One Woman, A World of Music: Rhonda Larson in Concert

On Friday, April 20, the Rochester Flute Association welcomed Guest Artist Rhonda Larson in an intimate solo-flute performance entitled “One Woman, a World of Music,” at the First Unitarian Church in Rochester, New York. Accompanied by her “virtual band” (a sound system that provided backing tracks during the performance), audience members enjoyed a journey based on her travels, weaving stories and inspirations from her life, combining her classical training with musical traditions and flutes from the globe over, including C and alto flutes, a crystal flute, panpipes, a Scandinavian overtone flute, bamboo flutes and penny whistle. The musical selections—many composed by Ms. Larson—varied from Armenian folk songs (“Armenian Allure”) to a boat song from Nova Scotia (“The Boatman”), to pieces inspired by walks (“The Gift”), rivers (“The Way of the River”) and the openness of America’s West (“Montana”).  They were verbally announced from the stage by Ms. Larson whose charm, sincerity and wonderful story-telling combined with her flair and virtuosity as both flutist and composer made for a truly memorable evening.

Opening the performance was “Armenian Allure,” a mid-eastern influenced piece that she played on a bansuri, a bamboo flute.  Ms. Larson followed this with a welcoming piece she wrote for C flute that depicted the big skies of the West (“Montana”) by its long traveling phrases played with a clear resonant high register.  “Sweet Simplicity” featured joyful, beautiful articulation and phrasing combined with gorgeous soft high notes.  An infectious melody which she wished to rename “Dreadful Difficulty,” it is a piece to be added to any flutist’s library.  Ms. Larson shared a Scandinavian overtone flute with us on the next piece from 13^th Century Spain made of pear-wood with a haunting quality in timbre that fit perfectly within the context of the piece.

“Movin’ On”, the second piece she ever wrote, was played on C flute which featured fast leaping beautiful jumps down to her resonant low register, followed by a sad Celtic love song from Nova Scotia called “The Boatman” that was played on crystal flute. Ms. Larson finished the first half with “The Gift”, a melody that came to her following a three day walk in the New Hampshire White Mountains.

The second half of the concert opened with “Spirit Maiden,” a Native-American inspired piece she performed with three flutes which required an enormous embouchure (Ms. Larson humorously added, “It’s like going to the dentist!”).

Returning again to Nova Scotia, the next piece came to her while she was sailing in Cape Breton and featured crystal flute, penny whistle and C flute.  Ms. Larson lives part of the year one hour north of Rome, Italy, and shared with us a piece from 14^th Century France she often plays for lute and recorder in a medieval festival there.  She performed it on an 1869 Meyer Flute with an ivory headjoint that had a woody, warm sound.  The second half also included “Be Still My Soul”, a piece Ms. Larson wrote a few years ago while practicing in a quintessential New England Church in Connecticut with a particularly beautiful moment when she sang and played simultaneously, and a tune from the Celtic region of Northwestern Spain which she performed with the ensemble Milladoiro. The last piece, “The Way of the River,” performed on C flute and written by Ms. Larson, was Celtic-inspired and homage to her love of rivers.

As I left the performance, I thought about Ms. Larson’s piece titled “The Gift.”  This flutist’s ability to combine incredible virtuosity with a unique voice that is only hers is truly a gift for all of us, and the Rochester Flute Association would like to extend a special thank you to Ms. Larson for such an unforgettable and inspiring evening.

Photos courtesy of Rochester Flute Association

© 2012 Laura Lentz

Texas Tour of “The Flute on Its Feet”, March 27-30, 2012

TEXAS TOUR OF “THE FLUTE ON ITS FEET”
March 27-30, 2012; features Zara Lawler and C. Neil Parsons

The Flute on its Feet is a virtuoso tour de force that includes classics of the flute repertoire, new works by American composers, and pieces choreographed for flutist/dancer Zara Lawler (www.zaralawler.com) by innovative choreographer C. Neil Parsons (www.cneilparsons.com). The Flute on its Feet offers audiences a new and truly unique experience within the world of classical music: instrumental performance of the highest quality fully integrated with dance, theater and storytelling. The Flute on its Feet will be in residency in Denton, TX from March 27-30, with public performances on March 29 and 30.

Zara Lawler has created a new genre of performance that defies definition, and never fails to engage and delight her audiences.  Dance and story create new entry points into the music for the uninitiated; for the experienced concertgoer, they illuminate the music in a profound and moving way.  At once groundbreaking and inviting to new audiences, Lawler offers a new performance standard for the 21st century.

SCHEDULE OF DENTON RESIDENCY:

March 27-29:  Zara Lawler and C. Neil Parsons will be guest artists at Texas Woman’s University Arts Triangle, Denton, TX, teaching workshops and leading master classes on interdisciplinary performance with drama, dance and music students, culminating in a performance they will co-create with students on March 29.

On Thursday, March 29 from 5-7pm as part of the Arts Triangle (www.twu.edu/triangle/) event, Lawler and flute students will lead the audience from station to station in processionals from Lawler’s E Pluribus Flutum. It is a walking tour, and the processionals are scheduled to lead people from the Pioneer Woman Statue (Texas Street and Oakland Avenue on the campus of TWU in Denton) to the Margo Jones Performance Hall for a final performance at approximately 6pm. The program will feature Lowell Liebermann’s 8 Pieces for flute, alto flute and piccolo, choreographed by Parsons; Fantasies (music by Telemann, choreographed by Parsons) and a mini-performance piece co-created by Lawler, Parsons and selected students (to be based on a haiku by Japanese poet and haiku master Matsuo Basho).  All performances on this day, and a reception afterwards, are free and open to the public.

On Friday, March 30, Lawler and Parsons will conduct a performance/workshop from 1-3pm at the University of North Texas, Denton, TX. The event will take place at the Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater on the UNT campus, on Avenue C between Highland and Chestnut Streets.  This event combines performance with interactive activities designed to introduce music students to the world of interdisciplinary performance. Audience members will get an inside look at how Lawler and Parsons’ unique performance style is created.  The duo will perform the same pieces as at the Arts Triangle (minus the student-created work), as well as This Floating World, a solo for flute by American composer Edie Hill. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://cemi.music.unt.edu/places/meit

The Rochester Flute Association presents Rhonda Larson in Recital plus Two Masterclasses (April 20-21, 2012)

 

“…Once every generation there comes along a transformative force that breaks all the industry rules. Larson wields her instrument like a blow torch, breaking down our Victorian preconceptions of what the classical flute should be, how it should sound and where it should take us…This intensely gifted flutist needed little more than her native Montana charm to win the hearts of the packed house.” –Connecticut’s VOICES review

“One Woman, a World of Music” Recital

Friday, April 20, 7:30 pm, First Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Rd. South, Rochester, NY

Tickets: $15 adults ($12 members), $10 students/seniors ($8 RFA)

Rhonda’s intimate, multi-faceted solo flute show features an assortment of flutes from around the world, as well as the European

flutes, in a soulful mix of sacred, classical, folk, Celtic, and ethnic music.

Creating a new identity in the performing arts

The title of this post is my vision statement. My 5 year goal is to create a new identity for myself as a physical therapist, Andover Educator, flutist, teacher and writer. How did I get on this path and how do I plan to do it all?

Musicians are quite accustomed to wearing many hats. In addition to just loving music and wanting to engage with it for a living, I’m also attracted to how my routine isn’t so routine. I can be doing any number of different things in a normal day, and I love that. It keeps things fresh.

So maybe you’re saying, “OK. I get that you’re a flutist, teacher and writer but what’s an Andover Educator and how is physical therapy related?”

2012 Cortona Sessions for New Music in Cortona, Italy! Deadline 3/15/12

The 2012 Cortona Sessions for New Music will be held from June 17 – July 1 in Cortona, Italy.
This 2 week festival in bella Tuscany brings young composers and performers together from all over the world.

Its mission is:
-To encourage new relationships between composers and performers
-To offer exciting new ways of thinking about and expanding the role of music in the 21st Century
-To inspire future future musical collaborations
-To provide the highest level teaching possible and help each participant further develop their individual gifts

Participation in the Sessions includes:
private lessons – masterclasses – group coachings – nightly recitals – excursion to Florence – optional wine tour -
daily lectures – symposiums

Please check out the festival website: www.cortonasessions.com for more info. The application deadline is March 15.

From Mary Fukushima
Cortona Sessions Artistic Director & Flute Faculty
DuoSolo Foundation VP
Lecturer of Flute – Pittsburg State University

Are students who don’t want to learn classical music insubordinate?

There is a thread on the FLUTE discussion list right now about a student who prefers to play pop rather than classical. A flute teacher wrote asking for advice about what to do with this particular student, wondering if she should drop the student or if others could offer advice about how to deal with this student.  This student, mind you, LOVES (this is the teacher’s description) the flute and practices/plays a ton. So what is the problem?

Claire Chase with the International Contemporary Ensemble — Claire’s CD Release Concert & Party!

Claire’s CD Release Concert & Party!

Tuesday, January 17 at 6:30pm at (le) poisson rouge

And if you can’t make it in person, LPR will be streaming it live online! http://concertwindow.com/lpr

About Claire Chase with the International Contemporary Ensemble

Flutist and ICE founder Claire Chase celebrates the release of her second solo album, “Terrestre” (New Focus), featuring the world premiere recording of Kaija Saariaho’s miniature flute concerto “Terrestre” alongside classic 20th century works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Franco Donatoni. Also featured is the world premiere recording of Dai Fujikura’s haunting bass flute solo, “Glacier.”

With: Jacob Greenberg, piano; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

Program:
“Terrestre” by Kaija Saariaho
“Glacier” by Dai Fujikura
+ music of Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Franco Donatoni

 

Image and info from http://concertwindow.com/lpr

Keith Underwood Masterclass with Brazilian Percussionist, Vanderlei Pereira, 1/13 in NYC

Dear IPAP Flutists,

Keith Underwood will be presenting a masterclass with Brazilian percussionist Vanderlei Pereira.  This information is from Mary-Ann Tu and she can be reached at MasterclassesNYC.com or maryann.tu@gmail.com.

Registration info is below.

Keith Underwood Masterclass with Vanderlei Pereira, Percussionist in NYC 1/13/2012
One of the most sought–after
musicians on the contemporary
Brazilian jazz scene, Vanderlei
Pereira combines a prodigious
knowledge of Brazilian rhythms
with impeccable technique and
a distinctive touch.

All instruments welcome! Class is “workshop” style so please
remember to bring your instrument AND A RHYTHM INSTRUMENT
such as an egg shaker, sticks …..
F r i d a y, J a n u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 2
1 0 : 3 0 A M – 1 : 3 0 P M
B l o o m i n g d a l e S c h o o l o f M u s i c
323 We s t 1 0 8 t h S t r e e t
New Yo r k C i t y, N e w Yo r k
To register, go to keithflute.com
Performer: $65
Particpant: $30
Webcast: donation
Walki-ins are welcome!
􀀸􀀰􀀳􀀬􀀴􀀩􀀰􀀱
If you’d like to ask Keith or Vanderlei a question, please email your question(s) to me.
If you wish to attend the live webcast, please advise by Thursday, January 12, 2012.

Wishing you a wonderful new year … and beyond … filled with joy, peace and music!

Mary-Ann Tu
MasterclassesNYC.com

Shoulder Circuit for Improved Flute Playing – Courtesy of Nick Tuminello

Today I bring you a post from Coach Nick Tuminello. He has written a whole series on the rhomboids, lower traps, and all those key areas that can be problem spots to musicians and desk jockeys alike. Whether you spend your day locked in a practice room or locked behind a desk and yearn to have strong shoulders and a pain-free back, this article is for you.

I can’t highly recommend this series enough. The rhomboids are a muscle that has become chronically stretched and weakened in our “bent over” society: when one bends over a steering wheel, table, computer or music stand the arms pull forward stretching the upper back muscles (and the rhomboids) forward when their main job is to contract and pull the shoulder blades BACK. This can cause weakness, pain and ultimately lead to injury.

The YTWL is a warm-up that I have been seeing and using for quite a long time, sadly, I hardly ever see anyone in the weight room using these movements and if I do, they do them incorrectly. Read and learn and if you want more detailed information he has a whole series on his blog, but he sums it up pretty nicely here.

How I Founded A Flute Choir

Flute Choirs are kind of new territory for me.  Sure, I played in them all through college, and in grad school even conducted them…but founding one once you’re out in the “real world”?  New ballgame.

After moving to Panama City, FL, I wanted to grow the flute scene here.  What I found is that there really wasn’t much going on.  And, to my annoyance and frustration, I found that I haven’t seen much effort or encouragement on the part of the band directors in this area either, so my job was doubly hard.  I started a Flute Day at a high school and that had a grand run of 3 times.  I think I had somewhere between 1-3 people show up each time?  Out of a county of hundreds of flutists?  They gave me the excuse of “well, the kids are busy.” or “they’re at the beach or they have jobs or or or or”.  I don’t care what the excuses are, the excuses are still excuses.  The kids chose not to come and the band directors chose not to make it mandatory.  In TN, where I come from, I would have had probably 20-50 students come because it’s just that important there.  You are EXPECTED to take lessons and go to extracurricular music activities, etc.  Here, I have trouble even getting the band directors too call me back.  They don’t make it a priority for their students, and the parents don’t see it as necessary, henceforth the kids don’t care much either.

So, seeing that there was a large  pool of people not involved gave me the opportunity to mope and say “woe is me, there are no opportunities, I can’t do anything here” or go in a different direction.
I went in a different direction!

I play in the Panama City Pops Orchestra, a community orchestra that is better than the average bear.  I feel very blessed to be able to play with them and have a good flute section.  So I started asking them if they would be interested in doing a flute choir.  They all said yes, they would commit and I asked around everywhere to see if I could find other adult members.  We have gone through some changes in personnel, but overall, these founding few have stayed with us and we’ve developed a choir!

What were my steps?

I am by no means an expert in this area and I’m learning more each day I go about this. But this is what I did and what I’m doing so far so that maybe you can learn from this as well.

1. Recruit members I asked around to find members, got their contact information and sent them all preliminary emails asking if they had preferences for times/days.
2. Find a Rehearsal Venue Found a band director that would let me hold rehearsals in their band rooms.  The school board has since decided they will charge groups wanting to use their facilities so we’ve moved to a choir member’s house for rehearsal.  You HAVE to find a place to rehearse!
3. Pick a Consistent Time This can be easier said than done.  We went around and around in trying to pick a time and a place and ultimately, since I was the leader, I had to make an executive decision and say when it would be.  If you cannot commit, I’m sorry.  We did our best to work with everyone’s schedules, but of course not everyone can be accommodated: be prepared for that.  We started out with an hour and realized that we just didn’t have enough time, so now we’ve migrated to two hours once a week.
4. Repertoire I was very fortunate in that all the flute choir music we have has been donated by various members.  Ask around, see who has trios, quartets or whatnot and use what you have.  Double parts.  Buy music only when you really need it.  If one person is generous enough to buy music for the group, great, but if not, don’t be shy about mentioning that we need funds to buy music, what can we donate to that fund and is there anything specific we’d like to get?  With rep, also be really aware of scoring.  We have a unique situation in that we have more instruments than members!  We have 2 altos, 2 piccolos, 1 bass and everyone has a C flute, but we only have 8 members, one of which is only in town for a few months out of the year.  So, 8 members and 13 instruments?  Kind of a neat problem to have…but then you look at how some pieces are scored and it’s for 6 C flutes, alto bass, piccolo, etc. and you don’t have enough people even though you have the instruments.  Don’t be afraid to double on trios and be the conductor, or transcribe parts from madrigals and choral music.  Put that music education/theory/instrumental class to good use!
5. Get Goals for the Group Do you just want to get together to play or do you want to perform?  Why are you getting together, what do the members want out of the group?  We’ve decided we want to perform, so after many rehearsals, go out and either find or create gigs.  My members mentioned a LOT of great places to play that I didn’t know about because I’m not from the area: the library has a grand piano and hosts groups, an historical house that hosts concerts, FBA meetings (band directors meetings), partnering with schools to play on their school concerts or at an orchestra concert, nursing homes, hospitals, local events and fairs, etc.  We are going to be performing 15 minutes at an FBA meeting, at a middle school concert (with the middle school kids joining us on a piece), a full concert at the historical house and as prelude music in the reception hall before the Pops Orchestra Concert. We have plans to submit to perform for the Flute Flute Association Annual Convention in coming years, but we need some local performances under our collective belt first.  Be creative.  You don’t have to have a full hour long concert where people just come to see you.  Your goal is to get in front of people and get known!
6. Set Deadlines and Be In Constant Communication After every rehearsal I send out an email to the group reminding them of what we did, what we need to work on and what we will do next week, this way they can be practicing and preparing for it.  I also let them know when our concerts are, remind them what we are going to be playing and since we’ve now committed to them, we have to be prepared to play at our highest level!  Don’t be afraid to set the bar high – set the bar too low and you’ll get what you asked for.  Set it high and be amazed.
7. Advertise I have included our name as a flute choir everywhere I can think of: on my blog, webpage, facebook notices, listed on the FFA website, NFA website – and I’ve had people find us to join us because of that.  Hobnob and network with various band directors and tell them to send you their star players.  Can’t get them commit?  Our next plan is to go play in the schools.  Get a middle school or elementary school assembly and play as a group or get your choir together and go on a school tour during the day, hitting a bunch of high schools.  Play for the kids, get them to ask questions, mention you teach lessons and you are an open group – they can join, and LEAVE SOMETHING IN THEIR HANDS or they won’t remember you were there when they get home.
8. Don’t be a Taskmaster, but Don’t Be Afraid to Say What Needs to Be Said or Do What Needs to Be Done Remember, people are doing this because they enjoy it, so don’t take a holier-than-thou approach or constantly criticize.  However, there is that fine line that needs to be walked because you don’t want to not criticize at all. Be tactful in pointing out mistakes or “opportunities for improvement”.  Ask for group feedback.  Step back every once in awhile and let them solve things.  Remember, this is your group if you want it that way, so you are the leader.  Lead, but still serve the group in leading.  Say what needs to be said in a tactful way.  Pick your battles, sometimes it’s the right time, sometimes it’s not, so walk the fine line of not being a taskmaster or a pushover.

These  are the things that I NEED to do now.

1. Advertise This one really never ends.  It doesn’t have to be expensive but it needs to be out there.  Try setting up a Facebook page, a Weebly free website for the group, maybe a blog with what you are doing, business cards or flyers.  Constantly be in contact with people and have your group at the forefront of their minds.
2. Get a Name and Get it Known we already have a name: The Emerald Coast Flute Choir, but is it known? That’s another story.  Let your members know you have a name and get them to hand out things and talk about the group with the name, not just “hey we have a flute choir and we could come play”.  It sounds much better to have a name.
3. Realize that you don’t have to be formal  If you want to look like the group in the first picture that’s fine, it depends on what your venues are and the image you want to project.  Us?  We live in a beach town, so while we want to be known as professionals, we don’t want to be too “professional” that we alienate our audiences, do you know what I mean?  Example: how we set up.  Due to how we rehearse and our limited space, we don’t play in a straight line.  We are more in a circle spread out around the room.  This has led to the thoughts of “how will we set up on stage”?  Considering we all have different parts at different times, it would get annoying to constantly be moving between pieces and honestly, I think we play better and are forced to listen more by staying in the same spot and standing next to someone who doesn’t have your same part.  So, we just might set up around the room instead of in a line.  We’ll see   Point is, be flexible and find what works for YOUR group.
4. Include the local musicians whenever possible We have pieces that call for instruments we don’t have like string bass, claves, various percussion instruments and narrators.  If you are going to a school, include their band director, the kids will LOVE seeing their teacher actually perform.  We have people coming from a town 2 hours away to play with us occassionally, include them whenever possible.  Again, be flexible and include your audience if you can.

Um, I’m sure there are more, but that’s what comes to mind.

Biggest thing that was a hurdle for me: picking a date to start and then just launching the thing and seeing what happens.  It won’t start if you don’t, so pick a date, be in contact and go for it!

Related articles

• A Flutist’s Self-Worth (innovativeperformanceandpedagogy.wordpress.com)
• 15 year old Annie Wu and Beatbox Flute (innovativeperformanceandpedagogy.wordpress.com)
• Exciting Announcement! (fluteangel.wordpress.com)
• NFA Recap (innovativeperformanceandpedagogy.wordpress.com)