The Really
Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle (RTOOT)
who
are we? -- woodwinds section
Kathy Hancock is principal
flautist with the Really Terrible Orchestra Of the Triangle
(RTOOT). She started playing flute in the 5th grade and faked her
way all the way through college (FSU). Recently, she decided to
take lessons and join RTOOT. Soon she will be way too good to play
for us. New members in 2011 are
Sandi Matthews , Elizabeth Holoman, Katy McDonald,
and
Shelly Buisson.
Randy
Alley, oboe I, was
inspired to become a musician in 1971, when, at the tender age of
12, he saw Jethro Tull perform. He spent the next several years in
band practicing flute while standing on one leg, and at home
learning rock guitar. After a period of awkward practice, he was
deemed sufficiently expert to switch to the oboe. This led to an
obvious mistake, when, a few years later, East Carolina University
admitted Mr. Alley
to
study Oboe Performance.
John Brothers, second
oboe, took up the oboe just before turning seventy. Many
think that he should have waited a bit longer. John
thoroughly enjoys RTOOT and increasingly plays a correct note
at the correct time. He remains in complete awe of the
tolerance of variety that the orchestra embodies!
We have on
clarinet
Amber Gorski. She quotes her
husband as saying he's going to have to get himself a copy of A
Tale of Two Cities to read at future concerts. Amber is also our
concertmaster, since we didn’t know that the concertmaster was
supposed to be a violin. When The Really Terrible Orchestra Of the
Triangle (RTOOT) was organized, we just got together and figured
out that Amber was the best player. So we made her the
concertmaster. We hope this doesn’t upset your musical
sensibilities nor cause the music world to fall to pieces. Also on
clarinet, we have
Amanda Jacob and
Donna Bennett.
As
a child,
Donna was
asked not to sing -- and started playing the clarinet.
She is a former MOBster (Marching Owl Band), who enjoys
playing in venues other than Texas football stadiums.
We
are astounded to report that
Richard Titus of Sanford
drives each
week to our Sunday
rehearsals in order to play the clarinet badly. His last claim to
musical fame before joing RTOOT, was as a member of the
Purdue University Marching Band in 1956. That is unless you
count a few years (many years ago) when he attempted to sing in a
choir.
As of the fall 2010 season we have three bassoons and we are
delighted to welcome
Patty Knio, who comments
that, “From 1998 till
2006 I lived with my family in Lebanon where I spoke Arabic quite
terribly but learned to make pretty good hummus. I’m
glad to be home now where organizations such as RTOOT are possible,
as the Beirut Symphony simply wouldn’t have me.”
Jody Frank's bassoon began
playing with her
in
Chicago, moved on to Ann Arbor, then Christchurch (as in New
Zealand), and finally, after living in Raleigh NC almost 20 years,
they are able to play together again.
When she is not running cross-country, riding horses, or asking for
the car keys, high-schooler
Melanie Bennett enjoys
being mostly still and playing bassoon. You may
see her doing homework during long rests.
Our resident composter,
Enrique Varela also
plays the E-flat
alto sax whenever Mr. Hobgood takes the time to create a part for
him. Handel and Tchaikovsky did not write for alto sax.
From time to time, Mr. Hobgood himself joins the woodwinds section,
to play the clarinet, Terribly.