“I would like to thank all at Cambridge Woodwind Makers for another enjoyable course. It was great to be back in the workshop and to learn some new techniques. I am pleased with the finished instrument. I haven’t been able to play it yet but I have a reed on order and hope to try it out soon.”
“I really enjoyed the course a couple of weeks ago on recorder knowledge. It was a good reinforcement that what I was doing was correct and also it has challenged me to look further at the instrument and be able to offer further services in my business. Jacqueline is an excellent communicator….”
“…jolly good event into which I’m guessing you put a lot of work. I really enjoyed and had some really good chats with punters and makers so productive for me. I do like the coffee facility and the coffee is superb.”
“Just to say thanks ++ for organising such a superb day yesterday. It is a great testament to what you have achieved that while other courses are closing, you are able to get together such a gathering of top makers and an interested public of all ages in such a splendid workshop. (And that gun drill is wicked!).”
” Adam was superb, both as a teacher and a technician, and, yes, he must come back as often as he will. In the yearly world of oboe reed making two or three intensely focused w/ends are so much more beneficial than the odd half day… ”
“Just a message of thanks for everyone involved in the brilliant course this weekend. It was exactly what I had hoped for. As a complete novice I wanted to make sure I started off with a good foundation to build on. Adam’s clear explanations and relaxed and generous teaching style provided just that. Making reeds seems like a black art to those of us that have never tried and now it seems possible that I might with practice actually manage to keep myself in playable reeds. It was a great weekend in lovely surroundings. Thank you.”
“I really enjoyed the reed course with Adam Shapiro last weekend. I learned a great deal and enjoyed it very much – plus the spring sunshine. The classic car gathering on the Sunday was also a very interesting aside.”
“Many thanks once again for giving us the opportunity of a splendid, instructional couple of days in company with Adam.”
” Sebastien, his dad, and his grandparents, would like to tell you what a lovely morning we all had at your woodland whistle making class on Saturday. We all appreciated your great approach to the children, assuming that they would be capable of using the tools and giving them the freedom to learn by doing it themselves. To come home with a Swanee whistle was a bonus and was proudly displayed to Sebastien’s younger cousins later on. I am sure we will see you again one day but in the meantime, thank you very much indeed for Saturday. ”
“Just a note to repeat my thanks for your outstanding reed-making course. Your encyclopaedic knowledge of all things oboe combined with your teaching skills and enthusiasm made it a most enjoyable and valuable couple of days that far exceeded my expectations. Not only did you manage simultaneously to demonstrate modern and baroque reed-making, but you also managed to give each of us 1:1 time tailored to our individual needs. I now have a clear ‘recipe’ to make reeds for my particular baroque oboe, a couple of reeds to use as inspiration and several staple suggestions to try for myself. Fantastic!….In the meantime, thanks +++ for giving so generously of your time and expertise.”
“I have just returned from the (as you predicted) excellent course run by Jacqueline Sorel. It was exactly what I needed as an amateur recorder player, enabling me to understand the principles of the instrument and how to care for it to keep it in top condition. She is a first-rate teacher and, clearly, a first-rate craftsman. Very interesting to compare her recorders with my 40-year-old Moecks. Many thanks for laying on the course.”
“It was a fantastic afternoon! We loved it! She was fab with the children and very passionate about what she does.”
“Thank you very much for a most enjoyable day today. I feel far more confident now in looking closely at my instruments and assessing how they are working. I was amazed what a difference a tiny adjustment made. I would certainly have turned a screw through 90 degrees if I had had the courage to turn it at all, and now I know how tiny the adjustments need to be.”
“Are you pleased with the course and the result of the course?”
“Absolutely! Not only with the quality of the clarinet and the amount of information learned, but also with the horizon-widening mind set and approach.”
“The course I want to say that it was 100% perfect. From Monday to Friday was sufficient, Wednesday in the pub and Thursday grilling was very fitting. I would not change anything from my side”
“I really enjoyed the course …. I felt I learned a lot in a short time”
“I enjoyed the course immensely. It was well run and great fun.”
“I thought the workshop was excellent and suited our needs perfectly.”
” …the highlight was seeing those beautiful flutes from history I’ve read about and never thought I’d get to see in real life.”
“Thank you for organising this most enjoyable week! There’s nothing like hands-on experience.”
“I really enjoyed the trumpet making course and am very pleased with the end result. I was practicing on the trumpet earlier this evening and know I will get a great deal of pleasure in learning how to play it in the future.”
“It was both informative and rewarding and the ability to get one’s hands dirty stripping the mechanism of an oboe without the fear that it wouldn’t go back together again was a rare opportunity.”