In his cabin in the woods, Baroque oboe-maker Sand Dalton carefully shapes the tone holes of a nearly completed instrument.

PHOTOS: MEG PARTRIDGE

Early Music America Summer 2006 29

HOW DOES A PROFESSIONAL musi-cian in Los Angeles end up on a

small island in Northwest Washingtonmaking replicas of an ancient wood-wind that dates back to Egyptian times?If you’re Sand Dalton, you start out asan art student, stumble on a notice for anew kind of school for the arts, hit itoff with a teacher who was a New Yorkmusician, and become captivated with aforgotten style of music. Twenty-fiveyears later, you’re one of a handful ofBaroque oboe-makers in the world, asought-after musician the CanadianBroadcasting Corporation calls “one ofthe leading Baroque oboists in NorthAmerica,” and a teacher.

Discovering lost soundsDalton credits his artist mother, Floy,

with instilling in him an appreciationfor all the arts. After his freshman yearat Sarah Lawrence College in NewYork, Dalton remembers, “I saw a littlead about a new school Walt Disney wasstarting up in Los Angeles called Cali-fornia Institute of the Arts. Disneyenvisioned it as a melting pot of thearts that would attract talented peoplein music, dance, visual arts, drama, andanimation.” Dalton transferred thereand studied graphic arts, printmaking,and figure drawing as well as music.

“Eventually,” Dalton says, “I shiftedmy focus to music because I got alongso well with my teacher, Allan Vogel.”While listening to recordings ofBaroque music played on originalinstruments of the mid-18th century,his ear picked up the great variety of

sounds in those early oboes. “A desirefor uniformity had steamrollered out ofmodern oboes the rich range that hadexisted for two centuries,” Dalton says.“I wanted to discover for myself thoselost sounds by learning to play the origi-nal instruments that created them.” Thegrowing popularity of Baroque music,however, had driven up the price ofantique instruments and caused a three-year wait for a copy of an original.

“The only way around that roadblockwas to learn how to make my owninstrument,” Dalton says.

Dalton bought his first set ofBaroque oboe drawings from Bostonrecorder-maker Friedrich von Huene,but the drawings alone couldn’t tell himeverything he needed to know to repro-duce the old instruments. “In the winterof 1977, I made the first of severaltrips to museums in Europe to examine,photograph, and take measurements oforiginal oboes,” Dalton says, “and asoften as possible, I played them, too.”After his travels and a short stint inBoston, he moved to Lopez Island,Washington, to work with his parents intheir cottage industry making Christmasornaments. He also launched his oboe-making business.

Working out the kinks It seems fitting that Dalton builds

historic woodwinds in a rustic 12-by-20-foot cabin just 50 feet from hishouse in the woods. “This is where I’llspend most of my time the next sixmonths building an oboe a musicianfrom Calgary just ordered plus a coupleothers I’m working on,” Dalton says,resting his tall, lean frame against thewaist-high workbench, three inches ofwood shavings cushioning his feet. Hisshaggy hair and beard, the same coloras his first name, are highlighted bysunlight streaming through the work-shop window. “After talking with thecustomer about the kind of music heplays,” Dalton explains, “I determinedwhich of the 13 models I make would

Sand Dalton, one of a handful of Baroque oboe-makers in the world, has put togethera satisfying career by combining his loves of art, playing music, and working with wood

Reviving a Lost Art, Recovering a Lost Sound

“A desire for uniformity had steamrollered

out of modern oboes the rich range that had

existed for two centuries. I wanted to discover for

myself those lost sounds.” – Sand Dalton

By Iris Graville

30 Summer 2006 Early Music America

be the best match for this particularmusician.”

Dalton runs his hand over stacked,foot-long, three-inch-square blocks ofyellow European boxwood, much as hedoes when searching out the rightpieces of wood for each of the threeoboe sections. “Boxwood turns well onthe lathe, but it warps easily. For theentire first month of the oboe-buildingprocess, I help each block of woodwork its kinks out in the warmth of asmall kiln,” he says, sounding like across between a therapist and a fitnesstrainer. “First I trim the corners off thesquare blocks on the band saw andshape them into long cylinders on thelathe. I put the wood back in the kilnfor another two or three weeks andthen shave more wood off the outside.”Though still oversized and rough, theinstrument is beginning to take shape.“A lot of what I do when I’m seasoningand machining the wood is to anticipateits movement,” Dalton explains. “Some-times, despite all those trips to thewarm kiln, a piece will warp beyondwhat can be used. Then it becomeswine stoppers…or kindling.”

Dalton bores out the inside of thecylinders that do survive and enlargesthe now hollow tubes with hand-builtreamers. He carves sockets and tenons,or projections, at the ends, so the partscan be twisted together. Then he drillsinto the oboe’s body, fashioning prelim-inary finger holes and slots for theinstrument’s two keys. “This stage isnerve-wracking,” Dalton says. “It’sanother time where things can gowrong.”

Once the golden wood has beenshaped into an oboe, Dalton stains it adeep brown through an old techniqueusing dilute nitric acid mixed with a lit-tle iron. Then the pieces sit in a warmlinseed oil bath for two days while Dal-ton uses a jeweler’s saw to cut theinstrument’s keys out of sheet brass orsilver. He files, polishes, and mounts thekeys when the oiled wood has dried.Finally, after 10 to 12 weeks of work,Dalton wraps the tenons with redsewing thread so the three sections willfit together snugly, thus transformingwood and metal into a nearly finishedinstrument.

Fine tuningThe hardest part, however, still lies

ahead – making a reed and tuning theinstrument. “Many original Baroqueoboes were preserved in museums,”Dalton says, “but their unique and frag-ile reeds didn’t survive.” Dalton explainsthat because so many of the oboe’splaying characteristics are determinedby the reed, re-creating this element isthe most important part of the processof building historical oboes. “It’s likecreating a new little instrument to puton top of the instrument I’m copying,”Dalton says. “The hollow cane I makethe reeds from looks like bamboo, butit’s the same material used for rattancane furniture. I trim and thin it into awedge shape, then tie it with thread to avery small brass tube that fits into thetop of the instrument.” Because reedsare so delicate and typically last only amonth, most oboe players learn tomake their own. Some are fortunateenough to learn this skill firsthand fromDalton at reed-making workshops inSan Francisco every summer.

At last the oboe is ready to tune.Dalton uses handmade knives and cir-cular files to enlarge the undersized fin-ger holes. “The basic purpose of thefinger holes is to shorten or lengthenthe oboe acoustically,” Dalton says.“The player tricks the oboe into think-ing it can be a lot of different lengthseither by covering or uncovering theholes, thus producing a musical scale.”Dalton plays many scales while sizingthe holes to ensure that the oboe canproduce the wide range of overtonesand octaves typical of concertos thatVivaldi, Handel, and Bach composedwith it in mind. Once the precise tuningprocess is complete, the oboe is readyfor the concert hall, and Dalton ships itto its new owner in Canada.

Satisfied customerJoanna Mendelsohn, former execu-

tive director of Seattle Baroque, consid-ers herself lucky to own an oboe builtby Dalton. Mendelsohn studied flute inDenver, but on her way to Boston in1984, she attended an early music work-shop. Mendelsohn remembers, “Ibecame completely smitten with theBaroque oboe.” When she learned that

Many of the oboe’s playingcharacteristics are

determined by the reed. “It’s like creating

a new little instrument to put on top of the

instrument I’m copying.”– Sand Dalton

Early Music America Summer 2006 31

Dalton was in Boston, too, she lookedhim up. “I told him I didn’t know any-thing about the Baroque oboe, so hedid a rent-to-own of one of his oboesand gave me lessons.” They’ve stayed intouch over the years, and Dalton fre-quently asks Mendelsohn to try outoboes he’s working on. “The one I ownis great,” Mendelsohn says. “Eventhough it’s ancient – 20 years old – andSand has just gotten better at buildingover the years, this one plays well. Peo-ple often comment on its evennessfrom the bottom to the top and itsbeautiful sound.”

While Dalton taught her to make herown Baroque reeds, Mendelsohn admitsshe continues to buy reeds from him.“Sand making his own reeds for hisown oboes is the best,” she says. “Andhe once told me, ‘As long as I’m alive,I’ll make reeds for you.’ That’s such aSand thing to say.”

Playing and building go hand in hand

Dalton is as dedicated to playing theBaroque oboe as he is to building it.“Playing and building go hand in hand,”he explains. “I do a dozen or so con-certs each year to put my instrumentsthrough their paces.” His performingand recording with Baroque orchestrasin Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, andVancouver, British Columbia, some-times take him away from home and hiswife, daughter, and son, but Daltonexplains, “it’s a critical part of my workand feeds my soul.

“I also love teaching,” Dalton says.Every year he leads a summer work-shop in San Rafael, California, andevery other year his Lopez Island Per-formance Seminar (LIPS) draws begin-ning and advanced musicians to hisown community. Joanna Mendelsohnattended the first LIPS and enjoyed themaster class in the morning and theensemble work in the afternoon. “Sandis a very generous teacher,” she says.“He wants people to succeed.” Andhave a good time doing it. “We’d playmore in the evening,” Mendelsohn says,“like a jam session until your lips falloff. There’s nothing much more funthan playing with a gaggle of oboe play-ers.” Mendelsohn’s description of the

seminar delights Dalton. “I get greatsatisfaction from knowing that becauseof my crazy obsession, people can keepthese lost sounds alive,” Dalton says.He hopes someday to lead a masterclass with Alan Vogel at his alma mater.“That would be a nice circle.”

Dalton combines his love of art, ofmaking music, and of working withwood into a satisfying career. “I’veevolved into doing this because that’swho I am,” Dalton explains. “I reallylove to play music, I like history, andthere’s also a part of me that needs toget my hands dirty.” He sees himselfdoing this work for many years tocome. “These early instruments andtheir music are still growing in populari-ty,” Dalton says, as evidenced by arecent order from Japan for 17 oboes.“It’s so old, it’s new.”

Iris Graville is a published freelance writer, amateurflute player, artist, and neighbor of Sand Dalton.She currently is at work, along with Lopez Islandphotographer Summer Moon Scriver, on a bookentitled Hands at Work – Photos and Profiles ofPeople Who Work with Their Hands. For moreinformation about Sand Dalton’s instruments, visitwww.baroqueoboes.com.