In The Beginning

Aspen Winds started in my living room three years ago when Stephanie and I played oboe/clarinet duets for the first time. We had just met through her daughter and my niece who had set up their own playdate after swim class. Truth be told, we were both rusty, both recently giving birth and not having played seriously in several years. After about twenty minutes of sight-reading we decided we needed to do a recital. Then began the process of finding literature, scheduling a venue, finding a pianist (Maria Heward, another young mom) and lots of joyous practicing. The dress rehearsal was in my living room with ten children wandering around. Maria’s baby had an ear infection, so she regularly bent over to return his pacifier and rocked him with a foot in his carseat. Stephanie and I would trade off holding each other’s toddler’s during our rests. The result, the recital was a piece of cake without all of the distractions.

Here is a recording from that first recital:

“Music is the social act of communicating among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is.” — Malcolm Arnold

Chamber music especially is a conversation among friends. Aspen Winds was born out of friendship and has continued to grow and expand to include many others along the way. We would love to meet you at one of our upcoming concerts. –Amy