make anyone in a mile radius smile. He was the one who introduced me to reed making and helped me find opportunities to pursue my musical talent.
With Dave’s advice and my own research, I find myself in the Juilliard Pre-college program—a program that enables the continuation of my improvement in musicianship with world-class teachers. But I don’t want to stop
You can find Daniel’s 2023 Romantic Music Competition oboe performance here.