June was a really restless month during our COVID-19 situation. I felt ready for another project, so taking my love of La Folia, I reached out to several talented multiple woodwind colleagues, friends, and former/current students to see if they wanted to gather each week for a workshop that would crawl through Marais' "Les Folies d'Espagne" on their favorite instrument, the piccolo! We even had some "legit" players (flute's their primary instrument) join us. We met for 5 sessions;; 4 were workshops and the final one was a recital. 

I think it was a really successful event because of the enthusiasm (and shared challenges) of piccolo playing spread into my regular practicing. 

Currently I'm hosting another 4 week workshop with people of all ages. Keep in touch if you want to jump on board. Our 2nd meeting will be on Saturday 8/15! You can read more about the project here: Let's Play Marais!.

I came across a video of my performance of Robert Voisey's "Foolish Fantasies," a solo flute piece I chose for a Composer's Voice Concert Series event in Manhattan's Studio MC! How exciting! So I watched it and was thinking how AMAZING the series is for composers and performers. I mean, it celebrates new music written by composers you can skype/talk with and play for who LOVE what they do and appreciate those willing to perform what they wrote. Totally a win-win!

For this particular recital, Robert sent me a couple pieces written by himself as well as other composers to consider, so I went with the piece that I felt would have a life of its own with every person who has played it before and after. I posted the video below (not a world premier, but a NY premiere, I think), so you can contact Robert if you are interested in acquiring it.

​I heard that the Composer's Voice series may not be happening anymore, though I saw that my friends from the Maybrook Flute Quartet is engaged to play the next 15 Minutes of Fame concert. If you have details, let me know!

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Thanks to everyone who came out to New Brunswick last Saturday for the ACLU Benefit Concert "Winds of Change"! Organized by Rutgers University adjunct oboe professor Dr. Erin Banholzer and featuring Rutgers adjunct bassoon professor Dr. Christopher Wickham, Rutgers Director of Chamber Music: Extension Program and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra pianist Dr. Allison Brewster Franzetti, Del/NJCU/CUNY: Brooklyn College adjunct saxophone professor Todd Groves, and myself. We raised $1001!

We traveled to Hersey, PA to be the house band for the opening night concert of ITG 2017 which was streamed live at ITGConference.org. Just like the flute convention, trumpet enthusiasts, professional and amateur, made the trip to Hersey Lodge to begin a week of trumpet-centric events and performances. The evening's trumpet soloists were true masters of their instruments. 

Official pictures can be found here.

A highlight was catching Doc Severinsen leading a mass Aida fanfare arrangement and hearing that he attended our concert!

If you were one of the flutists at tonight's honor band rehearsal, I want to thank you for such a really fun evening. Your private teachers and band directors should be proud that you are fantastic flutists and really wonderful people. I was really impressed with your enthusiasm and smiles.

We went over several aspects of flute playing, flute culture, and flute life. I'll try to include some of the topics we covered. 

You can minimize cracking and strange pitch by anticipating the sound (and air pressure) needed for slower pieces that have large intervals that ascend or descend. Sing the melody, then play. 

Articulate with intensity when playing in a large flute section especially with staccatos and various types of accents. Practice the groove of a fast piece by clapping with intention and counting out loud. Play the rhythm with one note with the same dry sound you created when clapping. Try not to get behind the beat when playing isolated up beats.

Practice that double tonguing, but don't forget about single tonguing! Both are essential.

There are 3 ways to play Bbs: "Long" or 1 and 1, Thumb, and Lever. I think I'll write a separate post on that topic. 

Strive to play full range. If you've been told to not play what's on the page, especially if there's an 8va in the top octave, still practice it at home. 

Use your metronome and reduce the amount of beats to see how accurate you really are! This is great technique for learning a new solo and  band music!

Yes, circular breathing does exist for flutists though we don't have the advantage of having a reed or mouthpiece! Revolutionary flutist Robert Dick has a great book: Circular Breathing for the Flutist. Robert will be performing a at NJCU on Mon 2/8/16 at 7:30pm! Free! He's unique and absolutely worth hearing live! Maybe he'll play his Glissando headjoint!

Flute gatherings (flute fairs, flute days, flute conventions) are very common across the US and offer lectures, playing opportunities, competitions, concerts, and exhibitors that have  instruments to try and music/accessories to buy. Annual fees cover membership for the flute society and support the yearly publications and resources. A flute fair/convention fee covers the cost to attend  the actual day/s of the event. Students usually pay a smaller fee or teachers can often sign up his/her studios for a discounted rate. Here are a couple local clubs/societies that host a flute day or fair during the year:

National Flute Association (Flute Convention)
NJ Flute Society (Flute Fair Day)
NJ Annual Flute Choir Day (Flute Fair Day)
NY Flute Club (Flute Fair Day)
Pocono Flute Society (Flute Fair Day and also hosts a 1 week summer flute camp for HS-adults)
Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia (Flute Fair Day)
The Flute Society of Washington (Midatlantic Flute Convention in Virginia)

If you are a senior, NJCU would love to have you come audition in March. The academic scholarships are amazing and we would love you to check out the campus and to play for us! Visit NJCU Woodwinds for some specialized information for flutists!

Finally, hedgehogs are not as cute as they seem. 
 
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