Quest for A Flute: From ‘No Doubt’ to a Surprise Flight

By Helen Spielman

The flute chosen by Martha Long!

Martha Long, Principal Flute of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, attended the NFA 2014 convention in Chicago with one intention: to purchase a new flute.  After trying a huge array of instruments, she chose fifteen finalists, and through the gracious help of Carolyn Nussbaum, we found ourselves in a private room, listening to the same orchestral excerpts over and over again on those flutes.

I taught Martha for seven years during her teens. Martha asked me to listen, along with her flutist friends Matthew Roitstein and Ben Smolen as well as a pianist friend, so I happily spent most of this convention hearing her play the same orchestral excerpts over and over.  We narrowed it down to four instruments, but I wasn’t fully satisfied. Martha sounds good on any flute, but I wanted her to sound spectacular.  So I practically pushed Carolyn out into the hotel hallway, and said, “Don’t you know of some fabulous instrument, something that will be even better than those she’s playing now?” I knew that Martha’s flute was to be a gift from her parents, and they had impressed upon me that they wanted the very best for Martha.

Carolyn energetically pointed her index finger up in the air, saying, “Wait!! I’ll be back in five minutes!” ---- and whoosh! ---- she ran off down the hallway. I casually wandered back to my seat in the room, and when Carolyn returned, she had another instrument to add to the mix.

We went through yet another round of testing. I didn’t know how Martha had the stamina. No one, including Martha, knew what brands we were hearing. And then ------ one flute stood out so far beyond the others, it was clear beyond doubt.

“What flute is this?” we all wanted to know. Mary Lyons, a flute specialist who works for Carolyn, had been ably assisting us, and announced it was a very special Powell flute. Carolyn had known about the existence of this specific flute since the Spring and brought the instinct, knowledge and experience of her many years in the business to believe this would be right for Martha. Martha sounded amazing: as amazing as she always humbly describes her colleagues and friends as sounding.

Martha worried about the wisdom and the expense of purchasing such an elite flute. I asked her some tough questions: What is your highest goal for the next ten years? Her answer: “To sound better each day than I did the day before.” Does this flute sound like you? “Yes.” Do you want to go back to work and have people notice you have a new flute, or do you want to turn heads? “I know that I want to share this instrument with my family, friends, and colleagues, and I want this flute to be a voice in my orchestra.”

Well, then, which instrument will help you meet these goals? And gradually, along with speaking to the Powell staff, Martha embraced the idea that she could allow herself to fall in love with this flute.

Martha was so overcome with gratitude that she could not think of a better way to thank her parents than by visiting them and showing them the flute in person. So she switched her flight from Texas to my flight to North Carolina. The mischievous part of me told her, “Don’t inform your parents that you’re coming, Martha! Surprise them!”

My husband met us at the airport and we drove Martha to her parents’ home. We stayed at the car so Martha could have a moment with her parents. She walked into the house and we could see her parents’ mouths drop open in utter shock. “What are you doing here?” exclaimed her mother. Her father was simply speechless. At that point we were invited in, and watched Martha show the flute to her parents. She played Bach. The joy and love between them was a pleasure to see. Oh, except for Martha’s cat, Lola, who was staying with her parents and doesn’t care for Bach.

Martha is now playing on her Powell gold flute in the new Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio. The orchestra members and music director are all thrilled with Martha’s new instrument. She is giving a recital in December presented by Camerata San Antonio, and I will fly there to attend. This time she is going to surprise me, she said, with her dress. I wonder what that might mean!

Maintaining such a close relationship with a former student, one who is as kind, considerate, and fun as Martha has brought me more joy and satisfaction than I can  describe. Helping, even in the smallest way, to find her way to this Powell flute, was a rich experience.  Except for previously contributed articles to the Powell blog, having a few students purchase Powells through Carolyn Nussbaum, and being acquainted with Powell’s friendly staff, I have not been associated with Powell previously.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who were a part of this story: Martha Long, Janet and John Long, the staff at Carolyn Nussbaum Music Company, especially Carolyn Nussbaum, Mary Lyons, and Carolyn’s mother Shirley, the staff at Verne Q. Powell Flute Company, Martha’s friends, and, as always, my chauffeur and husband Fred.

Helen Spielman is a performance anxiety coach who taught flute for 24 years. Her passion is to help musicians maximize their highest potential on stage. She teaches positive self-talk for performance, self-compassion, the alleviation of perfectionism and worry about others’ approval, concentration, and consistent performance.  Helen works with musicians, moms, and business executives internationally via Phone and Skype. Her popular book A Flute in My Refrigerator: Celebrating a Life in Music is selling prestissimo and is available on Amazon as well as at flute specialty stores. Please visit http://PerformConfidently.com for more information.

Teaching Our Teachers...

Leone Buyse

Thinking about some of the most influential flute educators of the current day, Leone Buyse has made a lasting mark on the landscape of flute teaching.  In 2010, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association and has enjoyed an illustrious career performing and teaching around the globe.  Ms. Buyse paid tribute to her first major teacher, David Berman, in a wonderful post on her blog.  Below is an excerpt, highlighting his pedagogical style and memorable advice she noted in lessons...

David Berman had taught at Ithaca College for only three years when I met him as a 12-year-old flute student.  In the three decades that followed he made immense contributions to the Ithaca College School of Music and also to the greater Ithaca community through his annual solo recitals and numerous faculty chamber music concerts each year.  He played in the Ithaca Chamber Orchestra and the Ithaca Woodwind Quintet, and was both a conductor and member of the Ithaca Opera Orchestra. At Ithaca College he built a vital flute studio and while teaching flute, music theory, and music history mentored untold numbers of students who now serve our profession as performers and teachers.  As a faculty leader he developed and headed the chamber music program and chaired the committee that instigated such major changes in the music curriculum as making chamber music a requirement, requiring diction classes for all singers, and offering a 4.5-year program that combines music education and performance.  In addition, during the three years that Berman served as Assistant Dean he instituted many improvements to the physical plant of the music school. He justifiably takes pride in those accomplishments, but above all, he is most proud of all his students, saying, “Students are your teachers.”  How true!

How exactly did Dave Berman’s teaching make such a difference to me and the many students whom he mentored during the course of his professional life?  In re-reading notebooks that contain his comments from lessons more than four decades ago, I’m continually struck by the life wisdom that was shared in those hours—lessons that always included a balanced diet of scales, etudes, solos, and assigned duets.  As an example, here’s my entry for July 24, 1962:

Start competing with unseen competitors.  
Aim for Carnegie Hall.  
The USA is only one country in a huge world…
Plan to practice 3-4 hours daily.  
Budget your time.

Immediately following those motivational words comes the practical, technical advice that I clearly must have needed:

While playing Taffanel Gaubert exercises, stop on a note and listen to your tone.Try to maintain brilliance in the upper middle register when going down.Don’t make the embouchure hole too wide for your lowest notes because too much air will escape.Try to get a good low tone before vibrating; vibrato is a camouflage.

Here are just a few other sample comments from other lesson entries:

Practice without stopping before hard passages in an etude.
Don’t think about your teacher’s possible reaction—Just play!
View criticisms in proportion.
Point the tongue for a clear staccato.
Practicing whistle tones requires a relaxed embouchure and good support.  This will help develop tonal placement and embouchure strength. 
In exploring tone and articulation there are never-ending complexities, deeper and deeper shades and details.

These quotes offer only a small glimpse of the spirit that made David Berman’s pedagogy so meaningful.  He was demanding and he was honest; he was able to get to the heart of a technical or musical problem and help a student improve.  How often he tried to help me achieve a sense of musical freedom, especially in music that had an ethnic quality, such as Bartok.  At those times he would often ask me to sing, which I dreaded. (Not any more—I now sing all the time while teaching!) Most important, he possessed a well-honed sense of how and when to push or encourage, and he understood how each student’s background might affect his or her ability to approach and solve an issue.  He was intuitive, kind, and effective—a winning combination of attributes for anyone in the teaching profession.

*The full text of Ms. Buyse's post, titled "Honoring David Berman," may be found on her website at http://www.leonebuyse.com/advice-inspiration/.

Choosing "The One"

The NFA is quickly approaching, and here at Powell, we are busy preparing inventory to bring.  With so many flutes in one spot, this convention is attractive to those who are seriously considering a flute purchase.  We always look forward to speaking with teachers, whether they are looking for flutes to recommend to their students, or accompanying their students for the decision-making process.  As both you and your students try flutes, it is important to take several factors into consideration before making a final decision. 

Often times, there are several contenders to choose from before selecting "the one."  You and your students will compare the flutes and evaluate factors including tone, response, projection -- and of course, price.  At the convention, you'll have the chance to speak with associates from the companies, so it is an optimal chance to ask questions.  But what should you ask?  Well, we know you will have a list of important questions of your own, but if your student is going alone, s/he may not be familiar with some of the "specs" (specifications) and terms.  Discuss terms and features with them -- tube thickness, pitch, and mechanism options like split E, C# trill, D# roller.  We all want to carefully consider the value of our purchases -- especially when selecting a flute.  Materials are particularly important -- what material is used for the body?  What about the materials for the headjoint and mechanism?  Materials will often have their own set of terms -- is it a solid metal?  Is it plated?  Powell's President, Steven Wasser, write about this topic in a post on our Flute Builder blog at http://www.flutebuilder.com/2012/10/the-gold-in-gold-flute_3.html.  You will hear specs on mechanisms, too -- is it a pinned mechanism, or is it pinless?  What type of pads are used?  Finally, you want to make sure that your students ask about the warranty terms.

Whether flute trials take place at the convention or when you get home, the questions on features and specs are always important.  If you are at the convention, you'll have the chance to ask questions, and company associates are happy to help.  When you are at home, you'll still want to keep these questions in the forefront.  Check the companies' websites, and if you cannot find information that is important to you in this process, or if something is not clear, make sure to contact the company directly -- it will be WELL worth it!

My Attempts at Beatboxing

By Katherine Kemler

Katherine Kemler

Like many other flutists, I was wowed by Greg Patillo’s beatboxing on YouTube, and when I found out that he had written a piece for the NFA High School Artist Competition, Three Beats for Beatbox Flute, I was determined to learn it.  Because I had already played a lot of contemporary music that used extended flute techniques and was used to making percussive sounds with my mouth, I thought that this was not going to be too difficult for me. Was I wrong!!!  I bought the piece last summer and thought it would be nice to include at least some of it on my faculty recital at LSU in Sept.  As I started working on it, I recorded myself, but when I listened back, what I was doing wasn’t anything like the sounds made by Patillo on YouTube or even 15-year-old Annie Wu, the girl who won the NFA High School Competition in 2011.  So, I decided I needed to start in a more basic way.  I went to Patillo’s Beatboxing 101 video on YouTube and learned some basic beatbox sounds and starting practicing them as I was walking around the house.  This was very annoying for my husband.  “Must you do that?” he would ask, to which I replied, “I must”.  I also watched other people’s videos of plain beatboxing without a flute.  Eventually, I came back to the piece itself, but this time, I used a metronome at a ridiculously slow subdivided tempo and I slogged through it.  Once I started doing that, it got a bit better, and I slowly increased the tempo.  In an article I read, Patillo suggests playing small parts of the piece in a loop until you get it.   

 

I performed the first movement of the piece at the end of my faculty recital on Sept. 9^th.  It did not go so well, but the audience really liked it.  I kept practicing and did it again at the University of Michigan when Amy Porter invited me to do a recital and class there in mid-September.  It went much better.  Encouraged, I started working on the third movement, and was able to add that one when I performed at Mount Holyoke College in early November.  I performed that movement again at another concert in Baton Rouge in January of this year.  I am now working on the second movement, which I think is the most difficult because one must add a little singing to the mix.  I have done a lot of singing and playing, but playing one note and singing another while beatboxing seems to be very difficult for me. 

Once I learn the entire piece, I want to go to New York sometime to have a lesson with Patillo.  I am sure that I am still doing things wrong.  I tend to slow down, get hyperventilated, and I cannot use a microphone because my beatbox sounds are too loud!!  But I am having a lot of fun with this and so glad to be able to do it at all.  I encourage others to give it a go. 

In Search of a Voice

By Jane Lenoir

My love of Latin flute music has been nurtured by the sense of possibility that came from my Powell wood flute. The feelings I have about this flute run pretty deep. I literally fell in love with this flute at the Columbus NFA Convention in 2000, and played it nonstop at all my gigs--orchestra, jazz, chamber music, concertos--everything, for several years. I really loved the way I felt like I was playing an oboe or clarinet sometimes, and the blend with the other woodwinds was different from the experience of a silver flute. The 3rd and 4th octave high notes were clear, focused and in tune, certainly much more so than some other wood flutes I tried out. Also, there was a mutuality that I felt while playing it, in that the warmth of the wood was constantly giving me something back.

Jane Lenoir

I have been playing the flute for over 45 years and for many years, improvising and playing in jazz groups. My latest CD, Tocando Juntos, was recorded by Primavera Latin Jazz band. This group formed 2 years ago at a time in my life when I was ready for a new musical direction. The band members met initially at Berkeley’s Jazz School, in an ensemble class on Afro Cuban Jazz. This was love at first beat—the sound of the wood flute with all its dark warmth and richness, coupled with those rhythmic percussive hits in the high range, floating over the sound of claves, congas, piano and bass was just so irresistibly hypnotic, not to mention appealing to the flute diva in me.  Unlike the jazz idiom, where sometimes as a flutist I felt like a visitor, in Latin jazz the flute is queen--every solo a mini concerto of coloratura rhythmic flair. In Cuba, there are still some charanga flutists are playing 5-key wooden transverse flutes (labeled in the 50’s and 60’s “charanga flutes”) effortlessly popping out 4th octave E’s and F’s.

Once I started digging seriously into Latin American music, it became clear to me that my feeling about the relevance of playing the wood flute is reflected in history—Cuba and Brazil were populated by Europeans from Spain and Portugal in the 16th century. The Europeans brought their instruments and music with them, including baroque and classical styles, later to be synthesized into a version of dance music created by the fusion with African percussion and rhythms. The barons of the sugar and coffee plantations in these countries educated their slaves in the traditional baroque and classical styles (Lully was a favorite in Cuba) to entertain at balls and social gatherings. Pixinguinha, one of Brazil’s greatest composers of choro music and grandson of slaves, was a virtuoso classical flutist, a child prodigy. The synthesis of these cultural styles created beautiful and sensual dance music, including charanga and choro, paving the way for the evolution of samba, bossa nova, mambo, cha cha, salsa, and other more modern styles.

My south of the border musical quest was also influenced by my sister Annie, a clarinetist, who became completely obsessed with Brazilian music after hearing Paulo Sergio Santos and his young son, Caio Marcio,clarinet and guitar, from Rio de Janeiro, perform at a clarinet convention. She called me from the floor of the convention, telling me she had just heard the most amazing music from Brazil--the standing ovation lasted for 10 minutes, while the piece for only 3 minutes long! When my sister gets excited about something, I pay attention. I went out immediately and bought recordings and music. My band, Berkeley Choro Ensemble, was formed from local musicians, some Brazilian. It consists of flute, clarinet, 7-string Brazilian guitar and percussion. I play the wood flute in this group also. In Brazil, most of the choro players are playing silver, but I personally feel that the wood flute sound creates a gorgeous quality with the clarinet. Here’s what one reviewer said about our last concert: “Yesterday I listened to Berkeley Choro ensemble at Avonova. Jane has this mellow and dark sound flowing from her wooden flute and it is amazing how Harvey and Jane weave their sounds together and match the colors so well that at times I was not certain where the clarinet finished and flute began.” (Alex Ran)

To read more about Jane, check out these websites:

http://www.janelenoir.com/home.php

http://www.myspace.com/primaveralatinjazz
http://www.berkeleychoroensemble.com

Preparing Vivaldi’s A Minor Piccolo Concerto … for the Umpteenth Time!

Kate Prestia-Schaub

By Kate Prestia-Schaub

In preparation for an upcoming performance of the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto in A Minor, I reflected upon  many years of studying this piece, and realized that I needed to start all over again.  I first learned the concerto in high school, and felt pretty great about it too!  Little did I know at the time, that intricate details would develop as a result of my various teachers, studying different editions, listening to a wide variety of recordings (and live performances), and watching YouTube videos!  I was asked to adjudicate the NFA piccolo competition recorded round this year, and the contestants recorded the C Major concerto.  There was a significant difference between those who had a broader stylistic understanding of the music, and those who simply played “notes on the page”.  After hearing this competition, I went back to the various live performances I had recorded of myself over the years, and after the desire to hurl the discs of some of the early versions under my car tire, I came out from my cave and realized that each of those performances was a stepping stone for what I have come to for this performance. 

In high school, I believe I snuck the piece out of my Mom’s closet, and worked on it until I was caught not practicing my Taffanel-Gaubert!  I had a few lessons on it with Mamacita, and I was taught the basic principles of Baroque ornamentation, correct phrasing, where to breathe and not to breathe, and how to create some variety by using a dynamic echo on repeated patterns.  I have to admit now, that I spent more time practicing that difficult triplet passage at the end of the first movement than really working on the rules of ornamentation and phrasing.  (Sorry Mom!)

At some point shortly after high school, I heard Mary Kay Fink perform this at an NFA convention, and I was amazed at her ability to embellish the 2^nd movement.  Her performance was one of those that inspired me to reaffirm my “I’m gonna do that someday” statement!  At that point I added one or two feeble noodles in the 2^nd movement, but was too bashful to really step away from the written note.

While studying for my undergraduate degree with Tom Robertello at Indiana University, I revisited the piece and we focused on the concept of using the articulation to help with dynamic contrast.  We also talked about a common practice of using fewer slurs in 16^th note passages for Vivaldi.  For example, when playing softer, I was taught that using a staccato articulation would create the illusion of softer dynamics, and legato would help with louder dynamics.  I came to understand that entire phrases can be created by utilizing a wide range of dynamics, without using a slur, without using vibrato; simply by changing the articulation.  Mind Blown!

During my graduate degree at USC, I studied this piece again with Jim Walker, and focused on adding in a few slurs here and there to create a little more variety, and also make the piece sing on a modern instrument.  I studied, in depth, the ornamentation practices of Vivaldi with Janet Beazley, also at USC, and from her, I was encouraged to really explore the 2^nd movement, and take more risks by stepping away from the written notes.  After 5 years of theory, 2 baroque studies classes, I was ready to try again!

During that time, I performed this piece with piano for the NFA Young Artist Piccolo competition with winning success, but little did I know that I’d take an entirely different approach 10 years later when performing this with a chamber orchestra.

Currently, I am in preparation for a performance with a wonderful group – The California Chamber Orchestra.  For this, I have studied many recordings of traditional baroque string ensembles trying to, once again, familiarize myself with the “Vivaldi” style of bowings, ornamentation, vibrato, dynamics, and tempi.  Trying to match my playing to what a small string ensemble would do has changed my thoughts yet again on what to do with this piece. 

Here are some questions I have asked myself in attempting to really make this “my own”.  It is from this process that I have developed the deepest respect for all of the teachers who have diligently spent time teaching me their points of view, doing their own research, and making the piece their “own” over the course of their careers.  It is a delicate process in current times, of creating a scholarly performance performing on a modern instrument.

• How would I like to hear this if I were in the audience, and if it were a different kind of audience, how would I change it?

• What is the “right” way to play each phrase, keeping in mind the practices of Vivaldi?

•  Can I show off my beautiful modern instrument, or simplify my sound and concept of the piece to match the type of instrument used in Vivaldi’s time?

• How will I blend with the strings in dynamics, articulation, and ornamentation? What are my limitations and strengths, what are theirs, and how can we blend them?

• Shall I vibrate, or not vibrate; articulate all 16^th notes, or add slurs?

• How much can I stray from the written notes in the 2^nd movement? Adventurous and exciting, or simple and safe?

• How many extra ornaments may I add in the 1^st and 3^rd movement, and can I add a cadenza-like section where I really pause, and then speed up?

• How can I make it my own and not directly mimic my favorite recording, or edition?

For me, the balanced approach has won out, at least for this performance.  Here are some of the decisions I have planned out so far, and some reasoning behind them: 

• The audience will be a wide variety of classical music lovers.  There will be a mix of senior citizens, students, and a handful of other musicians, but not a majority of true baroque experts; therefore, I will lean on a more classical approach to my sound. This decision is also made because I believe it helps a general audience appreciate the sound of the piccolo as a solo instrument, and not a screeching marching band instrument.

• The orchestra will be playing on all modern instruments, and other music on the program will be either Baroque or Classical, so I will lean on the late baroque style of ornamentation for a better blend with the rest of the program.  

• I have taken about 3 editions and 4 recordings, and blended my own ornamentation for the 2^nd movement, and it is different than I have ever performed before, and yes – virtuosic!  

• I have determined to use a more modern approach on vibrato because of the performance venue.  Without it, I believe that the projection over the chamber orchestra will be lost. 

• I will use a wide variety of articulations, with a moderate amount of slurs, and ultimately I hope to create the most dynamic contrast by the use of staccato vs. legato during each phrase.  

• I have eliminated many “echo” patterns, and replaced them with more of a forward moving phrase using a constant dynamic shift, so as not to disrupt the line with a subito piano, although a few are left for variety.  My hope is not to play every repeated phrase the same way, but to creatively form a musical line with simple, yet effective articulation shifts. 

• There will only be one rehearsal, and since I have mixed and matched many different editions, I will have to be sure to go over these decisions with the conductor to make sure that she can give a heads up to the principals before the entire group arrives.   If these decisions are not noted at the rehearsal, I will have to be extremely flexible at the time of the performance, relying on listening and blending with the group so as not to stick out like a sore thumb.

So, what I thought in high school was a cute little piccolo piece has been continuously evolving for over a decade – almost two!!  If I can be humble enough and allow myself to continue learning, I will be able to let these concerti, as well as other standard repertoire for both flute and piccolo evolve as this has, and hopefully, the result will be a more refined and enjoyable performance for the audience!