More than 600 oboists and bassoonists are wandering the OU School of Music this week as OU hosts the 39th International Double Reed Society Conference.

The conference, which started Tuesday, features oboists and bassoonists, many who are professional musicians in orchestras and universities around the world, in evening concerts through June 26. It includes performances, master classes, lectures and exhibitors throughout each day. The events are open to anyone who registers, according to a release.

It is the first time for OU to host the conference, with a wide variety of people from around the world in attendance, said Johanna Cox, OU assistant professor of music and co-host of the event.

“An event like this is once in a lifetime,” Cox said. “It’s not every day we get to hear these people except at these conferences.”

The event is held in a different location each year and internationally once every three years. Last year, the conference was in Birmingham, England, Cox said.

Chris Johnson, doctorate of musical arts junior at the University of Memphis and bassoon player, is attending the conference for the first time. He said he has been looking forward to it all year.

“It’s the place to see what’s happening with the music, instruments, and innovation,” Johnson said. “Everything that’s good comes here.”

For attendees like Johnson, the opportunity to participate in workshops and other learning activities with woodwind players from across the country is something that will help them become a better musical performer, he said.

Another perk, Johnson said, is getting to see some of his favorites, who are top performers from around the world.

“A lot of the professionals that everyone listens to CDs of and learns from, they’re all here,” he said. “It’s kind of like AC/DC on tour or something.”

Tuesday night’s performance gave listeners a chance to hear some of these top professionals. They played their bassoons, oboes, contrabassoons and English horns to classic concerto pieces from composers like Mozart.

Flyers also were handed out to audience members in support of Sound & Fair, which is a, “campaign to realize a sustainable trade in African Blackwood through a fully-certified chain of custody linking village communities in Tanzania to woodwind instrument musicians in the West,” according to the pamphlet.

There will be a recital this evening with world-renown bassoonists William Buchman, William Ludwig, Kathleen McLean and Andrea Zucco. It also includes oboists Helene Devilleneuve and Nancy Ambrose King, according to a release.