Oboe Suite, H.390 - OB/PN

Oboe Suite, H. 390
for oboe and piano
by Leo Sowerby (1895-1968) - American composer and church musician

When Sowerby moved to Washington in 1962, he was inspired by the ideal of apprenticeship training for aspiring church musicians. The founding of a school based on that ideal however, involved not just teaching, but recruiting, public relations, fund-raising, and a plethora of other details for which the composer had little background or experience. Time for composing could easily have been non-existent, but for Sowerby's self-discipline. The oboe plays a major role in only two larger works coming from that first year in a new environment. First there was A Triptych of Diversions for organ, oboe, three strings, and percussion. Then, stealing three days from a cramped schedule, the Suite for oboe and piano was produced.