Counting Rests
    One of the first things I teach at summer orchestral festivals is counting rests. I want the entire section to count in the same way so they can work as a team. When counting rests, I suggest putting the flute vertically on the right leg with the right hand on the right-hand keys. This ensures any moisture collected in the instrument flows onto the leg. If the flute is across the lap, there is a chance that the condensation will get into the keys and which can be disastrous. 
    Students should use the left hand to count measures. Put the left hand on the left leg and shape it as if holding a small ball. Count each measure by pushing down a finger (from the pinkie to the thumb). Only the fingers move, and the hand is stationary. When a rehearsal or letter number appears, everyone in the section (all flutes and oboes in orchestra) should slightly lift the whole left hand. If everyone lifts their hand at the same time, then all of the flutes (and oboes if in orchestra) know they are in the same place. Orchestral brass players, who have the most numbers of rests to count in orchestra, should count in a similar fashion to work as a team. 

Letters and Measure Numbers
    Works in the Classic and Romantic Eras placed rehearsal numbers at structural places in the composition. These might be at the beginning of the second theme in the exposition, again at the development, the beginning of the recapitulation, and again at the coda. The idea was to place the rehearsal letters at places where it would be easy to start rehearsing. Many modern composers number the bars and place rehearsal numbers every ten bars or so. I have always found this to be unmusical especially if the rehearsal number comes in the middle of a phrase. I once asked a composer why he did not follow the custom of earlier composers and put the rehearsal marks to match the structure of the music, and he said his composition teacher told him to be creative. 

Extended Number of Rests
    There are places in the repertoire where the rests are longer than a few bars. In these places there is a greater danger of making a counting mistake. When practicing the music for the first time, listen carefully to what happens in each measure (or check the score or a recording before the rehearsal). When you hear something that is memorable (i.e. the cellos enter), write that measure number in a small circle above the measure rest with the notation cellos beside it. 

Then you can check your counting against the handwritten reminder. Many books for musicals have these reminders already written in because the arrangers know that there is little rehearsal time for most pit groups and accuracy from the beginning is needed. 
    If the second flute part enters before the first flute, make a notation in the music. Flutists are used to entering together, so when one part takes the lead, a reminder is helpful. 
    Since much of the music flutists perform is in eight-bar phrases (or less commonly in six-bar phrases), students can count in phrases as a check to measure counting. This is especially useful with Classical symphonic minuet and trio movements. While there are many ways to count rests, the important thing is to pick one and have the discipline to do it the same way every time. 

When Something Goes Wrong
    Inevitably there are times when a player is resting, and someone else makes a mistake while playing. If the player does not know the music well, and especially if there is not a conductor, it can be very difficult to know where to enter. The previously mentioned reminders, as well as writing in the rhythmic notation played by the other instruments during a rest, can help resting players re-enter even though mathematically it is not the right place. Players get nervous. They skip beats or rush or drag. All of which can make counting rests more difficult. 
    In the less usual time signatures such as 5/8, 7/8 etc., it is helpful to make a notation above the measure as a reminder to whether the 5/8 will be a 2+3 or a 3+2. Periodically I have seen flute parts where the mixed meters were not indicated in a 17-measure rest. Without this information, there is no way to count this part accurately. You have to know where the mixed meters appear in the duration of the 17 bars. Composers should take care of this, but sometimes they don’t. Check the score to remedy this issue. 

A Few Examples of Trick Spots
    Take a look at a couple of bars from John Adams’ Chamber Symphony. The beam connects the stems of notes and helps players quickly see where the principal beats are in a measure. However, at the tempo indicated in this example, by the time you have figured out which beat you are on and the correct subdivision, it is too late. The rests will slow you down. This place is not one to sightread.
    Writing the counting 1 + 2 + 3 + 4+ helps you play with accuracy. Another way to indicate the beats is the telephone pole method where a straight line is drawn on each beat. 

John Adams Chamber Symphony,
I. Mongrel Airs, quarter note = 120-124, mm. 93-94

    Notice how the lines aid in placing the notes correctly in the example below. 

John Adams Chamber Symphony,
III. Roadrunner, quarter note = 152, mm. 1-3

The Simple Rests
    As many a great musician has said: if it can be subdivided, it must be subdivided. Look at the following accompaniment passage. It looks quite simple on the page. You play on one and then again on three. However, notice the tempo of quarter note = 40. Most players cannot keep a steady beat at 40 but can if they subdivide to 80. 
    This beat is much easier for most people to keep steady because it is closer to the rhythm of a heartbeat. Subdivision is the key to playing this accompaniment rhythm accurately and sensitively. In fact, most good musicians will subdivide when counting the eighth notes at 80 to be sure the attack is on the beat and not before. 

On Counting
    Nadia Boulanger, the brilliant composition teacher of Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland among others, wrote, “To live you have to count. One who counts best lives best. One should be a saint to be a true teacher. The eyes give food to the hands.” Teachers often feel they spend an inordinate time teaching and correcting counting. It is one of the most noble things they do because without this skill students will never be able to play well with others.  

The post Solving the Problem of Rests appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    “I can’t believe she gave me 6th part on this piece. It is all in the low register.” 

    “Doesn’t she know I hate playing high notes?” 

    “I’m first chair in my school orchestra, so I should play first in flute choir too!” 

    “This part is boring. I think I’ll stay home for next week’s rehearsal”

    “I must not be valued in this group because all I have are inner parts.” 

    I imagine almost all directors have heard these or similar remarks. Some of us who play in flute choirs have probably had some of the same thoughts, whether voiced or not. 
    Within the last 30 years, flute choirs and flute orchestras have become a joyful creative outlet for flutists who love music and want to play, even while having jobs in other fields. Flute choirs provide musical growth, an opportunity to perform and wonderful friendships. 
    Community flute choirs tend to have players with a wide range of abilities, while college ensembles are more likely consist of flutists at similar proficiency levels. One of the other big differences between the two types of groups is time and motivation. Community choir members have to carve out practice time from a schedule that is not usually devoted to music. College students are at the point in their lives where music is their main focus, and they are practicing for maximum flute progress. Blended choirs of college students and community members make for even larger ranges of abilities. 
    Coming into flute choir for the first time, players will find it is a completely different experience from band or orchestra. In flute choir all of the parts are covered by players of the same instrument. Altos and basses are a subset of the ensemble, whether the group has players who love and only want to play big flutes or whether those part assignments are rotated.  
    When assigning parts many things should be addressed by the director. How many players does it take to play the piece? Is the music a reasonable fit for the ensemble as a whole? How much doubling of parts is reasonable? How can I as director make the music sound best? 
    That last question is at the heart of the issue with part assignments. Almost every choir has a few really strong players and some weaker ones. Directors have to consider how to take advantage of everyone’s strengths while being fair to all players so it is a good experience for everyone. 
    First, it is tremendously important to develop a mutual desire for excellence in the choir. The group should be a unit of cooperative musicians, rather than an ensemble of soloists. Members should be ready to use their skills for bringing out the best in the music. Most choir directors talk about this at the first rehearsal of the semester, but putting the principle into practice requires some care and thinking. Part assignments play a large role in getting the balance right. 
    Carol Kneibusch Noe was the first flute choir director I ever met and played for. She taught me to assign parts from the bottom. Noe put more players on the lower C flute parts and sometimes only put one player on the top C part. As a result, the sound of her choirs was rich and lush. Today’s choirs tend to have more basses and altos and even contrabasses of several sizes to help make the foundation of the choir strong. While doubling of low register parts is still a good idea, it is usually not an absolute necessity if the choir has big flutes. She also assigned each player in the group a different part for each piece, so everyone had a chance to shine (or sweat). In that way she kept all of the players interested. 
    Here are a few things that I have tried that have worked best for my groups although there are really no hard and fast rules. Each director has to decide what works for the choir and the players. 

The Strongest Players
    Many flute choirs are blessed with a few outstanding players who can play anything beautifully. Yes, some of them may have a bit of attitude, but their performance on any part will assure that the assigned music will be covered excellently. I do not put too many of those wonderful players on the same part because they can be overpowering. I try to give them parts that fit their strengths. One or two will have high singing lines, and perhaps in the same piece one or two will have the low, sonorous lines. I put a couple of the strongest players who have lots of rhythmic verve on the middle lines that tend to be mushy. They can really make a huge difference there. Occasionally, I will assign one player to a part alone so he or she can sing and play more soloistically. In rehearsals, it is a good idea to point out what those players with powerful low registers are doing for the overall sound. The first part may or may not be the big cheese. 

Players in the Middle
    Pay attention to the strengths of each person. Frequently, there are players who are very good in one area but not in another. For example, player A has a lovely tone, but she is technically limited. Player B has fantastic technique but his sound is not so great. Player C has great tone and technique, but her intonation is out the window. Those players require a great deal of thought when assigning parts. Most of the time, it is a good idea to put them where they are strongest. However, at least one or two pieces on each concert should be a stretch in their weaker area. This is a good way to help them improve their skills. 

Weaker Players
    In most community choirs there are also usually several players who are not particularly great, but they love to play. They are also often the ones who practice the most diligently. They should be paired with stronger players  so they can hear how the music should sound. These flutists often play decently, but their music reading is not up to par. Putting them on a part with a strong player allows them to learn the part faster and play better. When assigning parts to these players, be sure to study the score and determine which part is easiest. Because their low register is not as well developed, a middle part may be a better choice.  
    An excellent player who is assigned part six of six may be a little taken aback. Explain that the group needs beautiful sound and rhythmic integrity there for this piece, and that the assignment is essential for creating the overall sound. (It doesn’t hurt to give the player Flute 1 on the next piece.) 
    On three occasions, I have had flute choir members ask me why they were assigned lower parts. There were three different discussions, and two of them were successful. Player A sent an email asking why she was always playing the bottom parts. I let her know someone had told me she did not like to play high notes. When she assured me that was not the case, I apologized and assigned her a variety of parts. Player B had the same question. In her case it was an oversight. I apologized and remedied the situation immediately. Player C sent a letter claiming she was not receiving the two first parts per concert she was entitled to. Actually, she was not able to sustain notes above the second octave, and her technique was not well developed. I explained my method of tailoring the part assignments to the individual. Her response was that I should program easier music. Unfortunately, I was not able to satisfy her and she left the choir a short time later. 
    Sometimes it is easy for players to see why they are given certain parts. Sometimes they need to be told. Figuring out each situation is one of the challenges of directing a flute choir. When making part assignments, keep the focus on how to help every player perform and contribute their best and make the overall ensemble successful and fun. 

The post Assigning Parts appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Commit
    If you join a flute choir, commit to being there. Rehearsals are important for learning to play well together and to improve your skills. If you must miss more than two rehearsals, sit the concert out. Be sure your flute is in good working order and that you have checked the placement of your cork recently. Work with a tuner at home so you know the pitch tendencies of your instrument. 
    Bring a pencil to all rehearsals. When the conductor speaks, write down suggestions in the part so you remember what to do from one week to the next. Write down at the beginning of each piece who, besides the conductor, you should look at to start. Mark instructions about fermatas. Is the cutoff the new preparation or will there be another? Circle rests in which no one plays. At the concert, you do not want to be looking around to see who starts after the pause. 

Be Agreeable
    Accept any part you are assigned to play. Everyone can’t play first on each piece. You may find that playing harmony is actually quite satisfying. Or, that part 5 has a big solo in the low octave and needs a player with this quality. Playing the bass line will develop your ear and help you learn more about theory. As a director, I prefer when flutists can play all flutes rather than specializing on bass or alto. The flute choir will be better musically if all players develop first flute skills. 

How to Sit
    Flutists who have had more recent training generally sit with the chair positioned 45 degrees to the right with the torso to the right and the head turned to the left with the end of the flute forward. Give this position a try if you learned differently, and you may find that your neck and back no longer ache after playing. This is especially true for those playing alto and bass flutes.  

 
Fox Valley Flute Choir

Warmup
    Most flute choirs spend between 15 and 30 minutes on a group warmup. Note these exercises in your flute journal and practice them during the week. With time, you will be able to play scales, thirds, arpeggios etc. in all keys easily and quickly. If your conductor does not spend time with a warmup, during the week practice from either the 17 Big Daily Exercises by Taffanel & Gaubert or The Flute Scale Book by George & Louke. They cover five-note patterns, scales and modes, thirds, arpeggios, seventh chords and so forth. If you suffer from rhythm issues, look at one of the rhythmic band book studies by Grover Yaus. 

The Attack
    Older musicians tend to play late on the beat, while younger ones are early. Playing on the beat is the goal for flute choirs. The key to playing on the beat is for everyone to subdivide. However, being able to subdivide and play at the same time can be tricky, especially if you are coming back to the flute after a long break. Buy a metronome with a voice function and set it to speak the subdivisions of what you are working on. Hearing someone else counting aloud will help you learn to count in your head. 
    The style of tonguing has changed in the U.S. Most older players were taught to tongue behind the top teeth. However, tonguing behind the teeth allows some air to escape, producing a tone, before the attack. This is called a hoot attack. To avoid this, European flutists let the tongue move forward between the teeth and tongue in the aperture or on the top lip. This allows the tongue to release the air. Start slowly to evolve into this type of tonguing. It took me about six months to accomplish this. 

Vibrato
    The consensus now is that vibrato is produced in the vocal folds, not by the diaphragm. To learn this, take a one-octave scale and place three HAHs on each note followed by a rest very softly. When doing the HAHs, there should be no movement in the jaw, chest, or abdomen. If there is, then play even softer. Once you can do the counted HAHs very softly and cleanly, simply repeat, slurring the staccato HAHs. Next, select a tune or hymn and place four measured or counted vibratos per quarter note (six for a dotted quarter). Work with the metronome set at 60 to the quarter. 
    When playing melodies in the flute choir repertoire, it is easy to stop the vibrato when moving from one note to the next. To avoid this, practice counted vibrato on each note of an ascending scale. Start with the metronome set on 60 and place 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 on each note. The goal (with a very few exceptions) is to have a continuous vibrato as you move through the notes. 
    Remember, just as it is in orchestra, the lower instruments vibrato more slowly than the higher instruments. The piccolo will vibrate the fastest and the contra the slowest. So, practice vibrato with the metronome set between 60 and 80. 

Starting New Repertoire
    When sightreading, experienced players can look at a phrase and know what they want to do with it before they play. However, less experienced players want to hear it first and then add the phrasing in on repeated playthroughs. Sightread an etude at a moderate level for you each time you practice to improve these skills. Remember once you start, don’t stop and just keep on going no matter what happens. Look at etudes by Gariboldi for this purpose ( for free downloads). Select ones that are at various tempos. 

Tempo
    Elizabeth Green, a former conducting teacher at the University of Michigan, wrote that the best orchestras can play faster and slower than anyone else, but amateurs like to play moderato. This is true for flute choirs as well. At the beginning of each flute choir piece, there usually is a metronome marking. Practice the music so you can play several notches above the tempo indication. Usually when flutists drag, it is because their technical skills are lacking. Work with the scale books mentioned above and with etudes by Berbiguier, Andersen, and Altes. The better solo flutist you are, the better chamber musician you will be and visa versa. 

Rhythm
    Joan Marie Baumann (Flute Talk, May 1989) wrote an article on the teaching of Marcel Moyse that included this comment. “There is the rhythm, and there is the life of the rhythm. The rhythm without life is nothing; it is dead. One must always find the rhythmic life of each phrase.” What he is saying here is that each rhythm means something and should be inflected with that emotion. Rhythmic inflection has to do with the strength of the beats and a clear understanding of whether a note is on a down beat or up beat. When playing in flute choir, imitate your section leader so you play in the same style and with energy. 

Block Scoring
    Some flute choirs have everyone in the group playing at the same time with similar rhythms. This is called block scoring. These are the easiest pieces to play. However, the more interesting repertoire has independent parts talking with each other. Since you may not be playing with everyone, counting is a necessity. Count, count, count. If you try to do this by listening only, you will always be late on the beat.  

Balance
    Players in any group struggle to figure out whether at any given point their part is the solo or the accompaniment. Since most members of the flute choir will not have access to the score, this is something the conductor must teach if the end result is to be musical. Both bringing out and suppressing a line require dynamic control. Most groups can play louder, but few can play softer. Each player should circle with a red pencil all the pianos in the piece. 
    Many players do not understand the difference between a solo piano and an accompaniment piano – or a solo forte and an accompaniment forte. In both cases the solo dynamic is louder. The number of flutists assigned to each part will determine how loud a section can be played. I heard a conductor ask, “How many flutes are on that forte passage?” “Three.” Okay, so each of you play a third of a forte because if you each play forte, then the passage will sound like fff. 
    Besides working on your beautiful, rich, full vibrant tone, work to achieve the same results only at the piano dynamic. 

Chamber Music Style
    String players usually learn from an early age how to play with others in a quartet. They are taught to keep their stands low and to have eye contact with other players. Since most flutists do not have this experience, it is something that takes practice. Obviously, players look at the conductor and section leader to begin the piece, but most need to check in more often than they realize. At your next rehearsal, practice looking up and around every measure or two. Note who is playing the same part as you, and who is playing something else. 
    Players who breathe together play together. Section leaders should indicate each entrance and cutoff with the end of the flute. If players do not feel comfortable giving a cue, they should work on this skill, or someone else should lead the section.

Set Up and Break Down
    Be sure to arrive early to help set up the chairs and stands and stay after to put everything away. Volunteer to help out the group in other ways such as publicity, library duties, and recruitment, especially if you have any special skills or contacts that would apply.

Partner Practice
    Find a friend to practice your flute choir music with once a week. Even if one of you is on part 3, and the other plays part 6, there will be things that you learn that will help you to be a better ensemble player.   

    Weekly flute choir rehearsal are a wonderful chance to be among friends who have a shared interest in the flute and flute playing. Improving your skills will make this an even better experience as you work together to create  beautiful music.  

The post Tips for Flute Choir Members appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

photo by Shahab Zargari

What attracted you to the flute? 
    My first instrument was the violin, which I started when I was six years old. However, I was frustrated that I couldn’t get a decent sound on the instrument so I quit after only one month. A couple of years later, I heard someone at my school play the flute in a school assembly and thought that it was the most beautiful-sounding instrument. I decided I wanted to try music again. I started flute in school with my classmates and then had private lessons a few years later in fifth grade. 

Who were your early teachers? 
    My first flute teacher was Carole Campbell in Berkeley, California. I studied with her until she told me that it was time for me to move on to her former teacher, Paul Renzi. He was for many years the principal flute of the San Francisco Symphony and also played in New York in the NBC Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. I learned so much about interpretation from Paul. My lessons always began with orchestral and opera excerpts. He played everything with a certain soloistic flexibility, which I knew was not necessarily the way to win an orchestral job, but these lessons helped me think more imaginatively. While he had me learn the traditional excerpts, I spent more time learning less-familiar pieces. He would tell me stories about playing these pieces in New York. I wish I recorded my lessons with him, to preserve his wonderful anecdotes as well as for his knowledge and pedagogy. 

Why did you select Stanford University for your undergraduate degree? 
    I was a typical overachiever in high school. I played flute in youth orchestra and participated in a lot of other activities. I did not envision going into music when I applied to college. Growing up in California, I wanted to stay nearby for my undergraduate degree and was fortunate to get a good scholarship. My intention was to major in math and take pre-med classes, while still taking flute lessons and playing in the San Francisco Youth Orchestra. For the first two years I spent each weekend in San Francisco, rehearsing with the youth orchestra and attending the SF Symphony concerts.  Over time I started to realize that all I wanted to do is practice and found it difficult to see myself going through the many years of studies in order to become a doctor. I eventually changed my major and got a double major in music and psychology. Stanford does not have a music performance degree, so my studies were focused on history and theory, and I received a Bachelor of Arts (rather than a Bachelor of Music) degree.  
    My teacher at Stanford was Alexandra Hawley. I started studying with her after I became determined to pursue music. She was tough and whipped me into shape. Since I was studying purely for the enjoyment of music until that point, shifting gears into preparing for graduate school was very tough. Hawley is the daughter of Frances Blaisdell, and while I was at Stanford, I played for Frances a few times in masterclasses. She was a warm and generous spirit and what I remember most about my interactions with her are her stories about breaking into the field. She was an incredible role model. 

Jennifer Grim and Alexandra Hawley

What led you to Yale for graduate school? 
    I did not know a lot about music schools on the East Coast, but wanted to live in a different part of the country. Alex Hawley knew Ransom Wilson (they both studied with Jean-Pierre Rampal), and she recommended that I apply to Yale. I felt that Yale was a good fit for me, being that it was a university rather than a conservatory. 
    I studied at Yale for three years. Two years for my MM degree and the third for my MMA (Master of Musical Arts). During the second year of my masters, I successfully passed the entrance exam for the MMA and DMA program and began my doctoral studies at the end of my second year and into my third year. After my third year, I was awarded an MMA degree, but still had three years to go for my DMA. After students graduate with the MMA, they leave campus and pursue professional activities, such as recitals, masterclasses, etc. After three years away from Yale, I compiled a dossier of my activities including reviews, programs, and letters of recommendation to present back at Yale for approval. This dossier is very similar to a tenure file full of supporting documentation of performance and teaching activities. Once Yale approved my dossier, I was invited back to campus to perform my final doctoral recital and oral examination (both on the same day, one hour apart). I look back on this experience now and realize how similar it was to what we currently do in interviews for academic positions. 

Did you always want to be a professor or did you want a life as an orchestral musician? 
    I always wanted to be a professor at a university. I felt a bit behind in school, since I did not have a music performance degree. Instead, I relied on my strength, which was a knowledge of music history and studies in developmental psychology. Another reason I wanted to go to Yale was the potential to stay and complete my DMA. At Yale I also had my first real experiences with chamber music, and I was hooked. I attended the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival for three summers, formed a woodwind quintet, and played in many chamber music ensembles as a student. My interest in chamber music began at Yale and it continues to be the focus of my performing career. 

What chamber music ensembles do you play with currently? 
    I am a member of the Zéphyros Winds and the New York Chamber Soloists. I joined both groups when I moved to New York City before I finished my DMA. Zéphyros Winds began when all of the instrumentalists were students together at the Curtis Institute of Music. As is the norm with many young chamber ensembles, memberships can change over time. I joined the group in 2001, when the original flutist, Nadine Hur, won the principal flute position in the Knoxville Symphony. For many years we toured several times a year, performing in chamber music venues all across the country. While Zéphyros was a huge part of our musical spirit, it was only one of many groups each of us was involved in, so we never wanted to be a full-time touring ensemble. This worked out very well for us at the time, but as we got older, we wanted more stability. One by one, the members either took on more involved performing opportunities or accepted teaching positions. When I accepted the job at University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2007, I wanted to stay in the group since we were only touring a couple of times a year. This has worked out pretty well, and now the members of the quintet are spread all of over the country. The bassoonist, Saxton Rose is on the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts; oboist, Fatma Daglar is one of the most sought-after freelancers in Baltimore; Marianne Gythfeldt, the clarinetist is chair of the Woodwind Department at Brooklyn College; and Zohar Schondorf is principal horn of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York. 
    As a chamber musician, I find it helpful to listen to string players. String quartets are fantastic; the repertoire is phenomenal, and since the process of playing string instruments is more physical than playing flute, I can actually see how they shape phrases and think about colors when bringing out harmonies. The flute is a relatively monochromatic instrument, so we have to put more effort into create subtle timbral changes. I also gain a lot from listening to singers. Often when I work with students on the Marcel Moyse Tone Development through Interpretation, we listen together to the opera arias and discuss ways that singers bring out the words using diction, vibrato, and vowel sounds. 

Zephyros Winds

What differences do you see in flute teaching and playing betweem the East and West Coasts? 
    The only differences I really see have to do with the habitats of each coast. The East Coast is more concentrated, with a lot of players in each major city. In addition, there are classical music concerts every day of the week as well as regional orchestras, chamber music series, and recital venues. The geography of the West Coast is more spread out, and there is not a lot of overlap of flutists in cities. When I lived in New York, I regularly traveled to Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Boston, but I have not visited the neighboring cities (LA, Phoenix, Salt Lake City) nearly as much. The distance between Las Vegas and Los Angeles is notmuch further than New York and Washington DC or Boston, but the lack of easy transportation makes the trip less accessible for students. I would have loved to have my UNLV students be able to travel to Los Angeles to hear the Philharmonic regularly. 

What is your teaching philosophy? 
    It really varies from student to student, but for undergraduates, I focus much more on fundamentals and give students some freedom in selecting their solo repertoire. By the end of their degree, I do try to emphasize major works, so that they are prepared for graduate school. 
    I begin each lesson with etudes and tone exercises. I like to use Marcel Moyse’s Tone Development Through Interpretation to work on almost everything including tone, breathing, support, developing colors and phrasing, dynamics, note tapering, and more. I try to focus on fundamentals with my new students so that they have a solid foundation. Repertoire is usually mutually decided on with students, and we often do a lot of listening to pieces together. 
    I also like to have a project each semester with my studio. Students have worked on memorizing, Baroque performance practices, extended techniques, and orchestral excerpts. At least once a year we do a deep dive into Baroque music. One year it was Telemann, while another year they studied the Bach cello suites, and I had a cello colleague give a masterclass to the students. 
    I have become more interested in Baroque performance practice and bought some Baroque flutes for my studio a few years ago. Every year I introduce some aspect of this music, and several of my students have started learning Baroque flute. Since we have so much Baroque music in the flute repertoire, I feel that it is important to explore more than the few pieces that usually are played. 
    I took a sabbatical in 2016 to learn Baroque flute. I studied with Stephen Schultz, Christopher Krueger, and Sandra Miller and traveled to Amsterdam to take lessons and observe the teaching of Wilbert Hazelzet, professor at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. I had always wanted to learn the instrument but could never carve out the time I needed to really get comfortable with the flute. Since coming back from Europe, I joined a chamber ensemble with some other Baroque players in the Las Vegas area and try to perform a few recitals each year to help keep everything in my fingers. Recently, I bought a historic flute made in 1810 that has 6 keys and plays at A=430. I am having fun playing Mozart and Haydn with it. It was refreshing to take lessons again after teaching for so many years.

What are your future plans? 
    I will begin my new position as the flute professor at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami next fall. I am so honored to have this opportunity, following the magnificent Trudy Kane, who has had an incredible career as principal flute of the Met before joining the faculty at Frost. I still have several months before I make the move and must admit that I sometimes think that this is all a dream. I will miss my students at UNLV so much. I also cherish the amount of diversity in my current studio. 

Frances Blaisdell

    Frances Blaisdell was the first woman wind player accepted at the Juilliard School of Music and as a substitute in the New York Philharmonic. Her teachers included George Barrere, Marcel Moyse and William Kincaid. She was principal flute in the New York City Center Ballet Orchestra, the National Orch-estral Association, the New Opera Company and the New Friends of Music. She taught at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, the Dalcroze School and the Mannes School of Music. She was married to Alexander Williams, principal clarinet in the New York Philharmonic and of the NBC Symphony under Toscanini. Together they performed in the Blaisdell Woodwind Quintet. 
    In 1973 they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she took an interim position at Stanford University, ultimately teaching there for 35 years until she died at age 97. In 2006 she received the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education at Stanford.

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