Concert oboist and writer Blair Tindall (1960 - 2023) completed the first draft of the 2005 memoir Mozart In The Jungle, which was adapted into a hit 2014 comedy-drama series on Amazon Prime, in residence at MacDowell. Mozart In The Jungle would be published by Grove Atlantic Press the next year.
Tindall was an oboist for the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s before turning her experiences in the classical music world into the best-selling and critically lauded memoir. The book was optioned by actor Jason Schwartzman, who with his cousin Roman Coppola, director Paul Weitz, and Broadway director Alex Timbers created the Amazon series. The show, which starred Lola Kirke, Gael García Bernal (who won a Golden Globe Award for his performance), Bernadette Peters, and Malcolm McDowell, ran for four seasons (2014-2018). The series won a 2016 Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series.
Tindall also performed on various film soundtracks including The Inkwell, Crooklyn, and Malcom X. Her cover story on John Steinbeck's tidepools appeared in the May/June 2004 issue of Sierra Magazine.
Portrait by Christian Steiner
