Who's Phil?

When I started ClarinetPages in February of 2008, I named myself Phil Pedler. At that time, I just happened to be working on a Pedler clarinet. I did not share my real last name because of security concerns having to do with the country which is the focus of my work as a Bible translator. Now that my visa is under different sponsorship, I can openly say that my last name is Fields and I am normally located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. My wife, Gale, and I work for Pioneer Bible Translators. Although our family previously lived in Indonesia, due to Gale's health, we no longer live there. Instead I work with my team via the Internet and visit Indonesia for six weeks in the spring and six weeks in the fall. In our 30-some years in the Lord's service, we have finished two New Testament translations. The first was for the Orya people in Papua, Indonesia (a group of 2,000 people), and the second in Indonesia's main language, the Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI), published in March 2014.

I encourage everyone to read the Bible all the way through every year! To encourage my own family and others in doing so, I started the Daily Bible Reading Podcast on January 2014. I record two Old Testament portions and one chapter of the New Testament every day in English (not Indonesian)— each session lasting 20 minutes. There are apps for smart devices which make listening easy. Test out the sample by clicking the player at the bottom of this page. You can receive regular updates about our work by visiting the Our Story tab at the Bible Reading site. My Facebook page is mainly for relating to people in Indonesia. I'm active in two Facebook groups. One is the Digging Deeper Daily group for the Daily Bible Reading Podcast. And the Friends of Albata group (Sahabat Albata) is where friends share about our TSI New Testament.

My wife and I like to listen to audio books in the evening. She knits, and I work on clarinets. The initial reason for making ClarinetPages.net was to help those who obtain one of my instruments to have a positive playing experience. Then the site grew as I wanted to give a review of the different clarinets that I have worked on. I hope that the reviews will be useful to people buying clarinets. I also want to assist parents, giving recommendations on such things as reeds, mouthpieces, instrument care, and give links to clarinet information on the web. I don't have time to deal with how to practice or how to play musically.

If you are a clarinetist, a music teacher, or a clarinet restorer, consider joining the ClarinetPages.info forum so that you can contribute information!

I enjoy returning older, good-quality wooden clarinets to top performance condition. Good hard wood is now scarce, and new wooden instruments are extremely expensive. I am most pleased when a student gets an instrument from me that will bring out his or her potential. And I am especially happy when I can put a quality instrument into the hands of a student at a school for missionary kids somewhere in the world.

I'm originally from Hutchinson, Kansas, and Gale is from New York State. We met in Boston, at The New England Conservatory of Music. In the States, we've lived in Kansas, Arkansas, Michigan, and South Carolina. Our son, David, and his family (children Luke and Laura) are here in Siloam Springs. We also have a daughter and son-in-law (Hannah and Brandon) who recently were working in Pakistan. Their children are Ava, Joel, and Devan. Our beautiful and not-yet-married daughter, Rachel, recently was serving in East Africa with Pioneer Bible Translators. She will be on home assignment for a while due to health concerns.

I have played clarinet since 1959. I majored in clarinet at Wichita State University, and give my thanks to my teachers, John Sumrall and Dr. James Jones. I have my MM in clarinet performance from The New England Conservatory. I owe a lot to my clarinet professor there, Joe Allard. After conservatory, I taught music for eight years before retooling to become a Bible translator. Now I just play various woodwind instruments in our church worship team.

During the times when I am in Indonesia each year, I will be slower in responding to messages. While there, I am usually able to connect to the Internet, but there are times when I leave all web connections for a week at a time.