Lyrics from Linda
| VOLUME 16 NUMBER 5 |
Greetings Fellow Flutists! Congratulations on a delightful, well-received Christmas Concert
at First United Methodist Church in Rockport. Thank you especially to Paul Klemm for
facilitating and hosting this event. Remember that we play as part of the Musicale Series
held monthly at the church. I understand that with over 85 in attendance, our concert drew
the largest audience of recent concerts. And, we have been invited to perform again next
year as part of the concert series.
Happy 2006! I do hope the Christmas season has been blessed for you. I hope all of you
spent time enjoying the music of the season, and perhaps were able to perform for others.
As we enter a brand new year, it is time again to recruit new flutists for our spring
performances. Of course, potential members should be high school age and above and be
able to play as well as you do. If you know of interested folks, please invite them to attend
rehearsals and meetings, guide them to our website, www.coastalbendfluteclub.org, and
pass their name and contact information to one of your officers so they can be officially
contacted and added to our mailing list.
Our first rehearsal of the New Year will be Sunday, January 8. We will have just two more
rehearsals, January 8th and January 29th before our Winter Concert in Port Aransas on
February 12th. I understand we will be performing in the NEW Port Aransas Community
Theatre!! What an exciting opportunity for us to be among the first to perform in their new
facility! Later in February we have been invited to perform an original composition for flute
choir by Dr. Bill Bunch for the Corpus Christi Music Club. He composed this piece
particularly for the Coastal Bend Flutes.
One of the compositions we are performing on our next concert is Heritage of America
arranged by Ricky Lombardo. The piece is a celebration that portrays a musical journey of
a young country struggling to grow and follow its dreams. Many of the melodies used in this
arrangement are from familiar folk songs that are quite familiar and loved by Americans.
How many of them do you know, or can you sing? Themes are from “Simple Gifts”, “When
Johnny Comes Marching Home”,“Chester”, “Blow Ye Winds”, “Sweet Betsy From Pike”,
“Cowboy’s Lament”, “Pick a Bale of Cotton”, “Cripple Creek”,“Oh! Susanna”, “Swanee River”
and “Shenandoah”. When we rehearse and perform this piece, listen for some of these
tunes. After all, folk songs are an important part of our culture and our “heritage”, as the
composition is named. This piece is dedicated to the 1998 Select Choir of the “Flutes at the
Peak” flute choir workshop held in Colorado Spring, Colorado.
See you at our next rehearsal Sunday, January 8th at 1:30. Bring a flute playing friend and
your music stand and music folder (Yes, you still should have a music folder!)
Please watch the website for upcoming dates. Help us by informing us of upcoming
performances in which you will be involved. And, look for further information in this
newsletter. Support our members, and music in the Community.
Have a wonderful 2006, and happy Fluting!! Make one of your resolutions to practice more
precisely, to play more music, to perform more frequently, and to share your musical talent
more often with even more people.
Linda
at First United Methodist Church in Rockport. Thank you especially to Paul Klemm for
facilitating and hosting this event. Remember that we play as part of the Musicale Series
held monthly at the church. I understand that with over 85 in attendance, our concert drew
the largest audience of recent concerts. And, we have been invited to perform again next
year as part of the concert series.
Happy 2006! I do hope the Christmas season has been blessed for you. I hope all of you
spent time enjoying the music of the season, and perhaps were able to perform for others.
As we enter a brand new year, it is time again to recruit new flutists for our spring
performances. Of course, potential members should be high school age and above and be
able to play as well as you do. If you know of interested folks, please invite them to attend
rehearsals and meetings, guide them to our website, www.coastalbendfluteclub.org, and
pass their name and contact information to one of your officers so they can be officially
contacted and added to our mailing list.
Our first rehearsal of the New Year will be Sunday, January 8. We will have just two more
rehearsals, January 8th and January 29th before our Winter Concert in Port Aransas on
February 12th. I understand we will be performing in the NEW Port Aransas Community
Theatre!! What an exciting opportunity for us to be among the first to perform in their new
facility! Later in February we have been invited to perform an original composition for flute
choir by Dr. Bill Bunch for the Corpus Christi Music Club. He composed this piece
particularly for the Coastal Bend Flutes.
One of the compositions we are performing on our next concert is Heritage of America
arranged by Ricky Lombardo. The piece is a celebration that portrays a musical journey of
a young country struggling to grow and follow its dreams. Many of the melodies used in this
arrangement are from familiar folk songs that are quite familiar and loved by Americans.
How many of them do you know, or can you sing? Themes are from “Simple Gifts”, “When
Johnny Comes Marching Home”,“Chester”, “Blow Ye Winds”, “Sweet Betsy From Pike”,
“Cowboy’s Lament”, “Pick a Bale of Cotton”, “Cripple Creek”,“Oh! Susanna”, “Swanee River”
and “Shenandoah”. When we rehearse and perform this piece, listen for some of these
tunes. After all, folk songs are an important part of our culture and our “heritage”, as the
composition is named. This piece is dedicated to the 1998 Select Choir of the “Flutes at the
Peak” flute choir workshop held in Colorado Spring, Colorado.
See you at our next rehearsal Sunday, January 8th at 1:30. Bring a flute playing friend and
your music stand and music folder (Yes, you still should have a music folder!)
Please watch the website for upcoming dates. Help us by informing us of upcoming
performances in which you will be involved. And, look for further information in this
newsletter. Support our members, and music in the Community.
Have a wonderful 2006, and happy Fluting!! Make one of your resolutions to practice more
precisely, to play more music, to perform more frequently, and to share your musical talent
more often with even more people.
Linda
| Future Dates: Click the Link above for the complete CBFC Calendar |
Happy Birthday!
These members have
birthdays in October.
Ouida Richardson - 10th
birthdays in October.
Ouida Richardson - 10th
Updates from Sarah
This year one of our members, Dr. Sarah Gill, was one of 5 flutists worldwide to travel to
England to study with Trevor Wye. Recently she sent an e-mail to Francis Branning
describing here first few days.
England to study with Trevor Wye. Recently she sent an e-mail to Francis Branning
describing here first few days.
Hello! I hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season. I'm sorry it has been such a
long time since I've sent an update on my life here--things got very crazy for awhile. I have
just returned from my last class of the term and will be officially on break at the conclusion
of the Studio's Christmas concert, which will take place in the village's 700 year-old church
on Saturday evening.
I am staying on this side of the pond for the holidays and will be travelling with two of the
students. Sunday, we fly to Geneva and will spend three days in the Alps. From there, we
visit Innsbruck, Salzburg, and arrive in Vienna in time for Christmas. After three days
there, we conclude our trip in Prague.
December is actually a very busy travel month, as I just returned from a trip to Rome. See
the attached pictures! The first is of me in front of a fountain in St. Peter's Square and the
second is the inside of St. Peter's Basilica.
We went to Rome under the auspices of attending a the Italian Flute Convention, called
Flautissimo, but we students certainly took advantage of our sightseeing time! Actually, the
convention was great! For you flutists out there, I heard Emmanuel Pahud, Emily Beynon,
and Philippe Bernold and was quite impressed with almost all of them! :)
This was my second visit to Rome, but I couldn't resist returning to St. Peter's Basilica to
see it all again! I am so glad that I did because I arrived in time to see the Pope address
the public as we stood in St. Peter's piazza. It was amazing! He spoke in Italian,
French, and then English! I'm not Catholic, but I was quite impressed. The inside of the
cathedral is absolutely breathtaking and you can see Michelangelo's Pieta statue there--so
beautiful!
From this point, I decided to see some new sights. In total, I visited 10 cathedrals (I just love
studying architecture!), but my favorite was probably St. Paul Outside the Walls, which is
one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. In this church are gold mosaics of all the Popes from
St. Peter to present. And, St. Paul's body (minus his head!) is reputed to be buried on this
site. Very interesting! I also visited Nero's Palace, built between 64-68 A.D.--before the
Colisseum was constructed. While most of it is in ruin, there are still the most beautiful
paintings and mosaics on the walls. I could only imagine how incredible this palace would
have been in its heyday.
Oh yes....I DID come here to study the flute!! I have continued my practice schedule of 5 to
6 hours a day, and I cannot believe how much better I am playing! Trevor's regime is quite
difficult, but it produces real results. My students will be thrilled to know that I have devised
all sorts of new torture for them upon my return!
In addition to my practicing, I had to write a paper on the history of the flute from antiquity
to 1700, including ethnic flutes from all over the world. This is only the first half of the
history of the flute (I will write 1700 to present next term), and it was 45 pages! It was a
great exercise, however, as I learned so many new things about the early flutes.
In November, I moved in with my host family. (I had been living at the mother-in-law's while
she recovered from surgery up to this point). It has been great so far. I have been working
with 9 year-old Robbie on both piano and flute, and he and I decorated the Christmas tree
last week. There are alot of animals here--fish, two dogs, ducks, and a parrot, whose name
is Percy. Percy has been alot of fun, as he loves to sing duets with me as I practice! You
can imagine my amazement the first time I finished a phrase and heard him match my pitch
exactly!
It is time for me to close. I hope you are all doing well and have a wonderful holiday season.
Please drop an email when you get a chance and let me know how you are.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Sarah (Dr. Gill, if I'm your teacher!)
long time since I've sent an update on my life here--things got very crazy for awhile. I have
just returned from my last class of the term and will be officially on break at the conclusion
of the Studio's Christmas concert, which will take place in the village's 700 year-old church
on Saturday evening.
I am staying on this side of the pond for the holidays and will be travelling with two of the
students. Sunday, we fly to Geneva and will spend three days in the Alps. From there, we
visit Innsbruck, Salzburg, and arrive in Vienna in time for Christmas. After three days
there, we conclude our trip in Prague.
December is actually a very busy travel month, as I just returned from a trip to Rome. See
the attached pictures! The first is of me in front of a fountain in St. Peter's Square and the
second is the inside of St. Peter's Basilica.
We went to Rome under the auspices of attending a the Italian Flute Convention, called
Flautissimo, but we students certainly took advantage of our sightseeing time! Actually, the
convention was great! For you flutists out there, I heard Emmanuel Pahud, Emily Beynon,
and Philippe Bernold and was quite impressed with almost all of them! :)
This was my second visit to Rome, but I couldn't resist returning to St. Peter's Basilica to
see it all again! I am so glad that I did because I arrived in time to see the Pope address
the public as we stood in St. Peter's piazza. It was amazing! He spoke in Italian,
French, and then English! I'm not Catholic, but I was quite impressed. The inside of the
cathedral is absolutely breathtaking and you can see Michelangelo's Pieta statue there--so
beautiful!
From this point, I decided to see some new sights. In total, I visited 10 cathedrals (I just love
studying architecture!), but my favorite was probably St. Paul Outside the Walls, which is
one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. In this church are gold mosaics of all the Popes from
St. Peter to present. And, St. Paul's body (minus his head!) is reputed to be buried on this
site. Very interesting! I also visited Nero's Palace, built between 64-68 A.D.--before the
Colisseum was constructed. While most of it is in ruin, there are still the most beautiful
paintings and mosaics on the walls. I could only imagine how incredible this palace would
have been in its heyday.
Oh yes....I DID come here to study the flute!! I have continued my practice schedule of 5 to
6 hours a day, and I cannot believe how much better I am playing! Trevor's regime is quite
difficult, but it produces real results. My students will be thrilled to know that I have devised
all sorts of new torture for them upon my return!
In addition to my practicing, I had to write a paper on the history of the flute from antiquity
to 1700, including ethnic flutes from all over the world. This is only the first half of the
history of the flute (I will write 1700 to present next term), and it was 45 pages! It was a
great exercise, however, as I learned so many new things about the early flutes.
In November, I moved in with my host family. (I had been living at the mother-in-law's while
she recovered from surgery up to this point). It has been great so far. I have been working
with 9 year-old Robbie on both piano and flute, and he and I decorated the Christmas tree
last week. There are alot of animals here--fish, two dogs, ducks, and a parrot, whose name
is Percy. Percy has been alot of fun, as he loves to sing duets with me as I practice! You
can imagine my amazement the first time I finished a phrase and heard him match my pitch
exactly!
It is time for me to close. I hope you are all doing well and have a wonderful holiday season.
Please drop an email when you get a chance and let me know how you are.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Sarah (Dr. Gill, if I'm your teacher!)
Flute Tips
from Larry Krantz Flute Pages
www.larrykrantz.com
from Larry Krantz Flute Pages
www.larrykrantz.com
An exercise I use and recommend to my students based on ideas from:
"Tone Development Through Interpretation" by M. Moyse.
play slowly with a strong and well focused tone on all notes.
keep the air stream moving at a constant rate and move your fingers as legato as possible.
as the intervals become larger allow your lips to move enough to get the top note but don't
over do the lip motion.
repeat each bar until you can play the intervals both up and down with complete legato.
increase your speed only if the intervals (especially downward) are working well.
after working on this set of notes then proceed on by changing the starting pitches of each
measure to C# & D, then D & Eb, then Eb & E, etc.
once you have worked this to the point where the final exercise with an octave in it is very
smooth and easy to execute well then increase the range upward until you reach the double
octave.