Ball State University Flute Day

with Guest Artist Bonita Boyd

Saturday, October 13, 2012 : 8:30 am – 7 pm
Sursa Hall, Ball State University
FREE

Events include: Flute choir reading, Masterclass with pre-selected students, Q&A Session, Open masterclass and flute clinic, BSU Student Recital, Recital with Bonita Boyd

Sponsors: Ball State University, Indy Flute Shop, & Powell Flutes

John Thorne Masterclass

Saturday, October 27, 2012 : 4 pm – 6 pm
Indy Flute Shop
Cost: $10
Free for current 2012-2013 GIFC members

Flutist John Thorne was born in New York City. He attended the Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Julius Baker, former Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic. He has also studied privately with Anne Zentner of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. For the past twenty years, Mr. Thorne has held the position of associate principal flutist for the Houston Symphony.

Sponsors: Greater Indianapolis Flute Club, Indy Flute Shop, & Powell Flutes

Special display of Powell Flutes during part of October

You can download the flyer for the event here.

On November 13th at 2pm, Kate Lukas will be having a workshop at Meridian Music in Carmel. This event is sponsored by the Greater Indianapolis Flute Club, open to all ages and levels, and is free to everyone. Students may bring their flutes to this event! A flyer with more information about the event is posted below for you to download. Please feel free to hang this in your classroom to remind students of the event! It would be a great opportunity for any student at any level to experience this workshop with Kate. If the students or parents have any questions they may speak with Allison Mathews, phone number: 317-813-2044 or Lainie Veenstra, 317-873-9798.

About Kate Lukas
Kathryn Lukas is Professor of Flute at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is a former faculty member of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (awarded the distinction of a Fellow of the GSM&D) in London and of the Royal Academy of London. She is the former principal flute of the Santa Fe Opera Company and has served as guest principal flute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

As a proponent of new music, she has worked with Berio, Xenakis, Elvis Costello, Thomas Ades, Birtwistle, Maxwell Davies and many other prominent composers while a member of the Composers Ensemble and Music Theatre Wales. Lukas has performed numerous broadcasts of solo and chamber music repertoire for the BBC, Radio France, and regional German radio stations. She has commissioned works through the Arts Council of Great Britain and recorded for Nimbus and Wergo. She received a Fulbright Fellowship in 1968 to study in England.

[DOWNLOAD Workshop Flyer here]

Whether you are a student a couple of years into your study or an adult who wishes for better tone, a step-up flute may be right for you!  Step-up flutes may also referred to as intermediate flutes.

 One advantage to upgrading to a step-up flute would be tone quality.  Beginning flutes are manufactured with durable materials, specifically designed for novice hands.  As a result, beginning flutes produce a fuzzy, less clear tone.  After learning the basics, further musical development can be set back by a beginning instrument.  Intermediate flutes are made with sterling silver, which have a profound effect on tone quality.  One thing solo and ensemble judges listen for is tone quality, and a step-up flute will improve that score!

 The next major difference on intermediate flutes is the addition of open holes.  The switch from plateau or closed holes is easy with practice.  The intermediate flute will come with tiny plugs that are gently placed in the key holes.  These key plugs are an excellent way to accommodate this new learning curve.  The easiest way to open up the holes is to practice and take one new plug at a time.  Do not move onto the next plug until you feel 100% comfortable with the initial open hole.  Taking plugs out in this order F, E, A, G, D should be the easiest method.

Rushing through this new technique could hinder your playing in the long run.  It is very important at this stage to seal the key hole entirely because improperly seated fingers may leak air. 

 It is an exciting experience for players to test many flutes and choose one with the best tone quality for them.  Opening your student to a new level of playing builds enthusiasm as they find themselves progressing in their studies.  The commitment to playing the flute will be renewed when the student plays their first step-up instrument. 

Allison

In the past two years, we’ve had quite a roster of flutists come in for clinics and masterclasses.  We began with Paul Edmund-Davies in October of 2008 with an interactive lecture on his new etude book The 28 Day Warm Up Book for all Flautists…eventually!, a masterclass, and a recital.  About a month later, Greg Pattillo came and visited several high schools and presented a clinic here at the shop to a standing-room only crowd!  In March  2009, Mimi Stillman performed a masterclass and recital at Indiana State, DePauw, Marian, and Ball State.  We had quite a busy couple of days with her, but it was wonderful!  And then in November 2009, William Bennett came to Indy for a special two day event presented in conjunction with the Greater Indianapolis Flute Club at Hilbert Circle Theatre.  He presented a professional class, masterclass, and recital.  It has been so wonderful to be able to work with such talent and bring them all to Indianapolis!

And finally, this month our 5th artist, Eric Lamb, will be here on June 28th for a clinic on extended technique followed by a  recital.  For more info on this exciting event, check out www.indyfluteshop.com/ericlamb.

If you haven’t been to our shop yet, this month is a great time!  Especially if you are looking for a new instrument.  All month long we are offering either 12% off or 12 months same-as-cash on any purchases $399 and up.  On June 28th 2pm-6pm we will have a special display of Altus instruments here as well if you would like to stop by and try them.

Even if you’re not looking for an instrument, stop by and say hi!  Check out what’s new!

As always, I’d love to hear your feedback.  What are doing well?  What are we not doing well?  Are there any specific products or flutes you’d like to see at our shop?  What other flutists would you like to see in Indy?

Thank you for your business and your support!  We look forward to serving you in the future!

Check it out!

Eric Lamb, Co-Principal Flutist; The International Contemporary Ensemble, Recitalist and Lecturer of Music.
Belonging to the generation of young international classical musicians who are defying definition, flutist ERIC LAMB is steadily making a name for himself as a chamber musician, soloist, recitalist and lecturer. He was a recipient of the Millennium Young Artists’ Award from the James Tatum Foundation of the Arts, the National John Philip Sousa Award and a Dean’s Talent Scholarship from Oberlin College. In 2003, he was a finalist at the International Music Competition “Pacem in Terris” (Bayreuth, Germany), in 2004 he won first prize in the Polytechnische Gesellschaft Chamber Music Competition, 2006 first prize in the Lenzewski Music Competition followed later that year with first prize in the German Academic Exchange Performing Arts Competition, where he was also awarded the Goethe Prize.

Ensemble and chamber music form a central part of Eric’s musical activities.  A core member of the New York based International Contemporary Ensemble – ICE, he has given world and U.S premiers of more than 100 works and worked closely with John Adams, Kaija Saariaho, Marc-Andres Dalbavie, Matthias Pintscher and Steve Schick. With ICE he has recorded on Tzadik, Bridge, NAXOS, Mode, New Amsterdam and New Focus.

Past solo engagements have included performances with ensembles such as the Oberlin Orchestra, the DePauw Chamber Orchestra, Cologne Chamber Ensemble, Polish Chamber Philharmonic, the City of Giessen Orchestra and the Frankfurt Music Academy Orchestra. Recent festival and recital appearances in Lugano, Graz, Gdansk, Salzburg, Bremen, Lockenhaus, Darmstadt, Belgium and Hamburg have all been major musical and professional impulses.

A seasoned orchestral player, he is invited regularly to perform with orchestras around the globe. From 2002 to 2007 he was principal substitute flutist with the Radio Orchestra of Frankfurt. During that time he also performed as principal flutist in the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, the Chamber Opera Orchestra of Frankfurt and the Deutsche Philharmoniker. In 2008 he performed with England’s City of Birmingham Orchestra on an extensive tour of Germany, Holland, Italy and Switzerland under the direction of Sakari Oramo. He has also performed with the ASKO/Schönberg Ensemble of Amsterdam at Carnegie Hall and the Walt Disney Center in LA. Upcoming collaborations include performances with french pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the Faust Quartet and concerto and recital appearances throughout the US.

Eric regularly presents lectures and master classes and has a small studio of private students in New York. In 2000, Eric completed a flute performance degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the class of Michel Debost. He holds both a Master’s of Orchestral Performance and a Soloist’s Diploma – Germany’s highest and most prestigious music degree – from the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt am Main where he studied with Thaddeus Watson. He received additional musical training at the Sculoa di Musica di Fiesole, Italy under the guidance of Chiara Tonelli.

Eric is an Altus Artist and resides in Harlem NY with his partner, composer Paul Vasile, and their cats Izzy and Edith von Kitty.

Indy Flute Shop provided the top 3 prizes: AF700BO, YFL371HIIAL, and YPC32 with support from Yamaha and Amadeus, and we also provided 5th prize (a $50 gift certificate to Paige’s).  It was a great day for all those involved.  Thanks to the many volunteers from GIFC and Andrea Raes who did a wonderful job coordinating the event.

Sorry some of the pics are a little dark or blurry; my photography skills aren’t that great!  If you hover over the photo with your mouse you will see the title of the photo.

Video here

As I was watching the video, it struck me that Ormandy addressed the orchestra, saying “Gentlemen.”  In 1949, there were no women in this orchestra.  In fact, no woman held a principal position in a major orchestra until Doriot Anthony Dwyer in 1952.  She won principal flute of the Boston Symphony and played with them 1952-1990.  And Doriot studied with William Kincaid during WWII!

Here is a link to a great article on Doriot.

One of our best selling products in the Flute Shop is the Thumbport.  This device is meant to help with the balance and stability of the flute and therefore isn’t merely a training device for young students.  It has become very popular with amateurs and professionals as well. 

As you can see from the above picture, the Thumbport can change your right hand position making it much easier to support the flute.  It has a small lip on it that prevents the flute from rolling backwards.  You can position it in several ways, but in the way I find the most comfortable, the Thumbport actually brings your thumb back a little from its traditional place directly underneath the flute.  This allows you to better balance the flute.  There are several schools of thought on the best way to hold your flute and I’m not going to delve into that debate, but for the purposes of this blog I will use the example that I was taught.  Thinking of the flute as a lever and your left hand as the fulcrum (or pivot point), your right hand thumb pushes the flute forward when in playing position.  The flute should pivot on the left hand fulcrum and push the lip plate into your chin.   The Thumbport makes this easier by bringing the right hand thumb out from under the flute and almost to the side of the flute.  It also provides extra support with the lip of the Thumbport to prevent any slippage.  In addition, I find that it frees up your right hand fingers to move a little easier.

Whew, ok done with the physics part now onto the more important point….it comes in so many color choices!!  The most popular colors that I sell are the grey/black and ivory/grey since they blend into the color of a silver flute best.  There is also yellow/grey which works well for a gold flute.  If you want to add a little color you can also choose from ivory/green, ivory/purple, ivory/pink, and ivory/blue.  The material of the Thumbport is also a great feature because it is very pliable so it won’t scratch your flute when putting it on or taking it off. 

The Thumbport is also available for alto flute and piccolo.  (I have found that you often have to trim a corner off of the piccolo Thumbport to get it to fit, but that’s easy to do.)  The Thumbport II is a little different take on the original Thumbport, as you can see in the above image (it’s the one on the far right).  The lip of it is a slightly shorter and it has a little bit different angle that works better for certain people depending on their thumb size and hand position.

If you are looking for a remedy for hand pain, to correct a problem with your hand position, or if you just want to try something new, stop in the shop and try out a Thumbport!

All pictures from www.thumbport.com