Bookings!

It's a busy time here in my Flutewiseland office. Like all things in life, some are going exceptionally well and others not so well.

Bookings for Flutewise Live! on 16 July are really impressive. If you are planning to come along I advise you to book your tickets soon. 

What is not going well is Abbotsholme. It's almost certainly to do with the date change. I really, really want to make this course happen as I don't want to disappoint the youngsters who have already booked and we have such a great time every time we go there. I've managed to find a bit of money, so I've got 5 places at a hugely reduced cost that I can offer to deserving young flute players. If you know anyone suitable can you get in touch immediately? Or if you have any other ideas about spreading the word I'd be grateful. The course at Abbotsholme is 4.00 pm on Thursday 27 July to 4.00 pm on Saturday 30 July and we have a few children who will be travelling by train from London with a member of staff.

Thanks.

Flutewise at Abbotsholme - help needed

I hope you are enjoying this fantastic weather. I am, but I'm having a bit of a worrying time about our summer residential course at Abbotsholme. Through no fault of  my own, I've had to agree to slightly different dates for our course. You can imagine what this means! I really, really want the course to go ahead as it is always an absolutely wonderful experience for everyone involved and I don't want to disappoint the young flute players who have already booked. 
The course is now Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 July. It starts and ends at 4.00 pm. It is aimed at all young flute players from the age of 8 upwards and there is the opportunity for people aged 16+ to be involved in Flutewise Apprentice training. Abbotsholme is a wonderful venue in the heart of the countryside, near Alton Towers. We always have a lovely time there. As well as fantastic musical work, we enjoy exploring the grounds (there is a farm!) and the food is excellent.
If you are a young flute player, are you interested? If you are a flute teacher, can you please spread the word? I can offer discount on prices to encourage people if bookings are received by 30 June. Please email me or phone me if you want to know more.
If you are a flute teacher and would like to be involved and can encourage 3 or more young flute players to come along, please get in touch and we can explore the possibility.

Such an exciting event, but unforeseen problems

Funky Flute Club

Funky Flute Club

The members of the Funky Flute Club are really excited because they have got through to the final of our Flutewise/ABRSM flute choir competition which will take place on the morning of Sunday 16 July. Congratulations to them and the other flute choirs who have reached the final. I'll announce them all soon, but they know who they are.

The flute players in the photo are all organised to raise funds to help get them to London and I'm sure they will be very successful. That banner is amazing! 

This is the first time we've held such a competition and it is a great learning curve. One thing I hadn't anticipated was the problem groups might face over the cost of getting to the event. A few of the groups who have reached the final might not be able to come due to this problem. Isn't that sad? I wish there was more Flutewise could do to help them but we don't have any spare money at the moment. Any ideas on how we can support these people would be much appreciated. 

 

 

Flutewise in Tonbridge

On the 14 May we enjoyed an excellent Flutewise event at the Schools at Somerhill in Tonbridge, thanks to Pat Daniels. 

This is a lovely venue and has become a regular feature on our Flutewise calendar. We were so lucky to have Ian Clarke leading proceedings this year. The morning event was just for grownups who all seemed to really learn a great deal from Ian. The afternoon was just for our young Flutewise people and Ian was joined by Simon Williams - people who've been to Woldingham and Abbotsholme will all remember Simon as one of our Apprentices.

I started the afternoon session with some getting to know you games and then Simon took over with a warm-up song. It involved lots of getting up and down off the floor which looked like very hard work but great fun. Ian then took over and led us through a flute warm up. 

We divided into 2 groups at that point - Ian's group went off and a quartet from Somerhill played to him as well as Daniel performed the Great Train Race. The other group enjoyed some creative music making using the idea of my famous (or infamous!) Purple Cow. Both groups prepared an ensemble piece.

After a short break we all joined together to work on Walk Like This and then the parents arrived so it was time for a short concert to show the parents what we'd been up to. It was really magical to hear teacher and student, Ian and Simon, perform pieces composed by the teacher!

We were also lucky to have Patrick Onn from Top Wind with his travelling shop with us all day. 

As well as thanks to Pat, there is a big thank you due to the Schools at Somerhill for letting use their fantastic venue.

It was a really lovely day, I enjoyed it very much and I think everyone else did. Can't wait for the next one!

 

 

 

 

Please support this good cause if you can

Patrick from Top Wind writes:

It is that time of the year again when we ask for your support as Team RSM take on the challenge that is the wonderful Vitality 10,000 run on May 29th raising money for the Royal Society of Musicians.

The charity is very close to my heart and having witnessed first-hand the brilliant work they do to help sick and injured musicians, I urge you to sponsor the team aiming to reach our target of £1,500.

Simply click and pledge whatever you can (sponsoring is a lot easier than running 10K). Here is where you can donate but any offline payments can be accepted, cash or cheques to the Royal Society of Musicians are all welcome.

 https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TeamRSM2017

Thank you

Patrick

Team RSM

 

 

http://www.royalsocietyofmusicians.org/

 

 The Royal Society of Musicians is Britain’s oldest music charity and was founded in 1738 as the Fund for Decay’d Musicians by London’s most prominent and forward-thinking musicians of the day. Some of the Society’s earliest members included Arne, Boyce, Sammartini, Edward Purcell and Handel for whom the Society was a favourite charity. Today the membership has grown to 1,500 professional musicians across the UK, all of whom have joined purely for altruistic reasons to inform the Society of colleagues in need. The aims of the Royal Society of Musicians remain as relevant in 2017 as they were in the earliest days - providing vital funding and support to musicians and their dependents unable to work due to accident, illness or old age. All donations received by the Society are given directly to musicians in need.  Being a charity run by musicians for musicians, we are therefore uniquely placed to understand the challenges faced within the profession. The Society also prides itself on being the only music charity in the UK able to respond immediately to those in distress and our excellent working-relationships with like-minded organisations and charities ensure we are able to provide the most appropriate support. 

At the end of 2013, Royal Patronage was once again restored to the Royal Society of Musicians when Her Majesty The Queen graciously agreed to be Patron - a huge honour in recognition of the Society’s dedication in assisting musicians over the past 275 years."

The Great Flutewise Woldingham Adventure

The count down is on for all of those lucky flute players who are coming to our Flutewise course at Woldingham next week. What a Flutewise Adventure we are going to have! I've got a course planned which is packed with incredible activities. There are so many amazing staff involved I think our course members are going to learn so much and experience some fantastic music making.

The house staff (people who are there all the time) will be myself, Abbie Burrows, Lorna Brown and Simon Williams. We'll settle everyone in on Monday and we'll play some ensemble music, Abbie is bound to come up with an amazing musical activity and we'll have our favourite bedtime concert at the end of the evening.

On Tuesday morning we will be joined by flute player and pianist, Carolyn Kelly, who along with Vicki Hodges, will be working on solos and how to perform them really well. Vicki is now an opera singer (she's been attending Flutewise courses since she was 6!) and really brings a new dimension on how to perform. Her warm ups are also pretty awesome. Clare Jefferis will also be with us on Tuesday and she'll be helping everyone to explore the piccolo. Janina Byrne will also be coming along to see what we get up to and joining in.

On Wednesday Emma Halnan and Ian Judson will be with us. I'm sure we will be treated to Emma performing for us as well as enjoying her workshop on how to get the best out of practice. Ian is going to be concentrating on how to be brilliant in grade exams. He has some really good tips to share.

On Thursday we've got Gareth McLearnon. We all love Gareth's endless energy and enthusiasm. He'll almost certainly bring along a huge collection of flutes including his stunning contra bass. Also on Thursday we are hoping to see Jonathan Myall from Just Flutes.

As well as all of our guest staff giving workshops, the house staff have lots of activities planned. I've heard whispers about the scale game, a sight reading game, a bit of beatboxing and lots more. I can't wait and neither can the staff. We are so lucky so many people want to share their skills and be involved in our Flutewise Adventure.

If you are feeling jealous because you aren't coming, why not hurry and book a place on our Abbotsholme summer course?

 

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Hot off the press ...

... well sort of. After the postman bringing some lovely copies of music this week, I've just discovered a bit of a pile waiting for me to tell all of our Flutewise friends about. Sorry everyone, I'm a bit behind what with all the website challenges and organising so many events for this year. So here is a round up of new music. I'll be giving to all away! Maybe you'll be lucky enough to receive one of them.

First of all publications from Schott. I really like Schott publications, the printing and presentation is always of a really high standard and the contents great. The publications are available in print or pdf download with downloadable MP3 Play-along tracks.

Wilhelm Popp  3 Concert Pieces

I really enjoyed playing through Wilhelm Popp (1828-1902) 3 Concert Pieces for flute and piano. Suitable for players of around Grade 4 to 5 standard they would make a lovely concert item, my favourite being the 3rd one, Pompadour - Gavotte. 

 

 

Also in the same series are

Wilhelm Popp 2 Salon Pieces

Again these are for flute and piano and would make great concert items for flute players of over Grade 6 standard.

Emil Kronke Humming Birds

This album contains 6 pieces for flute and piano for beginner flute players. Each piece concentrates on a different aspect of playing. Really good stuff. Kronke (1865 - 1938) was a German composer who wrote quite a bit of flute repertoire, worth exploring.

Also from Schott

English Folk Tunes for Flute 1 or 2 parts

This book contains 54 traditional pieces edited by Vicki Swann. It's suitable for players from Grade 3 standard and has an accompanying CD

Duets for Fun

This is a collection of easy duets covering from Baroque to Modern repertoire

Easy Folk Flute

This book contains 52 tunes that beginners will enjoy from all around the world. There is a backing CD and the piano parts are available as a free PDF download.

For more information visit the Schott website

Music from Spartan Press

I don't know if you know, but as well as publishing it's own music, Spartan Press distribute music for a lot of other publishers. They always seem very supportive of us flute players and offer a huge library of publications.

Wilhelm Popp Sonatine Op 388 No 1 and No 2

That Wilhelm Popp is getting around a lot at the moment. These two gems for flute and piano have been edited by Susan Milan, one of the UK's leading flute players and respected teacher. They are perfect for players over Grade 6 standard as recital items. Really so flutey!

Tim Knight - Winterscape

Tim Knight - Beside Still Waters

Tim Knight is quite a prolific composer. I especially like Winterscape for Flute and Piano. It is beautiful. His Beside Still Waters is subtitled 5 Reflections on Psalm 23 for C instrument and piano. Players over Grade 5/6 standard will enjoy these.

Alan Bullard - Duologues

Advanced players of both flute and piano will enjoy exploring Alan Bullard's Duologues. There are 3 movements

Jeffery Wilson - First Flute

Then for absolute beginners there is an excellent publication, First Flute, which has solos, duets, improvisation and ensemble pieces. Really good material to enhance any lesson.

Richard Strauss - Der Zweikampf (1884) The Duel

Now this does look exciting! It was attributed to Richard Strauss and Phylloscopus Publications (distributed by Spartan Press) have brought out two versions - for flute, bassoon and chamber orchestra and one for flute and bassoon with piano reduction. they have been edited by Chris and Frances Nex. Let me know if you would like to try this!

Glazunoz - Trios Miniatures Op 42

Mark Tanner has transcribed these superb pieces - Pastorale, Polka and Valse by Russian composer, Alexander Glazunoz (1865 - 1936), for flute and piano. Really enjoyable for the more advanced flute player to tackle and enjoy.

For more information on all of these visit the Spartan Press website

Chris Green - Zinging

Chris Green - Unzipped

These two pieces are both published by Emerson Edition, another excellent publisher of flute music. Zinging is for solo flute and Unzipped is for flute duet. They both use extended techniques, a bit of beat boxing and singing and playing. Great fun for players around Grade 5 to 6 standard. 

It is worth having a look at the June Emerson website.

 

There are four books in my pile from Forton Music.

Lynne Williams - Flute Duets for Young Players

Lynne Williams - Thirty One Two Three

Lynne Williams - Twenty Four Five

Karen Gourlay - High Five

Some great material here, written, obviously by flute teachers who know just what young flute players can do! The Flute Duets is suitable for very beginners. The other two books by Lynne Williams are progressive study books for solo flute, starting from beginner standard to about Grade 3/4. Karen Gourlay's High Five is a collection of ten original easy pieces for flute and piano. Good stuff.

Look at the Forton Music website to see what else they have available.

 

Finally, there are 4 books published by Lemoine which are well worth sharing.

Gjovalin Nona - Musique des Balkans

Gjovalin Nona - Musiques Traditionnelles Albanaises

These are original compositions by this Albanian composer. They are for solo flute, one piece is for 2 flutes and they have chords. Very interesting.

Sergios Arriagada - 10 Pieces Latino Américaines

This album is great fun. For the beginner flute player up to Grade 3, these are for flute and piano and the book comes with a CD.

 

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Jacques Lesburgueres - Une flute itinerante

This is described as a musical trip around the world - France, Africa, Japan, India, Balkans). Tricky stuff, with some extended techniques well worth exploring. It is for solo flute with accompanying CD which uses an interesting variety of instruments Cor Anglais, Harp, Glockenspiel etc.

For more information check out Lemoine Editions website

Thanks for reading this far. I wonder if you might be the lucky recipient of one of the books above!