Reinventing Classical Music for a Modern Era - Tammy Evans Yonce

Powell player Dr. Tammy Evans Yonce, Assistant Professor of Music at South Dakota State University, recently gave a TEDx talk about the current state of classical music.  In her presentation, Dr. Yonce illustrated three major points through discussion and performance:

1. New classical music is being written, performed, and enjoyed by people every day
2. Collaboration can happen globally
3. The flute can be reinvented

These points were well-supported through her performance of the piece Dreams Grow Like Slow Ice for glissando flute and electronics.  The piece was written by Jay Batzner, a composer and professor of theory, composition, and technology at Central Michigan University.  Dr. Yonce is very active on social media and became acquainted with Batzner through Twitter.

Dreams Grow Like Slow Ice was premiered by Dr. Yonce at the 2013 National Flute Association Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Audition Days

By Tammy Evans Yonce

Tammy Evans Yonce

It’s audition season! At my home institution, South Dakota State University, we are preparing for on-campus audition days as well as a couple of audition days at off-site locations as a convenience to students in the other parts of the state.

SDSU is a large state university that serves metropolitan as well as rural populations. Because of this, the backgrounds of auditioning students can vary widely. Some have had private lessons and other music-making opportunities outside of their high school music programs, while others have not played much outside the band room. When evaluating students who are auditioning within the music department, I look at several things. They are asked to prepare two contrasting works or movements. Do they have a characteristic tone? Are their tempos appropriate? Is their technique solid for the works they have chosen? In addition to these musical considerations, I am also interested in the attitude of the student. Are they enthusiastic about continuing with music in college? Do they have realistic expectations about the time commitment it requires, such as rehearsal time, practice time outside of lessons and rehearsals, and performances? Do they enjoy it, despite the hard work required? If a student has these traits and understands the time commitment involved, I am more than happy to teach him or her. It doesn’t matter if a student wants to become a band director, teach privately, play in a community group as a hobby, or has other musical goals, enthusiasm and realistic expectations go a long way in ensuring student success.

I strongly advise students to choose audition music that is well within their abilities. The college audition is not the time to choose a piece that is extremely difficult. Instead, audition committees are interested in how you play at this point in time, so choose music that will show the committee your best playing. It is also a good idea (and usually a requirement) to play contrasting pieces. This shows off your tone as well as your technical abilities and whether or not you have experience playing works from different style periods. Remember that you’re also auditioning the school. They want to get to know you but you also have to determine if the school is a good fit for you. Before your audition, ask if you can schedule a lesson with the flute teacher there, and talk to current students to find out what their experience has been. You also might want to sit in on a rehearsal or a class.

Best of luck!

For more on Tammy Evans Yonce, visit:
www.tammyevansyonce.com
Twitter: TammyEvansYonce
Powell Recording Studio for Tammy Evans Yonce 

Grenadilla Headjoint

By Tammy Evans Yonce

Tammy Evans Yonce

I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to try (and then purchase) a wooden Powell headjoint. I was interested in experimenting with the different color possibilities that I could get with the headjoint, and I haven't been disappointed. Having studied Baroque flute for a short while, I was curious if the headjoint would allow me to create that warmer wooden sound with so many subtle color variations that are possible on Baroque flute. 

Dr. Yonce in a recent recital with the grenadilla headjoint.

Not only are there a lot of color possibilities with this headjoint, but I've been really happy with how well it blends with other instruments. As a flutist who plays a lot of chamber music, it's nice to have a few headjoint options so that it is possible to choose the one that blends best with the particular instrumentation with which I'm playing. 

I've used this headjoint quite a bit in my daily practice as well as in recital since buying it earlier this year. It has been a flexible, useful addition to my Powell collection. 

Find Dr. Tammy Evans Yonce on the web:
Powell Profile: https://powellflutes.com/recording-studio/artists/tammy-evans-yonce-0
Personal website: www.tammyevansyonce.com 
Twitter: @TammyEvansYonce.

Choosing a Recital Program

By Tammy Evans Yonce

THE FALLING CINDERS OF TIME was composed especially for my dear friend, Heidi Alvarez, and completed in the Spring of 2011. The structure of the work is episodic in nature with a recurring motive of a minor third uniting the different melodic ideas. The work is also somewhat of an elegy for my mother who passed away during its creation. The center section of the piece and its ending contain brief quotations of the gorgeous melody from the middle of Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” which was one of my mother’s favorite compositions. The title is drawn from this brief bit of my poetry:

Nights float on streams of silver.
We watch the falling cinders of time
As the last glint of watchfulness fades.

--Michael Kallstrom

Tammy Evans Yonce

When choosing a recital program, I try to make sure it is balanced and includes a lot of variety. I chose to perform The Falling Cinders of Time first on this recital for several reasons. I’m very comfortable with it and enjoy performing it, so I knew it would put me in the right frame of mind for the rest of the performance. Audiences also enjoy it, and its relatively short length is a good way to start a performance. The rest of the program included several different types of pieces. While I primarily focus on new music at this point, I am aware of my audience. Some audiences are tolerant of new works, and others would prefer to hear the standard repertoire that is more familiar to their ears. My most recent recital included a Bach sonata, a work by Gaubert, and a lot of new music. Among the new works, I still try to include considerable variety. The Falling Cinders of Time is a solo work; two others included digital audio, one was for flute and clarinet, and another was for alto flute and piano.

When I help my students choose recital repertoire, I guide them towards a varied program that represents the different stylistic eras. I want them to choose music they feel a connection to, but it is also my responsibility to make sure they know the essential standard repertoire that classically-trained flutists should know. I also think it is important that they include new music on their recital programs. I encourage them to seek out new pieces, listen to recordings, and work with composers to learn about new repertoire possibilities. Since collaboration is such a crucial element to music making, I also encourage them to form chamber groups and include those works on their recital. This helps students learn repertoire as well as essential rehearsal skills.  

Besides including works from various stylistic eras and different instrumental combinations, I also think it’s important to include works of varying difficulty. Obviously students should stretch themselves to continue developing higher levels of technique, tone, and musicality, but it can be daunting to play an entire program of intensely difficult music. By including difficult works that really push a student’s limits as well as an occasional “easier” piece, it allows the student a bit of relaxation and creates a more manageable pace.

After the rehearsing has been done and the student gets closer to the recital date, it is important that he or she begins to run through the entire program to get a feel for what it will actually be like during the recital. Rehearsing the actual performance is just as important as the practice that happens leading up to the big day.

By choosing a program that includes works from contrasting stylistic eras and for different instrumental combinations as well as various levels of difficulty, students will have a program that is challenging yet manageable and will provide their audiences with a musical experience they are sure to enjoy.  

Follow Tammy Evans Yonce on the web:
Learn more about Dr. Yonce's work at her personal website, www.tammyevansyonce.com or on Twitter @TammyEvansYonce.

Find her recording of Falling Cinders of Time:
https://www.powellflutes.com/recording-studio/artists/tammy-evans-yonce-0