For oboist Paul Chinen, this Sunday's solo solidifies a successful first year as a college musician. Not only did he land a coveted spot on George Mason University's Annual Honors Recital as an undergraduate freshman, among some of the most promising performers to come out of Mason’s School of Music, but Chinen is the only woodwind soloist.
'I was extremely happy when I found out I got a spot on the recital, yet, it was kind of a wake-up call that now I would need to practice extra hard to play my best for it,' Chinen replied.
Chinen will be performing the first movement of the Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra, which was composed by Richard Strauss in 1945. In preparation for the performance, MSG Robert Huffman, oboist with The United States Army Band Pershing’s Own, shared his research into the unique circumstances surrounding the composition’s creation with Chinen.
When oboist John de Lancie asked Strauss if he would ever consider writing for the oboe, Strauss didn’t express any interest in such an endeavor until nearly the end of WWII. Huffman said that 'even though Strauss' association with the Nazi party had been nominal (at most), he still had to be cleared of enemy suspicion. ... He decided to use this otherwise idle time to put pen to paper, [and] one month later, the Strauss Oboe Concerto was finished.'
Soon after, de Lancie received a clipping from Stars and Stripes (a compilation of American news articles to keep the troops informed) ... [which] stated that the great German composed Richard Strauss had just finished an oboe concerto inspired by a young American soldier. ... You can imagine the overwhelming surprise this must have been.
Chinen said he chose the Strauss Concerto because he enjoys 'how the piece is not just a flashy fast piece, but has many climactic points to it, which add character to the piece.' He is also grateful to Dr. Lorrie Berkshire Brown, his oboe professor, who, he says, 'felt it was a very diverse piece that would push me to work hard.'
Born and raised in Honolulu, HI, Chinen began playing the oboe when he was in sixth grade after his middle school director told him that he 'had a good ear, and should try oboe.' Chinen attended the Interlochen Summer Music Institute in 2009, and also was principal oboist with the Hawaii Youth Symphony for three years.
When Professor Anthony Maiello, Associate Director for Development and Recruitment, came to Hololulu as a clinician, Chinen admitted, 'I had never heard of Mason until he asked me if I would be interested in applying at his school. Then, I looked further into it, and that's how I ended up coming here [George Mason University].' In 2010, when Chinen enrolled at Mason, more than five thousand miles away from home, he quickly learned how to adjust his way of life, even when it came to how he made oboe reeds.
I didn’t realize how much the weather would change things. First of all, Hawaii is pretty much the same all year long, so having extreme colds and such a dry climate [in Northern Virginia] was rough. ... It was good because it helped me become more flexible with everything.
Last February, he performed the English horn solo in the Largo movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony with the Mason Symphony Orchestra, and was also a featured English horn soloist with the Gar-Field Senior High School Women’s Choir, which he added 'was a pretty fun performance as well.' Chinen said this year’s highlights also include: 'Playing in the American Festival Pops Orchestra, traveling to New York to meet Sherry Sylar, and [traveling to] California [as a Howarth of London Young Artist] to play in the Fall for Music master class with Joe Robinson.'
My plans for the summer are to return to Hawaii to visit and spend time with my family, who I missed so much. ... I also plan to play in some summer bands as well as the Honolulu State Pops Orchestra. I also plan to help at the Pacific Music Institute, a weeklong intensive music camp for high-schoolers. I hope to become a better player next year at Mason and get as many opportunities as I can as the years go on.
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