Jessica Campbell and Cindy Behmer performed at the 2011 College Music Society International Conference held in Seoul and Gyeongju, South Korea in July. Their duo, the KontraCor Duo, gave a lecture recital on new music that they commissioned for our one-of-a-kind doubling double reed duo entitled, Exploring the Sounds of Doubling Double Reeds: Demonstrating New Music for Oboe, English horn, Bassoon, and Contrabassoon. Among the new works they performed was a duo by Jay Vosk called “Kontra-Dances.” “Professional educators and composers who were in attendance were intrigued by our presentation,” says Behmer. “As a result, we recently received a new composition for our duo that we will be performing at an upcoming CMS southwest chapter conference.” Beyond the exciting lecture-recital portion of the conference, the duo experienced great food, friendly people, and beautiful sights throughout their stay in Seoul and Gyeongju. Behmer reports: “Rather than relying on the convenient (and tourist-friendly) hotel package designed by the conference, we planned our trip on a musicians’ budget. By doing so, we were able to experience the subway and metro transportation system, several small and excellent restaurants close to our guesthouse quarters, and the local markets filled with fresh fruit and tasty snacks. Our experiences in South Korea were professionally rewarding, exciting, memorable, and completely enjoyable.”
November 23, 2011