Victoria is one of the most exciting and versatile clarinettists playing in the UK today. She performs with natural flair and freshness on both the clarinet and the bass clarinet, engaging her audiences in every performance. She has a wealth of experience thanks to her activities as a Soloist, Chamber Musician and Professor of Clarinet at Trinity College, Guildhall and Goldsmiths College.
We’re proud to say that Victoria chooses to play Rico Reserve Reeds, and it was a result of this that Victoria was invited to visit Rico’s HQ in Sun Valley California.
The following is taken from Victoria’s Blog – which can be found here: http://victoriasoamessamek.com/blog/
Thoughts following a recent trip (blog posting)
I was on a visit to Howarth of London in January 2008 where for a variety of different reasons I had decided to change my brand of reeds and therefore was going to try lots of new types of clarinet reeds. It was here that I was introduced to Rico Reserve. Back in the 1970s as a student at The Royal College of Music, I had played Mitchell Lurie for a period of time and even when I stopped using Rico, I was never in any doubt that the cane and the consistency of the reeds was always extremely good. My concern was the length of the reed from tip to heel which was for me a cause for concern as I felt this single factor affected both how they played and how long they lasted.
It was therefore terrific news to hear that in fact Rico now used a French cutter and therefore this was not an issue anymore. I therefore went on to try the Reserves amongst many other known and more obscure brands. I was in no doubt – the Reserve clarinet reeds were the ones for me! From that day I have not played on any other reed.
What really impressed me was the consistency of the reeds. The cane looked good, the cut was clean and out of 5 reeds in a box I was getting far higher percentages than ever before. In the early days, I did have to change certain habits; not leave my reed on the mouthpiece after cleaning, and put the reeds in a box with the humidifier provided - which initially I put in a lunch box. I have since upgraded to Rico’s own reed case which has a pocket for the Humidipak. I have to admit this part of looking after the reeds did initially strike me as slightly faddish, but I quickly learnt that this was a vital part of the upkeep.
After playing on Rico Reserve clarinet reeds, and not long after, Reserve alto saxophone reeds, I was delighted to be invited by Jean-Francois Bescond to become a Endorsee for Rico reeds. It was an added pleasure to be working with Jean-Francois as we had worked closely when he was the artist liaison for Selmer (Paris). As a Selmer (Paris) clarinet endorsee for many years, I am always very pleased to endorse the products I have chosen to play on, be it instruments, mouthpieces, reeds or accessories, but I was especially pleased, so soon after becoming an endorsee, to be invited to feedback on not only the reeds, but other accessories. It is terrific to feel as an artist that my views are important.
It was in this capacity that I was invited by Sarah Lewis at Barnes and Mullins to try the H ligature. I have to admit that so soon after changing reeds I was reluctant to change my ligature, but almost straight away, the positive sound and response factor I felt from the H Ligature persuaded me that this bit of kit was staying on my mouthpiece! The final change during this earlier period was the Rico padded saxophone sling. Not a major change to the sound, but incredibly comfortable. I now also use this sling on the bass clarinet. I realised that I might be accused of becoming a walking Rico advertisement, however it is the product only and not the name which would ever persuade me to make any changes to my setup or indeed instruments.
One year on and having settled on my H ligatures and Reserve reeds, I have also been recommending Rico reeds and accessories to my students and colleagues. For me the fact that the reeds are good, that I have confidence in how they respond and that I have an understanding of how to deal with the first few days of a new reed, was all I needed. However with my responsibilities as a Endorsee, I accept that students, delegates on courses I meet and colleagues, need more facts and information to support my enthusiastic remarks which almost always end in ‘just try them and see what YOU think’. I was therefore delighted to be invited to visit the Rico factory in Los Angeles and indeed to meet the team and the management in the U.S.A .
Inside Rico headquarters
Coming from a cold January London, it was a total joy to find myself in the warm sunshine of Los Angeles – bliss!! But the warmth in which I was greeted by Rory Mazzela and Carlos Mejia and other members of the Rico team at the factory out-shone the sun outside. Carlos was assigned to take me on a ‘deluxe’ tour of the factory – from the museum room where it all started, into the present day factory floor and from there through every stage to the final boxing up.
Manager of Quality Control and Research - Carlos Mejia
What impressed me from the start was the openness in which Carlos told me of the various developments, processes which had been state of the art but had then been replaced by improvements and more improvements; always refining the process, always trying for a better reed. In every process I felt that a player had brought considerations which had played a hand in refining the improvements. But despite the clear pride which Carlos exuded, I did not feel there was any complacency. He was constantly referring to yet more new improvements which were being researched – this constant refining and refining to get as close as is humanly possible, when dealing with varying cane, to get the best results.
Rico museum
The tour started in the museum room where the cane selection took place, a simple process by today’s standards in which the cane was both selected for size – from clarinet to baritone saxophone and therefore set against different size half measuring rings, but also for quality. Selection or rejection was the initial crucial process - spot checked by what today we would call ‘line managers’. We then moved into the present day factory floor which still started at the cane selection. What I had noticed in my moving on to Rico and my recommendation of Rico reeds is people’s association of the name of Rico with the beginner orange box and the Rico Royal, so I was very interested to know about the difference in the cane. The response was simple, logical but incredibly important; for the Reserves and other professional reeds they use the cane closer to the base of the plant where the quality is better and the density higher, whereas the orange and Rico Royal reeds use the cane higher up, though even with these beginner student reeds, inadequate cane will still be rejected. I was then taken through the next series of cutting reeds and ‘check points’. Again with each process of cutting the reed, despite being done by a recently installed piece of machinery, the cutting process is followed by a digital image being taken and checked; if there have been any errors either in the cutting or again, cane inconsistencies, the reed is rejected. This process is applied to each of the many stages and left me really appreciating their message that ‘every reed counts’! If the overall cut or grain in the reed is not up to standard, the reed is rejected. Every process is followed by a photographic image check. One of the final processes before boxing the reed is one that impressed me very much; it was the final tip check, each reed is photographed and then set against a digital matching shape. Any chip or slightest inconsistency will cause instant rejection. Over the years, my frustration in opening a new box only to find a reed that is chipped is very frustrating to say the least, so this process is terrific – and to date I have indeed never found a damaged reed!
The Rico factory
From my first contact with the Rico brand, through to my re-acquaintance with Jean-Francois, meeting the UK representatives and most recently meeting the USA management and Carlos and Rory at the factory, it is not only the reeds but the company who show consistency and consideration to their artists and their customers. This is the start of a very fruitful and positive relationship and the element of ‘partnership’ is certainly one which I value. Alongside my encouragement to ‘just try and see what you think’, I can now support the confidence I have built over this last year of using Rico reeds with the facts. Each reed counts as do each of their customers and artists!