Ling-Fei Kang (oboe) and Charles Huang (oboe and English horn) started Oboe Duo Agosto in 2009. They are connected to each other not only by music, but also in marriage. On Monday, October 28, they came to Hubbard Performance Hall with Lisabeth Miller (soprano) and Patrice Newman (piano) to perform four songs that each in their own way told stories of love.
And the love of what these musicians do was evident for the student musicians that attended. The concert was sponsored in part by the Joseph S. Stookins Lecture Fund.
Ling-Fei has been teaching oboe at Loomis Chaffee for close to 10 years. She started playing in high school. “There was no oboe in the band,” Ling-Fei said, “and I stuck with it.”
Now she shares what she knows.
“Loomis is a wonderful place with great facilities. It is great to not only share my sound in the classroom but on this wonderful stage,” said Ling-Fei, who has performed in Hubbard before.
Lisabeth gave voice lessons at Loomis from 2005 to 2011, but she had never performed on the Hubbard stage. “This is quite an honor,” she said. Lisabeth has sung on both opera and concert stages and is the artistic director of the Hartford Opera Theater.
Patrice specializes in chamber music and art song, and she both performs and teaches.
Charles and Ling-Fei met at the Hartt School of Music. Who’s the better oboe player?
“Oh, geez,” Charles said, “we’re both wonderful.”
“Well, when I play the oboe, he’s on English horn, so it has to be me, right?” Ling-Fei said with laughter punctuating the end of her reply.
Charles said when he and Ling-Fei were enrolled at Hartt, students were encouraged to play in small groups with one another. “We realized this was something we really enjoyed,” he said, “and it was unique, and we would have to find our own repertoire because there is not a lot of music written for this combination. When we include other instruments, it gets easier and more fun, and we decided to make this concert happen involving our friends.”
Find a video HERE.