Mindy Kaufman, Solo Piccolo, New York Philharmonic

    Whenever I see Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 on the schedule, I know I have to start to prepare early. This is one of those excerpts that cannot be crammed and ideally takes me a few weeks to prepare. The tempo of the third movement solo after letter F can fluctuate from MM=145 to 165.

A few tips:
1. While practicing, mentally prepare to play perfectly on the first try. In your practice, approach the solo as if it is a concert, and you only have one shot. Then rest for 30 seconds and play it again with the same focus.  Eventually, it will get easier to play perfectly the first time.
2. Work on tonguing so you can tongue four sixteenth-notes easily at a speed of at least 160. Practice tonguing in all registers for eight or more beats. 
3. Spend no more than 10 – 15 minutes a day on this.
4. In the beginning, do not try to play fast. Instead, work on perfect technique at a very slow speed. By practicing slowly, it will ultimately take less time.
5. Although I will practice this entirely slurred to listen for any unevenness in finger technique, most of my practicing is done with the articulations as written.

Day 1: Practice first half of Moto Perpetuo, Op. 11 by Paganini.
Practice tonguing 16th notes in all registers for 8 to 16 beats with a comfortable starting tempo of about q =140 and see how far you can get. Aim for q =160.
Play Tchaikovsky slowly at e =75. Speed up metronome to a comfortable goal, perhaps 130. I want my fingers to feel the same way at the slow tempo that they do at the fast tempo. If they start to tense up, then I know I have to slow it down to the point where that happened.

Day 2: Try three different approaches: tonguing, playing the solo slowly, and playing the first three notes and adding one note at a time.
1. For tonguing start at tempo of 140 and work up to 170 if possible.
2. Play through solo, but today start at slightly faster tempo. Today I will use the metronome on quarter notes, since I will be going a little faster. Start at q = 50 and work up to 80.
The first nine notes are the most crucial. I like to think about using the first Db to ground myself. This passage sounds great if the first nine notes are clean. Maintain good rhythm on those nine notes, especially on the 32nds. Avoid starting early on the Db. A little push of extra air is usually needed to make the F speak.
3. Practice just the first three notes. Then the first four notes, five notes, etc. My wonderful teacher from 9th to 12th grade, Margaret Jackson, taught me a game. My goal was to play a passage four times perfectly before speeding up the metronome. Try this or make up your own game. If you feel comfortable with the first few notes, the rest will seem easy.

Day 3: Moto Perpetuo by Paganini. For tonguing start at 140 and work to 170. Solo start at 60 and go to 100.

Day 4: Tonguing, 140–170 and Solo, 60-120.

Day 5: Tonguing, 140-170 and Solo, 60-130.

    Continue daily practice until both your tonguing and the solo are up to a speed of 165 – 170. The suggestions above are more of a practice plan. I have made some metronome suggestions, but feel free to make up your own. By practicing this way, your technique will eventually remember this Tchaikovsky Symphony, and each subsequent performance will be even easier.

Cynthia Ellis, Solo Piccolo, Pacific Symphony

July 5: Symphony schedules arrive in the mailbox today. I excitedly enter the dates on my calendar and scan the repertory for the year when I catch my breath…there it is – Tchaikovsky 4. I feel my heart start to race just a little bit. I recall the great times in performance although it always feels slightly better after the performance than it does before with this piece. I’m excited that I get to play it again.

August 13: I start to mentally organize my practice. This solo has three distinct parts to focus on: the first high A entrance after the long tacet, the fast 32nd note passage, and later on in the 4th movement the slew of runs that occur in a tutti passage. I decide to begin working on the secure high A. One of my favorite ways to train is to leave my piccolo out all day and just play the first entrance. If that A speaks when I’m not warmed up after running errands, it will be easy on stage.

August 15: Check a You Tube video to gain a little perspective on playing this solo:

September 20: The folders are prepared for the concert and I pick up my music. I am training on all three parts of the solo.

September 27: Working on the main solo in earnest now (part II). It is very important to set the embouchure before the quarter-note rest in the solo in order to have cleaner articulation all the way around. Breathe before the rest, not on the quarter note rest and have the embouchure set and ready to go. I use that quarter-note rest to build a little breath support since the inhalation is already finished.
    For the technique on this solo, if your double tonguing is already on great shape, I begin to build on the daily skills I already have. I use the Flutist’s Formula studies for basic double tonguing maintenance work, and the Carnival of the Animals Voliere is another great piece to work for articulation. I also play the Boehm exercise in G minor (#12 in Patricia Morris’s Piccolo Study book).
    I break down the solo and work on the articulated 16th notes all slurred, and then I start adding slurs in every pattern possible (slur 2 tongue 2, tongue 2 slur 2, slurring by beat etc.). Then I work the tempo up slowly notch by notch on the metronome until I reach 152. I stay here for about a week, and then push up to 168. Getting the slurred 32nd notes to speak requires a bit of balance. I use the F as the pivot note (make sure the Eb is also speaking clearly) and work this slurred passage using all kinds of practice rhythms (dotted eighth and sixteenth-note style as well as the reverse, dotted sixteenth and eighth).

September 30: Remember this is not the same solo twice, but one extended passage. I think a lot of players fight mental chatter in between statements of this little passage of musical fireworks, so stay focused mentally and realize that the rest is like a comma in the sentence. Stay in the game as you wait for the second part of the solo.

October 1: I start concentrating on working through the fourth movement tutti flourishes. Make sure that these patterns are clean and without any hesitation. The first three bars tend to feel stable, but in the exciting rush to the conclusion of the work, conductors tend to add a bit of an accelerando in the next three measures. There are also no eighth-rests for balance which compounds the problem. Pivot through the third thirty-second note, as this seems to stabilize the technique. Work on this passage slowly, building the tempo and be prepared for this to fly by. The tempo tends to be around 160-170 here.

October 8: The week before the rehearsals start I work to maintain all three parts of the solo. Part I requires excellent muscle memory for the most beautiful and secure high A. Part II requires great mental focus and smooth tonguing, and Part III requires dexterity and projection through the texture of the tutti orchestra.

October 15: Rehearsals are going well. I remind myself to stay focused mentally during the movements I do not play. I try to really enjoy the mood of this symphony. It does not hurt to occasionally play a note or two at the octave with the second flutist during the tutti sections in the second movement just to check the pitch level of the orchestra. I feel more secure when I check just once during the 20 minutes or so that I have a tacet. I generally do not read during rehearsals, since I cannot read during the performances. It is good practice to be still and quiet as I wait.

October 18-20: Concerts. A good warm-up is important, but it does not make sense to go over the solo a thousand times during the warm up. Trust your preparation and embrace the challenge of going from zero to sixty in one little brief moment of music. Make sure distracting mental chatter is kept to a minimum with good healthy habits for tacets. (Flute Talk, September 2009, “The Waiting Game”)      

The post A Blog from Two Cities: Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    In November 2009, near the closing stages of the longest and worst economic recession since the Depression, Leone Buyse, flute professor at Rice, handed me a gray piece of paper. On this paper was an announcement for the only tenure-track, college flute job I would see that year. Despite the grim economic outlook, I won that job, and am now the Assistant Professor of Flute and Theory at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Preparing for a college teaching job audition involves not only being in top performance shape, like any other audition, but applicants also should be articulate in response to interview questions, show intelligence, and be enthusiastic throughout the process.

The Application
    The St. Olaf job announcement was typical of many full-time college music teaching positions. A completed application included a cover letter, curriculum vitae, CD, transcripts, references, and letters of recommendation. This particular job also required a written response to the St. Olaf Mission Statement. Culminating the entire process was a playing audition, teaching demonstrations in the areas of flute and theory, and several interviews.

Cover Letter
    The cover letter is a chance to express, in one to two pages, how your professional experience aligns with the school’s specific requirements. This letter is the first thing a search committee may read. Give specific examples of how your experience directly fulfills their job description.

Curriculum Vitae
    The CV is an organized list of professional and educational experiences. It is usually most effective to organize each section in reverse chronological order with the most recent events first. The CV is expected to be more detailed than a résumé and can normally run between eight and twelve pages in length for those prepared to teach at the university level. Adding brief descriptions to activities that may be unfamiliar to a search committee would be useful in helping them make more informed decisions.

CD
    The CD should represent your very best playing, breadth of performing experience, and facility with a wide range of repertoire. Include a musically varied mix of solo, chamber, new, and orchestral music. Make sure that you include selections that you enjoy hearing. Your listeners will probably enjoy them as well.

Transcripts and References
    Young musicians should start a file with unofficial copies of their transcripts. This makes assembling a job application on short notice much easier. If official transcripts are required and the deadline is close, it is reasonable to send the unofficial copies, with the intention of sending the official transcripts once they are processed. A list of references should include names, titles, addresses, emails, and phone numbers of those who will write recommendations
for you.
    Be wise when selecting recommenders. Choose people who actually know you and your work. If they also have a connection to the college to which you are applying, they will be able to offer more insight in their letters about how you might complement the talents of the current faculty.

Response to Mission Statement
    While not all college jobs ask for this, it is wise to do as much research as possible about the school. Investigate their website, their library holdings, and their mission if they have one. While the search committee provided an abbreviated, half-page version of the St. Olaf Mission Statement, I searched the school’s website and read an extended version, that was several pages long. It gave me a more complete sense of the school’s focus and helped me respond with both a professional and personal point of view. For example, since St. Olaf College has a religious affiliation, I included content about my own spiritual perspective. Do not take short cuts with your research.

Audition
    For some college jobs, the audition portion can involve up to three rounds of performances with all candidates present. In this case, only the top three finalists were invited to St. Olaf to play a twenty to thirty minute recital. I performed two solo works (one Baroque and one modern), a movement from a 20th century sonata (that the faculty pianist already knew), and a virtuosic chamber piece with woodwind faculty members.
    A few weeks before my audition, I assembled and rehearsed the chamber work and sonata with my graduate school colleagues at Rice University. I also arranged a chamber coaching with my teacher Leone Buyse, and performed my solo works for non-flute students who passed by my practice room. I suggest choosing repertoire that is already exceptionally well-prepared. You want to feel powerful and ready to take risks if the music calls for them. The audition is where you can make the biggest and most immediate impact on listeners; share your absolute best.

Teaching
    A college job audition naturally puts the emphasis on teaching skills. In my experience, I have only been asked to demonstrate teaching in final rounds. To get to that point, however, the cover letter, CV, and other supporting materials (like a list of student accomplishments) should clearly demonstrate your level of teaching ability.
    While I do not have a teaching degree, I had, at the time I applied, eighteen years of relevant teaching experience that included college and university settings, an Italian conservatory, a middle school band program, after school music programs, an outreach program for at-risk youth, and my own private studio. The diversity of my experience directly satisfied one of the requirements listed on the job announcement.

Interview Preparation
    There are typically two rounds of interviews: semifinal and final. Semifinal interviews can last up to 30  minutes and occur by phone. The search committee will ask questions through a speakerphone, and it is much easier to hear if you use a landline rather than a cell phone. The final interviews usually last a day or two and occur on campus with various faculty and college administrators.
    At the time I applied for the St. Olaf job, I was in my last year of residency as a doctoral student at Rice University. I believe that the direct access to incredible teachers, mentors and musical colleagues was indispensable to my preparing an application that would eventually stand out.
    My preparation for the interviews started by simply reviewing notes from previous job interviews and from mock interviews I had done at Rice. Then, to see how I would react under more pressure, I asked Larry Rachleff, Music Director of the Shepherd School Symphonies, to give me a mock interview. Putting myself in an interview situation was a tremendously valuable experience that vastly improved my overall presentation. When I asked Leone Buyse for advice, she gave me some important questions to think about, as well as timely encouragement. I also spoke with a friend, Jennifer Grim, who had recently won the flute professorship at UNLV. She offered additional thought-provoking questions that I had not considered before. Violinist Creston Herron discussed his experience working with university administrators. The point is, when in doubt, ask around for advice as you will be surprised at the insights you will learn.
    It is important to know who is on your committee. Again, do your research and look up names and bios. As you prepare for the interviews, picture yourself on their side of the table, and think up questions you would have for a potential new faculty member. Practice speaking your replies in the car, shower, or wherever you happen to get inspired. Record yourself speaking with a confident tone and a sincere voice. Listen back. Listen for the ums and uhs and re-record. Be who you are without hiding, apologizing, or forcing yourself too much in any way. Look at this as a great opportunity.

Audition Day
    In the final round expect a long day; stamina is key to success. For example, my audition day started at 8:00 a.m. and went straight through to 10:00 p.m. Immediately after the recital portion of the audition, I taught two lessons in a masterclass setting. Then after a short break, I taught a sixty-minute theory class.
    For the lesson demonstrations, I was given in advance the titles of the works that two sophomore flutists would be playing. I prepared by refreshing my knowledge of the works, including their historical backgrounds and composers. I played through the pieces and listened to a few recordings. It is important to be positive and encouraging, but not superfluous in praise. Be honest about your impressions of a student’s performance, but focus on one or two issues that can be remedied within the time allotted. What is most important is that you help the student achieve an audible and meaningful improvement in the time you have.
    For the theory demonstration, I was to prepare a chapter about the submediant (vi) chord from the students’ textbook. The search committee provided a copy of the chapter and a description of topics covered in this freshman theory and aural skills course. While I was already teaching an aural skills course at Rice, I sought additional advice from Karim Al-Zand, one of my theory professors, on how to structure the class. Once I had an outline ready, I asked some student colleagues for their critiques. What I ended up presenting at St. Olaf intermingled lecturing with various activities in which students practiced singing, identifying, and taking dictations of submediant chords in three overarching contexts.
    In addition to teaching and performing, I had three informal mealtime discussions with faculty and staff, and seven official interviews and meetings with faculty, students, and administrators. I recommend taking a small notebook with you, and, whenever you can (i.e. during a bathroom break), jot down the names of the people you have met and something about them to help you remember them.
    Be sure to get enough rest the night before. Do not waste time worrying. Study and prepare your replies to questions they might ask, but above all trust that you have prepared as well as you could and that you have made it this far for a reason. Be yourself. Ask the interviewers about themselves; they may very well be your future colleagues. In fact, believe that this job is yours.  Believe that everyone is there to support you and get to know your many strengths.
    If there are professional connections between the committee and people you have worked with before, highlight them. Share your experiences doing outreach or commissioning work, or anything that you think is special about your background that would be of interest to the committee. Also be able to describe situations that show how you are a supportive colleague.
    Other than that, enjoy the process as much as you can. It is actually quite fun meeting so many people in such close succession. Play your heart out, enjoy the teaching, interesting conversation, and exchange of ideas.    

* * *

Typical Questions for a Phone Interview
Why do you want this job?
What was a recent inspiring performance experience?
Describe a challenge in teaching and how you overcame it.
How have your mentors influenced your teaching?
What role does music play in the liberal arts?
How would you teach certain musical skills?
Tell us about your experience working on a team.
How do you teach certain music theory concepts?
What would you expect a student to know after completing their theory courses?
Tell us about your other interests outside of music.
How does your experience support the mission statement of the college?

Typical Questions for an On-Campus Interview
What is your teaching philosophy?
What specific methods/materials/
etudes do you use?
What are the differences in the repertoire you would assign a music major vs. a non-music major?
How would you go about recruiting? (Count on this one to be asked.)
How will you balance teaching and performing?
Why do you want this job, and why would you like to live here?
What did you not get in your training that you wish you had?
What other kinds of classes would you be interested in teaching if given the chance?
What repertoire would be included on a typical senior recital program? Why?

The post You’re Hired: Preparing to Win a College Teaching Job appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    In 1990 The Dorian Consort gave its first concert. The seven member group, consisting of flute, two violins, viola, cello, bass, and harpsichord, has made a niche in the concert scene performing works of the Baroque touring in China, Bolivia, Cuba, the United States, South America, and throughout Europe. 
    The formation of The Dorian Consort happened by chance. On a summer evening in 1990 I had dinner with a violinist whom I had met ten years earlier in the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra and a harpsichord player with whom I had often played in the Swiss town where I was currently living. We shared fond memories, discussed our passion for music, and reflected on the joy of playing together. We wanted to learn more about Bach’s music and share his great cantatas with an audience. I still remember the atmosphere in the garden of the restaurant and the excitement about the future. I have a clear feeling that we left the restaurant content with our plan and a little anxious about realizing the dream of founding an ensemble.
   If you are contemplating starting an ensemble, build a wish list early in your musical career noting which repertoire you want to perform, what style period you wish to focus upon, what the instrumentation of the group might be, who you would like to perform with, and the location where you wish to perform.
   Set goals according to your situation taking into consideration what is realistic now and what might be right for the future. Discuss whether you should only play concerts, enter competitions, or perhaps acquire more education. Set a time frame based on your goals.  
    One early decision was what to call the group. While sitting in a coffee shop brainstorming names, we decided to use the term consort rather than ensemble since we wanted to focus on playing Baroque music. We tried many words with consort and eventually chose the combination Dorian Consort, in part because the last name of our first violinist is Dora. Another member liked the film The Portrait of Dorian Gray, and we all liked the idea of the Dorian mode.
    In our case we decided to do what we liked most with musicians we liked most. The three of us took a risk and invited four musicians to join us for a day of rehearsals. When we all met, everything clicked. As we developed ideas about how to go forward, an immediate priority was rehearsal time. In the summer 1991 the seven of us stayed for a week in a village in Austria. We rehearsed for hours every day. The plan for the group was to play on modern instruments but get as close as possible to an authentic interpretation and also to play without a conductor. This was revolutionary for the time. Without a conductor, everybody needed to know the score. In rehearsals we experimented with different concepts and learned to communicate and trust each other to lead and follow.
    After this week of intense work and discussion, The Dorian Consort played its first concert the next December. We performed in a beautiful church where the harpsichord player was a church organist. We had a wonderful and large audience. It was such a pleasure to play with these talented musicians and friends who had so much fun being on stage and in performance together. The concert was a great success.
    The Dorian Consort decided that for this first year, we would invest in the ensemble and only get paid for expenses. If we continued in the future, we would develop a board of directors. Other topics of discussion included the group’s organizational structure, whether we should have a manager, and producing a CD.
    It was a big surprise when we got two sponsors after the first concert. One helped us to pay for basic organizational needs. From this sponsorship we were able to order a portfolio with a fantastic graphic artist.
    The other sponsor hired us for private concerts in 1992-1993. Our harpsichordist was especially talented in talking to sponsors. We started applying for grants and looked for performances on established concert series. We continued The Dorian Consort summer rehearsal week for many years.
    For a while we had a secretary/manager, but it never worked to our satisfaction, so we split the organizational work between the members of the group. Everyone had to take some responsibility. The tasks at hand were librarian, travel agent, grant writer, treasurer, archivist, scheduler, and coordinator. 
    I do not remember how many crises we had in the 20 years of our existence, and many times we debated whether we were able to go on or wanted to. We always were able to discuss matters, work through through the challenges, and in the end grow closer together and play better.
    In 1999 we started travelling abroad with two new members in the group. We went to the US and China. It made us rethink our goals and we decided to travel to the more undeveloped countries to help them build their music programs at schools and their classical music scene.
    The Dorian Consort has performed many times in South America and later in China. We started to play contemporary Swiss music for cultural exchange. We often performed for audiences who were unfamiliar with Baroque music but were hungry to hear whatever we played. Attending a concert was something very special for many of them, and that made it a wonderful experience for us as well.
    I encourage everybody to follow the idea of doing the things you like, and the things you are passionate about. Take the risk and follow your vision and dreams. Whether your ensemble is successful or not, you will gain important insights and experience. It does not matter to us where we play because no matter where we are, the great pleasure is that we did it together as the family we are.  
    We feel like a team – like one instrument. We play together as an ensemble simply because we love to make music together. This shapes all our decisions, and also affects our sound and music making.    

* * *

Tales from the Road
Cuba
    We were performing the Bach Suite No. 2 in B minor at a music school when the lights shut down. We continued playing, finishing the movement. While we were waiting in the dark, one of the violinists played a movement of solo Bach. Still there was no light. Then we heard a guitar playing from the audience. It was a wonderful unforgettable moment as we sat in the dark and experienced this musical dialogue between the stage and the audience.

Bolivia
    In Sucre, Bolivia we went to the church where we would be performing and found that the organ was in the pitch of A=415 which is a half-step lower than A=440. Our harpsichordist transposed the entire program (including the Bach Musical Offering) a half-step higher and the instrumentalists tuned down as far as possible. You can imagine how we concentrated during the concert, which went wonderfully.
    The Dorian Consort toured Bolivia many times playing concerts in La Paz, the capitol, which has an altitude of 13,300 feet. It takes a while to adjust to this altitude, so we learned to ask for a bottle of oxygen at the airport. As we drove to the hotel, each of us breathed oxygen for ten minutes. I also kept a bottle of oxygen at my bedside. One concert program featured the Bach Suite No. 2 in B minor, the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, and some solo Swiss contemporary flute pieces. The concert promoter encouraged me to take oxygen before playing and in between the pieces. I did and playing was never so easy. However, the next day I paid for it with a terrible migraine. Since then I play concerts without the aid of an oxygen bottle.

China
    In 2000 The Dorian Consort was invited to perform in China, a time when there was not much classical music there yet. This meant that we had to bring our own harpsichord that we would leave at the end of the trip for use by musicians there. Traveling with a harpsichord was difficult. The instrument was packed in a wooden box and was supposed to be handled as oversized luggage. As we were waiting at baggage claim to pick up our luggage in Shanghai, we noticed the harpsichord on the baggage carousel. We raced over to rescue it because if it was damaged, our tour would have been impossible.
    Another time we arrived extra early at the airport to check the harpsichord, but the airline told us they would not take the harpsichord. What the travel agent did to get them to accept the harpsichord, we do not know, but the harpsichord arrived on time for the next concert.

Selected Repertoire with Flute
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1767),
“la notte” for Soloflöte, Strings and Basso Continuo
“il cardellino” for Soloflöte, Strings and Basso Continuo

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
“Tafelmusik 1” Suite for 2 Flutes, Strings and Basso Continuo
Suite a-moll für Flöte, Strings and Basso Continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Triple Concerto in A-Minor BWV 1044 for Flute, Violin, harpsichord and strings
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G-dur BWV 1049 für Violino 2 Flutes, Strings and Basso Continuo
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D-dur BWV 1050 für Flute, Violin, harpsichord and strings
Concerto in F-Major BWV 1057 for 2 Flutes, Strings and Basso Continuo
Suite No.2 in B-Minor BWV 1067 for Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo
“The Musical Offering” BWV 1079
“Ricercar a sei” from “Musical Offering” BWV 1079
Triosonata in C-Minor from “Musical Offering” BWV 1079 for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo
Art of Fugue BWV 10
Kantate No. 82a “Ich habe genug” for Soprano, Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo
Kantate No. 209 “Non sà che sia dolore” for Soprano, Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo
St Johns Passion BWV 245; 2 Fl., 2 Ob., 1 Bassoon., Strings, B. C., Chor (8), Evangelist
Mass in A-Major BWV 234; Fl, Strings , B.C., Chor (8)

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Concerto in G-Major for Flute, for Strings and Basso Continuo

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Trio sonata in C-Major for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo
Concerto in A-MajorW. 168 for Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo
Concerto in D-Minor W. 426 for Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Quintett in F-dur (Februar 17787) for Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello and Contrabass

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Quartett in D-Major KV 285 for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello

Frank Martin (1890-1974)
“Sonata da Chiesa” (1938) for flute and strings 

The post The Birth of a Chamber Ensemble appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

     A good practice idea is to play the chords while singing the flute part at a variety of tempos. Watch what happens to your sense of flow in the music.
     Review your harmony classes playing close attention for chord progressions. Learn which cadences were masculine (ending on a strong beat) and which were feminine (ending on a weak beat). This will help you shape dynamics, color choices and rubatos. This fragment is all I have left, but I encourage you to write out the entire first movement with the Roman numeral accompaniment. Along with knowing the general practices of the period, it is the music that must flow.
     The process was so simple and so complete, that when the lesson was over I felt Baron had very simply given me a profound gift of knowledge. I wrote about this lesson all the way home.
     To this day when I teach the Bach Partita, I see Mr. Baron’s faded and tiny handwritten chord symbols on my part. I don’t remember everything he said, but what I do remember is how I felt when I left his home. This lesson did not just teach me to be a better flutist, but it showed me how to be a better musician. That lesson was profound, memorable and great. There was no fear, no worries, no stress – just a dialogue between two people, one of whom had the knowledge to share and the other eager to absorb this knowledge.   
     I have been very lucky in my life to study with some amazing people. I am thankful for the ones who gently helped me along the way. Some were tough and at times downright frightening. However, I always came to the lesson ready to work hard and learn. I never felt it was the teacher’s job to give me the answers, but it was my job to come prepared and earn that exchange of knowledge. I have always felt at any given moment in your life there is a teacher out there someplace who can help you. It is up to you to seize the moment and find that person.  

The post Why Harmony Matters appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Assembly
    The tenon of the body and the box of the footjoint should fit well. There is little that is more embarrassing than having the footjoint fall off when you are performing. If this joint becomes loose, have a craftsman adjust the fitting of the tenon and box.
    If you decide to try switching footjoints from one flute to another, do not force a too large tenon into the box. However, if the tenon is too small, you may use teflon or plumber’s tape to fit the joint during your experiments. If you find a setup that produces excellent results, have the tenon fitted to the footjoint box.
   When putting the body and the footjoint together, carefully and gently align the two by sight before putting them together. Never use force. It is important to maintain the roundness of tenon of the body as it slides into the box. If the flute has been poorly handled, have a craftsman reshape the tenon so it is round and fits well into the footjoint.
   Often the tenon becomes dirty and the footjoint will not slide easily on or off. If this occurs, clean the tenon with alcohol being careful to not get any on the pads. Wipe dry. Take a pencil and with the side of the lead, gently swipe back and forth around the tenon. The pencil lead will act as a clean lubricant. Then insert the body into the footjoint. If the tenon becomes too small (often from the wear of assembling and disassembling the flute), have a craftsman resize the tenon so that it fits securely in the footjoint.

Alignment
   Most flutists align the rod of the footjoint with the center of the D, E, and F keys. This works well for most flutists. However flutists come in many sizes and the flute only in one size. If you have a shorter or extra-long right hand pinkie, it may help to customize the alignment of the footjoint.
   With the right hand, make a fist. Place the middle finger on the E key, and then lower the index and third fingers onto the F and D keys. Bring the thumb forward onto the backside of the tube. Now place the right hand pinkie on the D# key. Adjust the footjoint so when you slide the pinkie to the right, the note you will finger is a C4. For me this means that the rod on the footjoint is aligned slightly away from the center of the D, E, and F keys. Customizing this alignment means that I can play the low Cs and C#s without losing the position of function of my hand, and I am able to keep my right elbow in position and pointing to the floor. Flutists will play many more Cs and C#s in their lifetime than Bs, so align to make sliding to these notes easy.

Seating of Pads
    Since the footjoint pads are closed relatively less than the rest of the pads on the flute, they dry out more quickly and often do not seat or seal as intended. Blow on each pad on the footjoint to put a bit of moisture in the pad. This will improve the response of the instrument. I also encourage flutists to blow on the footjoint pads when playing low flutes as many flute choir parts require them to play repeated low notes. Future experimentation may lead to a different pad design on the footjoint.  

Height of the D# Key
   This key should be adjusted so it is easy to slide the finger to the C#, C, and B keys. Likewise the adjustment should facilitate the finger sliding back to the D# key. The spring adjustment on the footjoint keys is often too heavy; so experiment with a lighter spring tension.

Footjoint Keys
    Footjoint keys often get bent from the simple act of putting together and taking the flute apart. Have a craftsman suggest various ways to assemble the flute. Whatever plan you decide to adopt, be careful to not bend the keys or the rod. Periodically check the key height because when the keys get bent they often open too much for good intonation and response.

To B or Not to B, Wait! There’s an A
   Most flutists play with a B foot; however, there are as many who prefer a C foot. Jean-Pierre Rampal played professionally with a C foot. The C foot is lighter to hold than the B foot and some say offers a quicker response. However, the B foot offers several sensitive fingerings to change the tone quality or improve the intonation of C7. A gizmo or high C facilitator allows the flutist to easily lower the B key while leaving the C# and C keys open. Some makers offer a convertible footjoint where you may add a B extension onto the C footjoint. Flute makers have provided a variety of spatula and roller placements to provide an ergonomic experience when playing. There have always been custom-made footjoints throughout modern times that offer a Bb or an A. However, recently the A footjoint has become a readily available option for flutists and will be shown at upcoming flute fairs.

Attachments
   Some flutists have experimented with adding an extension onto the end of the footjoint to increase the projection of the flute. Explore this by cutting a small rectangular piece of plastic about one inch by two inches. Insert the plastic rectangle into the end of the footjoint, pulling it out from the end by about 1/16th of an inch. Many flutists find this extra length increases projection.

End of the Footjoint
    The next time you can examine a number of flutes, look carefully at the end of the footjoint. Some makers round off the bottom of the footjoint and others leave the end at a right angle. Play different designs and then if you like one that is more rounded off, you can have a squarely-made ending reshaped. One or two swipes around the edge will probably be enough.

Success on the Lowest Notes
    Michel Debost told me when he had to play low notes he prepared for them by placing his right hand on the barrel of the flute while fingering a low octave G. If it was a practice session and he could play the G aloud, he did. Then he went ahead and played the passage. However, in a concert he would assume this position just before entering on the low notes. Placing the right hand on the barrel places the flute into the chin and positions the flute for optimum use. When the flute is in this position, the low notes respond well. Higher notes respond better with the end of the flute placed a bit forward in front of the nose, but repeated low notes play better with the end of the flute in alignment straight with the player’s nose.
    Many audition requirements for student flutists require a three-octave chromatic scale beginning on low C. Students often move slightly forward as they begin the scale because most flutists always move slightly forward when they begin any passage. However, try moving slightly backwards for the C and C# and then forward when reaching the D. This works well because if the flute is moving forward, and the right hand fingers are moving back, there is too much contrary motion for good results. Moving back first and then forward produces a movement that aligns with the fingering movement.

New Frontier
Innovations in instrument making and design influence the way composers write for an instrument. If an improved footjoint concept or pad design helps to add projection and a rapid response for the lowest notes, composers may write flute music in a new way. However, a few composers, like Richard Wagner, did the opposite. He decided what he wanted an instrument to say and then created an instrument that projected his ideals.  Maybe in a few years all flutists will have a case full of footjoints from which to select the special footjoint that works best for the music at hand.

The post The Footjoint appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Flutist Patricia Spencer has made a career of performing contemporary music. On September 26, 2012, she gave the New York premiere performance of Elliott Carter’s

Were you always drawn to contemporary music?
    When I first came to New York to study after graduating from Oberlin, I played for about a year in the American Symphony Orchestra with Sophie Sollberger, a wonderful flutist who was then married to composer and flutist Harvey Sollberger. Sophie invited me to concerts performed by the Group for Contemporary Music, of which Harvey was a founder and co-director, and I accepted with no clue that I was making a life-changing directional curve. I simply thought I should find out what the composers of my own time are doing. The music was electrifying, mysterious, and wonderfully intense. I heard the works of Davidovsky, Wuorinen, Wolpe, Sollberger, Babbitt, Carter, and many others. I could not begin to understand it. Edgard Varèse’s Ionization was so exciting I was in tears.
    Just choosing a chamber music career, let alone one in contemporary chamber music, made me a trailblazer at a time when everyone defined a flutist’s success by his or her orchestral job. This was in the late 60s and early 70s before the appearance of the dozens or perhaps hundreds of active chamber music groups now in the United States.

What skills did you have to develop to play contemporary music?
    The technical demands of new music seemed ferocious to me then. These challenges included complete facility with such rhythms as seven in the time of three, extreme dynamics from pppp to ffff, registral demands (Milton Babbitt’s solo flute piece opens with a fortissimo C4 followed by a G6 pianissimo), and a correspondingly wide range of articulations such as sneaking in from niente (in all registers) or somehow getting a no-holds barred sforzando on the lowest note of the flute.
     But in fact musical demands are greater and even more exciting. Musicians should learn the language of each composer, understand the musical forces behind the compositional style, and determine how it all interacts with the background architecture of the piece. This is already an exciting challenge in a work by Mozart whose language is more familiar. It can become a profound and mysterious search in the case of today’s composers.
 
How did your recent New York premiere of the Elliott Carter Flute Concerto come about?
    It was a natural evolution over years. The Da Capo Chamber Players, of which I am a member, has played a lot of Carter’s music, including his incredible Triple Duo, the quartet for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, the premiere of his Enchanted Preludes, and many other works. Carter wrote in his program notes for the Concerto, “For many years flutists have been asking for a flute concerto,” and I was certainly one of those flutists. Soon after I heard he was writing a flute concerto, I saw him at a concert and told him how excited I was. He replied, with a wonderful twinkle, “You can’t play it yet!” He explained that the commissioning orchestras, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony, would give the world and U.S. premiere performances before others could program it.
    Sometime after those premieres I had lunch with Joel Lester, a founding member and former violinist with the Da Capo Chamber Players and Dean of the Mannes School of Music. We agreed that the Mannes Orchestra would do the New York premiere of the Carter concerto with me as soloist. The Mannes orchestral players were superb and the conductor, David Hayes, was wonderful to work with. Alice Tully Hall was filled for the premiere. At first I thought the audience was there primarily to hear the Haydn and Schubert pieces on the program, but I was wrong. The audience was very excited to hear the Carter.

What was it like working with Carter?
    Elliott Carter was the most generous of composers, always aware of the instrument while still asking for the highest musical statement. I treasure the memory of many wonderful rehearsal experiences with him. A session on Scrivo in Vento stands out as passages which had been difficult somehow magically became easier. He shed light on the musical meaning. It felt a little like speaking a foreign language with a native. The syntax and shapes easily fell into place.

Who are the Da Capo Chamber Players?


    The Da Capo Chamber Players was formed in 1970 and presents an annual concert series in New York City. I was a founding member along with American composer Joan Tower and theorist Joel Lester. In 1973 the group won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and continues to be a leader in building present-day American chamber music, commissioning more than 140 chamber works. The group has toured Russia and Belarus and has recorded over 16 CDs on various labels.
    Da Capo is a group very close to my heart. They have been fabulous colleagues who share a commitment to new music. We have dynamite discussions about tempos, balances, dynamics, and program order. These discussions by chamber musicians are very different from those in orchestral rehearsals.
    The current members are Curtis Macomber, violin; Meighan Stoops, clarinet; James Wilson, cello; and Blair McMillen, piano. Besides touring overseas, we have also toured in the U.S. The group frequently spends several days at a host campus, playing and recording pieces by student composers as well as giving masterclasses and discussions on contemporary repertoire and rehearsal techniques. Our next concert on this year’s series in Merkin Concert Hall will be June 6, titled Pierrot at 100! presented in honor of the 100th anniversary season of Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire. We will perform the landmark classic with soprano Lucy Shelton as well as a new work also titled Pierrot lunaire by Mohammed Fairouz, written for the occasion.

What is it like to work with composers of commissioned pieces?
    The interaction with composers can get pretty hairy as they are often nervous about the birth of a new piece. The rehearsals also provide a wonderful opportunity for musical growth and technical development. When George Perle was writing his Sonata a quattro for Da Capo, he called me to ask if the alto flute could flutter tongue on a B7. I tried it and told him, “Sure, it’s no problem.” When we received his piece, however, I found out the note was to be played pianissimo. The best part is that the phrase was so beautiful, and the flutter tongue such a perfect sound for the chord underneath, that I learned to do it.

What were your early musical experiences?
    My earliest training was singing in a church choir conducted by my father when I was seven. Two years later I started piano lessons with the wife of the school band director. Two years after that my father went to the band director and said, “My daughter wants to study an instrument. What do you have?” To which the director replied, “We have a school flute, since one of the flutists just graduated.”
    The band director and his wife, James and Inga-Lill Wilson, were immensely important to my musical development. They took me to concerts (when there were any, in my small town), recommended flute lessons with the teacher at Ithaca College (since Mr. Wilson was himself a trumpet player), and hired me to babysit for their children, which meant I could spend the evening listening to their record collection.
    I was in high school when I began lessons with the teacher at Ithaca College, David Berman. He taught me how to be demanding of myself in practice sessions and how to find the musical shape of a phrase.

What do you teach in your studio?
    My students cover the whole spectrum. I teach flute and chamber music part-time at two schools, Bard College and Hofstra University. The Da Capo Chamber Players are also in residence with the Bard Conservatory where we work with wonderfully talented young composers. I have creative, highly original Bard College flute majors along with philosophy and other majors who want music and the flute in their lives. 
    Hofstra University students are most often music education majors. This field is so important, and they are a pleasure to teach since they are professionally interested in the process. In ensembles there, I routinely ask the seniors to teach the freshman. I often learn something as well from their casual contemporary phrases and approaches that sometimes produce better results than my carefully chosen words and specific explanations.
    A recent junior flute recital at Hofstra included George Crumb’s challenging Idyll for the Misbegotten, for flute and three percussionists. My private studio in New York City includes young professionals preparing big recitals and chamber concerts, as well as dedicated amateurs who are also preparing chamber concerts.
    My annual flute retreat seminar at Bard College also attracts a wide spectrum from professionals trying out unfamiliar contemporary repertoire to college majors and dedicated amateurs who are adventurous and game to try new repertoire and techniques. We stay in a villa run by Franciscan nuns as a retreat facility, take walks down to the picturesque Hudson River, and spend time listening to new recordings brought in by the seminar participants.

Do you play music from other style periods?
    I love to play traditional repertoire. At the NFA New York Convention “Telemann-athon,” organized by John Solum, I played three duo sonatas with Carol Wincenc. At Bard I have performed duo recitals with Tara O’Connor, playing works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and even Franz Doppler.

Who influenced you musically?
    Robert Willoughby was my primary teacher at Oberlin. I was unbelievably fortunate to have been accepted to Oberlin and work with a great teacher with such a clear methodology. I still start every practice session and lesson with his tongueless attacks and other exercises I learned from him. He gave his students ways to find musical shapes and communicate harmonic structure. He always trusted our musicality, and we grew to trust ourselves because he did. The more I teach, the more I realize how hard he worked with me.
 Another major influence and mentor was oboist Josef Marx. His Saturday evening chamber music gatherings helped me learn to sightread and to discover unpublished repertoire (worthy and not) that helped my understanding of the great music of the surrounding era. His charge to “find the best composers of your generation” and champion them is something I am still trying to accomplish. His Saturday night gatherings have inspired copy-cat chamber music evenings hosted by my husband and me on summer Saturdays in our Winnipeg home. In these gatherings we also copy the quartet playing tradition of the Viennese as Mozart, Haydn, Dittersdorf, and Vanhal played together regularly.
     Marcel Moyse, whose Vermont seminars I attended for many years, was also an important influence in my playing. I routinely use his book of opera melodies to help find the right tone colors for contemporary phrases. I use the expanding interval exercises from his De La Sonorite to develop secure attacks for multiphonics. I am still trying to figure out how he got such a beautiful sound on Eb5.

What composers have influenced you?
    Joan Tower was the first composer I asked for a flute piece. I was beyond thrilled when she agreed. Joan and I played together in the Da Capo Chamber Players for the group’s first 15 years. We performed her Flute Concerto together (she played her piano reduction), and subsequently I played the concerto with an orchestra for the Nashville NFA convention. Joan still works closely with the Da Capo Chamber Players in our residencies at Bard College and Conservatory. She always wants performers to think “off the page,” to approach every piece as a living, breathing entity, and to take risks with it. She says that if a ritard or accelerando feels right for the piece, even if the composer didn’t put it there, try it. If it works, keep it.
    Composers are all different, especially on that topic. George Perle, a wonderful composer, was supremely committed to what he had put on the page. Unlike many others, he actually composed a performance of his works in his head and wanted performers to line up with it. George’s deep theoretical knowledge of other repertoire was very exciting. While working with George on his solo flute piece, Monody I, we started talking about Varèse’s Density 21.5 in particular about whether it was a B or B# in measure 23. Both Thomas Nyfenger and Harvey Sollberger reported that Varèse told them it should be a B-natural on the triplets. However a later edition made during Varèse’s lifetime did not include that correction. George commented that “composers are not always right about these things,” meaning that Varèse could have been wrong about his own piece. An extraordinary statement, given George’s strong ties to his printed page. George then said he thinks the B-natural on the triplet is correct.
    Shulamit Ran is another composer who has been a particular joy to work with. Her Mirage, written for the Da Capo Chamber Players, has become a contemporary classic. While she was writing it, I sent her a note asking her to please use the expressive capability of the flute, rather than that of the bird or butterfly role. She said this idea lined up perfectly with her concept, and the resulting piece has a profoundly expressive flute part. Further, the incredible concerto she wrote for the NFA, Voices, expands her concept of the vocal, expressive flute voice as well as including a wonderfully playful, exuberant final piccolo movement.
    Meeting with Karlheinz Stockhausen (in Kürten, Germany) in preparation for my U.S. premiere of Katinkas Gesang als Luzifers Requiem was another experience that has shaped my musical understanding. Stockhausen does not put dynamics into his electronic parts because every concert hall has different acoustics, and the dynamics of the electronics must be guided by those acoustics (just as we adjust our flute dynamics and attacks to different halls). Stockhausen was absolutely passionate about the placement of the speakers around the hall. Kathinka Pasveer, an incredible flutist with his ensemble who is now also the sound projectionist for Stockhausen performances all over the world, worked with me every day for a week on the piece.
    Thea Musgrave is another giant on the list of composers with whom I have been fortunate to collaborate. While she was writing Narcissus (commissioned by the NEA for flutists Robert Willoughby, Wendy Rolfe, Harvey Sollberger, and myself), Thea asked if I could meet with her and try out some of the delay system effects that she planned. The delay system influenced her musical choices. She had listened to what the system could do, namely reflect whatever the flute did, and that sparked the idea of Narcissus and his reflection. It was exciting to assist her in this process.
    Judith Shatin is a composer whose work resonates with my own vision of what I try to say with a flute. Her Kairos expands the voice of the flute, both electronically and with extended techniques. Harvey Sollberger’s Riding the Wind I was an early landmark example of opening up the flute’s voice through extended techniques. It included a huge variety of air sounds, key clicks, and tongue rams, that all combine somehow to communicate a dramatic urgent musical message. Harvey, a flutist himself of course, coached the piece within an inch of his life, to my eternal betterment and gratitude.
    Arthur Kreiger’s works for flute and electronics are all about bridging from the flute into the world of electronics and back. As we worked together in the studio, he discovered ways of melting from our world to his that are continually fascinating to me every time I play the pieces.

What are your goals?
    One of Da Capo’s major projects next season will be the premiere of Shirish Korde’s chamber opera, Phoolan Devi: Bandit Queen, depicting real, re-imagined and often contradictory events in the life of a woman revered by some and reviled by others in contemporary Indian society. The work examines caste, gender, and violence against women, issues of particular relevance in light of recent events in India. I also plan more contemporary concerto and solo flute performances.
    This coming November I will play the Chinese premiere of Ge Gan-ru’s flute concerto with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerto is titled Fairy Lady Meng Jiang, and depicts a tragic tale of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). It is in four movements: Savage Land, Gourd Girl, Abduction, and Crying Down the Wall. It is an unbelievably expressive and strong work that was written in 2008 and premiered in Spain in 2009 by the flutist Sharon Bezaly and Orquesta Castillo y Leon under the direction of Enrique Diemecke. The Shanghai performance will be part of the 2013 Shanghai International Arts Festival.

What practice techniques do you use to learn contemporary music?
    No matter how slowly, or in which octave, or whether you whistle some notes, singing is a proven technique for internalizing a musical shape that feels odd or foreign. I also suggest improvising on unfamiliar pitches or rhythms. Take the pitches of a phrase that is eluding you and rearrange them into several other configurations. Then gradually put them back into the composer’s shapes. Be careful, you might get the composing bug.

Is there a particular role that the flute plays in contemporary music?
    Flutists are playing an exemplary role in the contemporary music field by commissioning, organizing new music concerts, and performing this music at an inspiring level. The number of new music concert series and groups headed by flutists is awesome: Toronto’s New Music Concerts (Robert Aitken), the New York New Music Ensemble (Jayn Rosenfeld), Bridgehampton Chamber Music Society (Marya Martin), the Imani Winds (Valerie Coleman), the Seattle Chamber Players (Paul Taub), International Contemporary Ensemble (Claire Chase), and of course Da Capo to name just a few.           

Editor’s Note: for more information go to

* * *

Flute Concerto
By Elliott Carter (1908-2012)

Duration: 13 minutes
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Scored for: Solo Flute, Flute/Piccolo, Oboe/ English horn, 2 Clarinets with 2nd doubling bass clarinet, Bassoon/contrabassoon, 2 Horns in F, Trumpet in C, Trombone, Strings, Harp, Piano, Percussion
World Premiere: September 9, 2008. YMCA, Jerusalem with Emmanuel Pahud, flute, and Jerusalem International Chamber Music Ensemble, Daniel Barenboim, Conductor.
Composer’s Note: “For many years flutists have been asking for a flute concerto, yet I kept putting it off because I felt that the flute could not produce the sharp attacks that I use so frequently. But the idea of the beautiful qualities of the different registers of the instrument and the extraordinary agility attracted me more and more, so when Elena Bashkirova asked me write something for her and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, I decided it would be a flute concerto. From mid September, 2007 to March, 2008 ideas and notes for it fascinated me without relief.” – Elliott Carter, May 2008

Premiere Performances of Flute Works
Elliott Carter, Flute Concerto – New York premiere, Alice Tully Hall, September 28, 2011 with the Mannes Orchestra conducted by David Hayes.
Shulamit Ran, Voices (concerto for flute, alto flute, piccolo and orchestra) – World premiere, NFA Convention August 2000, conducted by Ransom Wilson
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kathinka’s Chant as Lucifer’s Requiem – U.S. premiere, Miller Theatre, NYC, May 20, 1991
Thea Musgrave, Narcissus for flute and digital delay – U.S. premiere, Merkin Concert Hall, NYC, March 1988
Eric Chasalow, Flute Concerto (Three Love Poems) for flute with ensemble – World premiere, Merkin Concert Hall, November 2006
Elliott Carter, Enchanted Preludes for flute and cello – World premiere, Merkin Concert Hall, May 16, 1988 with André Emelianoff, cello
Harvey Sollberger, Riding the Wind I for amplified flute with chamber ensemble – World premiere, Alice Tully Hall, April 25, 1974 with the Da Capo Chamber Players

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Andante  quarter note =69-72

 
    The Bb side key or lever may also be used to stabilize the flute and to control intonation. For example when making a long diminuendo on G in all three octaves, adding the Bb side key to the G fingering (while it is not needed to produce the correct note) has an ancillary (if seldom used) advantage by having at least one finger of each hand on the flute.
    Use your imagination for fingerings considering color, ease, pitch, reliability, dynamics, comfort, and pleasure. While they may be alternate fingerings, are they really good or bad? The issue is music, nothing else.

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