When I visited the Powell Flutes factory in the summer of 2014, one of the highlights was meeting the chief head joint maker, Lindsey McChord. Henceforth, I have thought of her as a "Zen Master" in the art of cutting head joints, because it really takes that kind of patient, sustained attention to detail to make the fabulous varieties of head joints on offer by Powell. She radiated that calmness, and it shows in the incredible consistency of the head joints Powell produces.

At that time, Lindsey was developing what would become the Signature II style head joint, and I was able to try a prototype—it has the larger lip plate like the Custom Philharmonic and Venti style heads, and the cut of the embouchure is slightly different from the original Signature (still on offer). To me, it was a winner, and indeed has been in production for the last year or so.

Now Powell has just launched the Lumina style head joint for its Custom and Conservatory flutes, and I'm dying to try one out. As soon as I get some here, I'll let everyone know. But coming from the workshop of Lindsey, I suspect it will be another winner!

Lindsey McChord, Chief Head Joint Maker at Powell Flutes