Georg Rieger Academy | Pipe construction weekend in Gaggenau with Prof. Ralf-Jörn Köster
in the premises of Georg Rieger GmbH in January 2024
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 11:00 – 19:00
Sunday, January 19, 2025, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
On both days of the course, the basics of oboe reed construction will be deepened and completed under the guidance of Ralf-Jörn Köster (author of the books “From the Wooden Rod to the Oboe Reed” and “Reliable Reeds”).
Program: On the first day of the course, I will explain the individual work steps step by step, which we will then practice and implement directly. We will cover selecting the right wood, planing, shaping, and binding the reeds. Before we cut the reeds, I will introduce various reed shapes and sleeves and explain the differences and properties in more detail. It is particularly important to me that I address the individual needs of each participant and offer helpful tips for building reeds specifically for your requirements. At the end of the first day, your bound reeds will be prepared so that we can begin scraping or external planing the next day. Johann Rieger (GEORG RIEGER GmbH) will enrich the first day of the course by providing comprehensive information on tools and materials.
On the second day of the course, we will focus on manual scraping, but also on the useful support provided by the external planer. Johann Rieger will present Rieger's wide range of templates and explain the advantages of the external planer in more detail. If you have your own external or internal planers, you can sharpen and service them on-site (please register in advance). Especially in situations such as auditions, reed auditions, or everyday professional use, oboe reeds are in demand that not only function reliably but also perfectly support your own sound concept. Therefore, I offer individual consultations to address your specific requirements. After the lunch break, we will devote ourselves to testing the manufactured material and work on producing reeds that you can truly rely on. Students are asked to prepare two standard orchestral passages or two different openings of a sonata or concerto, which will be communicated to me in advance. I look forward to an intensive and educational weekend with you!
Target group: This reed making weekend is aimed at students, professional oboists and ambitious amateurs who already have experience in reed making and would like to further deepen and expand their knowledge.
The lecturer: Prof. Ralf Jörn Köster studied in Düsseldorf at the Düsseldorf State University of Music and Performing Arts with Taskin Oray, graduating with a concert diploma. Masterclasses with Professor Winfried Liebermann and years of intensive exchange with him had a lasting impact on Ralf-Jörn Köster. Before joining the Nuremberg State Theater as principal oboist in 2008, he was already a student at the age of 23, first with the Remscheid Symphony Orchestra and for many years with the Würzburg Philharmonic.
He has been a solo oboist since 2003. He is a welcome guest at many renowned opera houses in Germany, where he has worked with conductors such as Kurt Masur, Joana Mallwitz, Pietari Inkinen, Alondra de la Para, Dan Ettinger, Oksana Lyniv, John Fiore, David Shalon, and Asher Fisch, among others. He has given regular concerts at home and abroad for many years with the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, the Munich Bach Soloists, and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, and has participated in numerous CD recordings with renowned orchestras. He was appointed to the Würzburg University of Music in 2003, where he taught in a variety of disciplines, from orchestral studies to methodology and reed construction. Between 2014 and 2016, he initially held a visiting professorship at the Nuremberg University of Music. Since then, he has led his own class and was appointed honorary professor there in 2024. In addition to his continuing teaching activities with his own class starting in the winter semester of 2016/17, Ralf-Jörn Köster published his first book, "From Wooden Rod to Oboe Reed," in 2016. The third, expanded edition was published at the end of 2022, providing further interesting specialist knowledge. Since 2017, this book has also been available in an English version entitled "Reliable Reeds." His book has since become one of the most important standard works in the field of reed making.