Ann Hodge is the oboe and English horn specialist. She holds two Master of Music degrees: one in Oboe Performance and the other in Music History from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, completed in 1987 and a Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College (Ithaca, New York), completed in 1985. Ann was a freelance oboist in the Washington, D.C. area for many years and a member of the Arlington Symphony (Virginia) under the baton of Ruben Vartanyan from 1993-2008. She has spent many of the intervening years developing Hodge Products, Inc. and raising her family. Her husband, Alan, joined the company full-time in 2001. Ann and Alan are homeschooling parents of six children, five of which are grown. Recently Ann has returned more actively to the freelance scene, playing with the Lynchburg Symphony and throughout the central Virginia mountain region.
For reed comparison, Ann plays on a Loree FE series oboe with a bell modified to match the D series, and a Howarth English horn, paired with a silver-plated John Symer bocal. Both instruments are made of grenadilla wood.
Alan Hodge is responsible for technical support, facilities, and resourcing, among other things. He holds a Master of Arts degree (1987) in Education and a Bachelor of Science degree (1986) in Computer Science, both from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining Hodge Products full-time in 2001, Alan was a software engineer.
Tim Hodge is Ann and Alan's oldest son. He worked as an oboe cane processor between 2005-2012 and between 2012-2013 as Office Manager here at Hodge Products. We are happy to welcome him back in 2019 as Marketing Manager. In the interim, he was Managing Editor for Amos Media Company.
Tim's responsibilities include content marketing, SEO, alternative sales platforms, product photography, and videography among other things.
Tonya completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Old Dominion University in Virginia (2010). She has worked within the accounting industry for over 30 years. For a few years Tonya has owned and operated A Littl' TLC Antiques and Treasures, a local antiques shop with booths in shops located in Verona and Lexington, VA. To find her locations and learn more, follow her on facebook at "A Littl' TLC Antiques and Treasures" and stop by. Tonya is a proud local, having lived in the Shenandoah Valley all her life, and has one daughter.
Currently serving as Chair of the Department of Music Education, Assistant Professor of Music Education and Double Reeds at Liberty University, and Second Bassoon of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Dr. Watson offers a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we are delighted to have her joining us at Hodge Products.
Dr. Watson holds a doctorate from the University of Arizona, studying under Dr. William Dietz. Her Master’s degree, Magna Cum Laude, is from the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule, Duesseldorf, in Germany, under Gustavo Núñez. Dr. Watson also holds a B.M. in Bassoon Performance from the University of Minnesota, studying with John Miller and Norbert Nielubowski. Additionally, she studied under Marc Engelhardt, Professor of Bassoon at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. While her degrees are in Bassoon Performance, she has studied Oboe as a secondary instrument for over twenty years with Dr. Amy Burgus, Jennifer Bernard, and Dr. Rebecca Mindock.