By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau
Tim Haas is more than ready to pick up where he left off with his clarinet.
The College of Fine Arts and Production adjunct instructor had been selected, along with former Grand Canyon University oboe instructor Dr. Rachel Messing, to perform "Hot Spots" by Daniel Dorff at the 2020 Clarinet Fest, sponsored by the International Clarinet Association, before it was canceled because of the pandemic.
They don't figure to miss out this year. They applied for this summer’s event, scheduled for June 30-July 3 in Fort Worth, Texas, and again were granted a performance slot.
“It’s a huge honor,” Haas said. “These conferences, they have some of the best players in the world coming to play. I went to a bunch of these in college, and to have the chance to play is a really huge honor.”
His role as a GCU instructor also makes it special.
“It’s a good thing for me to play at these things and it’s a good thing for my students," he said. "It’s always good as a teacher for me to in some ways lead by example.”
Haas plans to learn as much as he can from the conference and share that knowledge with his students. From conference sessions to meeting with instrument manufacturers and suppliers, Clarinet Fest offers ample learning opportunities.
“All of these things give me more knowledge of what’s out there and ways to become a better teacher,” he said.
The conference will bring together clarinet enthusiasts and instructors, and Haas is especially excited about talking with his peers.
“It’ll be great to pick their brain about what kind of things they do,” he said. “If I could get perspectives from other people who have been doing this longer at other universities … picking their brain and getting that kind of knowledge is huge and just helps me become a better teacher.”
Messing, who now lives in Texas, is looking forward to the opportunity to reconnecting with Haas and performing with him. She plans to visit the Phoenix area in April for another music opportunity and hopes to rehearse with Haas in person for the first time since her move in 2019.
“Our hope is to get together, reunite and revisit the music, and that way we'll feel better about meeting again this summer,” she said.
The piece they will perform stems from a successful Chamber Music Recital they put on in 2019. Dorff’s composition highlights the synchronicity of different instruments.
“It’s such a fun piece of music,” Messing said. “This piece in particular is quirky and unique but more relatable to modern audiences of various ages, and I think we do our best to make it playful.”
Messing believes it can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age.
“There’s definitely some personality to this piece that I think reaches a wider audience than some other contemporary music,” she said.
Contact Ashlee Larrison at (602) 639-8488 or [email protected].
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