I had a trip out to a flute day yesterday, a flute day organised by someone else so it was a great treat. It was at Thornden School in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire and it was superbly organised by local flute teacher, Anita Hall.
Anita had planned the day for her own pupils and they were all there to support her, over 50 of them, very impressive!
The guest artist of the day was Ian Clarke and everyone enjoyed his extremely friendly manner, his teaching, and his superb playing.
It was good to see Nigel James there from All Flutes Plus together with a local music shop. We are so very lucky in the flute world to have the support of the wonderful specialist flute shops that always seem to be supporting flute events everywhere.
I enjoyed hearing all the young flute players rehearsing for their evening concert and it was good to hear from some of the ones I chatted with that their favourite piece was “Walk Like This” by Ian Clarke, as I commissioned this for Flutewise.
It was a great event. I hope all of those players realise how lucky they are to have such a talented and enthusiastic flute teacher.
I’m delighted we are able to start a series of events in Sussex soon, thanks to the generosity of the Westdene Trust. Even though I live in the area, we haven’t had many events here for local flute players.
We’ll be starting on Wednesday 7 February with a workshop at Portslade Town Hall between 6.30 and 8.30 pm. All young local flute players and their teachers are invited to come along although places must be booked in advance.
A local young professional player, Philippe Barnes will join me for this first workshop to inspire everyone who attends. I’m hoping at future events we’ll have Rachel Smith, Gareth McLearnon, Louise Matthew, Ian Judson and maybe even Jerry Randalls all the way from Scotland and Kirsten Spratt from Sweden! Louise, Ian, Jerry and Kirsten have been involved with Flutewise for many years (Kirsten and Louise have been teaching and playing on our courses almost since we started) and they are incredibly good teachers.
If you live within travelling distance and would like to come get in touch by email or phone.
Sandy Hay and I have been discussing having a National Flutewise Choir for ages and we think now is the time to make it happen. The flute players who played in the Galway Christmas Concerts in London have all been offered the opportunity to take part, but there are still some places available.
Would you like to be part of it?
You need to be between 8 and 19 years of age, a very keen flute player and be willing and able to attend rehearsals and practise the pieces in between rehearsals. We are planning 4 rehearsals in the next 6 months that will culminate in a performance somewhere exciting – Euro Disney is a favourite idea. This year the rehearsals will be held in Brighton at Ovingdean Hall on a Saturday evening until late Sunday afternoon.
If you are interested send me an email explaining why you deserve a place.
I’ve been offered some tickets for a seminar in London during February. It’s suitable for people over 18, so teachers, college students or parents of members are welcome to apply to go into the prize draw that will take place on 15 January 2007. I’ve reproduced the press release about it below. The seminar date is Thursday 22 February, during the afternoon and it is in central London. I don’t have the exact venue yet.
If you would like to come please send me an email either via or our website or at my regular email address. You do need to be a member of Flutewise or a parent of a member. I think I have 5 or 6 tickets and it might be possible for us to meet up beforehand for a cup of coffee and a chat.
“UK Musicians’ coach reveals the hidden secrets of success
Musicians’ Coach Kavit Haria is holding a series of London seminars in February 2007 during which he will reveal incredibly powerful strategies that talented musicians can use to produce instant results. The seminars are aimed at committed musicians, music teachers and music industry individuals who want to understand what it is that they are doing wrong and discover the hidden secrets of success in music so they can start using them in their lives.
At these unique, fun seminars musicians will learn about goal setting and strategies for success, fear busting and how to overcome obstacles and challenges. Those who have been working tirelessly at their music but haven’t achieved the results they expect will understand what is holding them back from progressing towards and achieving their goals. By delving deeply into the causes of failure, musicians can learn new thought patterns, gain confidence and re-programme themselves to achieve personal fulfilment.
Kavit draws on his personal experiences to show how musicians can bypass years of trial and error and use the breakthrough success strategies he teaches to plan their success. In just under two hours those who attend the seminar will be equipped with the vital information they need to change their music career and lifestyle for the better. Musicians who are languishing will learn how to create their own personal music success plan. Others who are already doing quite well can use this cutting edge information to take their career to the next level, escape from the rat race and become full-time well paid professional musicians.”
I am excited and happy today. I had a 40-minute phone call from Ian Anderson and he has agreed to be our ‘Artist of the Year’! This is a new venture for Flutewise and I know it will be very motivating for all our members.
‘Who is Ian Anderson?’ I hear some younger flute players ask. He is a member of the rock band, Jethro Tull and is famous for playing his flute while standing on one leg.
Now you all know I always only want to give you good role models and standing on one leg is certainly not conducive to good flute playing, so why am I so excited? Well I’ve known Ian Anderson and his work for a long time and I hold him in the highest esteem as a musician, which is probably much more important than any skill in flute playing. Almost anyone can learn to play the flute, but it’s how you use it what matters. I have very fond memories of many workshops where I’ve given people Bach’s Bourree to learn and then I’ve played them the Jethro Tull recording. The reaction has always been electric.
Now we have the opportunity to get to know Ian and the band by having articles in our magazine and going along to their concerts. We are even going to have some pre-concert events with them. How cool is that?! And who knows, he might like us so much, he might pop along to one of our courses and say hello.
If you want to learn more about Ian and Jethro Tull you can visit www.j-tull.com
Let me know what you think.