Character Inspiration: Musician
Photo credit: Jennifer George
Melody McKnight is a professional oboist who has performed in most major concert halls across Canada, Japan, Europe, and a few places in the US. Her freelance career has been based in Alberta, Canada, and she’s held a contract with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra for almost 30 years.
“Playing in an orchestra allows you to be part of something that’s bigger than you and transcends an individual instrument. The energy you get from the shared experience of 40-90 people performing together and sharing the triumphs that happen in a performance is unlike anything else! ”
WBS: When did you start playing the oboe? Did you love it right away, or was it something you fell in love with gradually? I'm also so curious if you play any other instruments.
Melody: I started playing oboe when I was 12, in my high school band, and then joined the Winnipeg Junior Youth Orchestra, where I fell in love with orchestra music and knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! Truthfully, I have not always loved my oboe—twice in my career I’ve taken a break from it but always start playing again!
I play English horn as well, which is in the oboe family—it’s quite common for oboists to double on English horn. I also play piano and used to play violin.
WBS: What was your education journey like? Are there certain academic requirements you need to meet in order to join an orchestra?
Melody: I actually started university with a piano major and violin minor but ended up reauditioning on oboe so that I could complete a performance major on oboe instead. I have a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance and Master of Music in Oboe Performance.
For music performance degrees, you still take a lot of courses such as theory, history, composition, etc., but you also perform a number of solo and chamber recitals. Going to university also gives you a lot of performance opportunities with orchestras, chamber groups, and concert bands, and I found this experience essential for preparing to audition and join a professional orchestra.
I spent two intense summers with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. The teaching and training was exceptional, and I was able to tour Japan with them one summer and across Canada the next.
Orchestra musicians also spend a lot of time preparing excerpts, which are short sections—generally the hardest parts for your instruments from the orchestral repertoire—and form the majority of an orchestra audition.
WBS: How did you get your first job with an orchestra? Is it a difficult job to land?
Melody: Orchestra auditions are usually started behind a screen so that the audition committee can’t see who is playing. There can be several audition rounds, and you can advance from one round to the next if the committee is considering you. Each round may last only a few minutes, which isn’t a lot of time to convince the committee that you are amazing! They are listening for accuracy in notes and rhythm, tone quality, musicianship, if you know the role of your instrument within that work, and whether you will blend in with their current section. Sometimes 50 people or more will show up for an audition! An oboist may play with an orchestra for 30 or more years, and an audition won’t be held unless someone retires or leaves the orchestra for another job. So if there’s a particular orchestra you want to play with, you might have to wait a long time.
Much of my career has been spent as a freelance musician, which means I don’t hold a contract and am asked to play with an orchestra “as needed.”
WBS: Do you find that you get to the know the members of the orchestra quite well? Is it an easy place to build community?
Melody: There are musicians that I’ve worked with consistently for 30 years, since my university days! It shows in our playing—we can blend, tune, and follow each other so easily.
WBS: Can you walk us through what the process is like leading up to a concert? How far in advance do you get your music? How many rehearsals do you typically have? How long are they? Also, does the conductor change from show to show (I'm thinking sort of like movie directors), or is it often the same person?
Melody: We usually receive our music two weeks in advance. We need to show up completely prepared, with an understanding of the work and how our part fits in. The rehearsal time is used to work on the ensemble of the orchestra, balance, and musicality.
For a concert with difficult music, we would have three rehearsals plus a dress rehearsal. For less difficult music, or music that’s easier for the orchestra to put together, we might only have the dress rehearsal. Rehearsals are two and a half hours, and there are usually two per day (rarely three). Performing is physically demanding, and we need time for muscles and embouchures to recover!
An orchestra will have a music director who advances the quality and musicianship of the orchestra over time. Guest conductors are also brought in to work with the orchestra.
As a freelance musician, I’ve worked with many different conductors.
WBS: Do you have any especially memorable moments from your time on stage (funny, serious, or otherwise)?
Melody: Every time I think I’ve seen it all, something new happens:
I performed in a church where a pigeon flew through an open window and terrorized the audience for the entire concert.
I played a concert where an audience member went into labour.
I sight-read a concert in an emergency situation.
I’ve performed outdoors with a large water beetle crawling up my leg.
My oboe was stolen and came back to me two years later! It was purchased by someone who could tell it was a quality instrument and was suspicious, so she bought it and contacted the instrument maker, who got in touch with me. We get really attached to our instruments—I play on a Laubin oboe that I purchased in 1996. At the time there was a 6-year waiting list because they only hand-made 30 a year.
Some highlights of my career include performing in the Musikverein in Vienna and performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 1 with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra oboe section. Right now, I’m preparing for a recital on September 4, where I’ll perform a new work by Robert W. Smith. I was part of a consortium that commissioned the work, which he completed shortly before he passed away.
WBS: What is your favourite part of playing in an orchestra? What's your least favourite?
Melody: I love being part of something that is a shared experience.
Playing in an orchestra allows you to be part of something that’s bigger than you and transcends an individual instrument. The energy you get from the shared experience of 40-90 people performing together and sharing the triumphs that happen in a performance is unlike anything else!
I’ve always found it hard to play the same music for more than five shows. For example, playing Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker 10 times in 7 days. Even when it’s fantastic music, you can start to play mind games and lose track of where you are in the music!
As a freelance musician, I sometimes end up playing three different concerts in a week, and it’s hard to learn and perform three different sets of repertoire in such a short time period!
WBS: Do you have a favourite piece?
Melody: My favourite piece to perform is Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite (there are some beautiful oboe solos).
WBS: I know you have other jobs outside of the symphony orchestra. Can you tell us a bit about your freelance work and teaching?
Melody: I really enjoy teaching! I currently have a few adult students, but when I had more time, I would also teach as a clinician at band camps. I’ve also spent much of my career in arts management.
WBS: What has being a musician taught you about life?
Melody: Every skill you learn as a musician can transfer to anything else you need to do in life. We are great at performing under pressure; the self-discipline it takes to truly master an instrument gives us the ability to set and meet any goal; we are great at creative thinking, problem solving, and teamwork; we can adapt and adjust quickly, react immediately, and think on our feet.
Thank you, Melody!
Find Melody on LinkedIn.