• Reed Making Workshops
• Individual or Group Bassoon and Contrabassoon Lessons/Workshops
• Woodwind Orchestral, Chamber Music, and Solo Coaching
• "Notes from the Underground" – Coaching for Auditions
  • List of Auditions Won
• Improvisation

Reed Making Workshops

Reed Making Workshops will be given on site, locally or within a hundred mile radius either to individuals or small groups. All levels accepted. Invitations also accepted from high schools, colleges, universities and schools of music.

Local accommodations and amenities available upon request.

Back to Top ^

 

Individual and Group Bassoon and Contrabassoon Lessons/Workshops

Private and/or group lessons or workshops available on site, to schools, colleges and universities.

In respect to his esteemed teacher Simon Kovar, Marvin Feinsmith would like to pass on the Kovar system of bassoon technique, control and artistic performance. In order to teach this method, Marvin Feinsmith will utilize Simon Kovar’s 24 daily exercises and Mr. Kovar’s system of teaching orchestral and solo repertoire, with focus on extreme control of dynamics, tone quality, phrasing, style, intonation, and pinpoint intervallic accuracy. If you would like more information in regards to lessons and workshops by Marvin Feinsmith, please feel free to email him.

Back to Top ^

 

Woodwind Orchestral, Chamber Music, and Solo Coaching

Marvin Feinsmith is an experienced woodwind coach, specializing in orchestral, chamber music and solo coaching. His experience includes the following:

• Henry Street Settlement – New York City
• Metropolitan State College – Denver
• New Jersey Youth Symphony
• Ball State Teachers College – Indiana
• New York City high schools

Back to Top ^

 

"Notes from the Underground" – Coaching for Auditions

Marvin Feinsmith lends his individualized coaching tips for winning orchestral auditions, including:

• Choosing a solo
• Method of learning the required repertoire
• Performance confidence
• Reed to match repertoire
• The Zen of no worry
• Dynaflow linear phrasing, dynamics and streamline your performance

Auditions Won - Symphony Orchestras:

• Manhattan School of Music, First Bassoon
• The Juilliard School, First Bassoon
• The Metropolitan Opera, Stage Bassoon
• The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, First Bassoon
• The Little Orchestra Society, Co-Principal Bassoon
• The Symphony of the Air, Bassoon
• The Symphony of the New World, Bassoon and Contrabassoon
• Friends of the French Opera, First Bassoon
• Bernstein Mass, Solo Bassoon
  • World Premiere: Kennedy Arts Center
  • Click here to read a letter of recommendation from Leonard Bernstein.
• Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Co-Principal Bassoon and Contrabassoon with Zubin Mehta and Leonard Bernstein
  • Click to read a letter of recommendation from Zubin Mehta.
• Denver Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Principal Bassoon and Contrabassoon
• Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, First Bassoon
• Adelphi Orchestra, First Bassoon
• Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, First Bassoon

Auditions Won – Broadway Shows (Bassoon):

• Kwamina
• Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum
• Superman
• Baker Street
• Anya
• Cabaret
• The Rothschilds
• Fiddler on the Roof, Substitute

For further "underground tips," please contact Marvin Feinsmith via email. Accommodations are available upon request.

Back to Top ^

 

Improvisation

Learn to improvise on a given theme or on your own theme. The following are samples of Marvin Feinsmith's improvisations from two original films:

 

Back to Top ^