HELLO, 2020!

Wow, 2020! While I was busy doing X, Y, and Z, 2019 flew by, and BAM! here we are in a new decade!

There’s lots to recall but first off, a list of my upcoming activities, i.e., where I can be found in the near future:

January 31 and February 1st (Friday and Saturday afternoons) - I’ll have the privilege to give a master class and recital (Sat., 6:30pm, Cenjor 2) with flute students from the Lisbon National Conservatory—the Escola Artística de Música do Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa. The theme is how to prepare for auditions, exams and other important moments, and I look forward to sharing my experience with students from the Conservatory and other schools or teachers. The class is open to outside students, as well.

There will also be an exhibit of Powell Flutes, and some chamber music to play together! My heartfelt thanks to Professor Pérola Martins for the invitation and loads of help setting it all up!

Slightly further ahead, the weekend of February 8 and 9, I’ll be teaching a master class at the Palmela Conservatory, focussing on practice habits (i.e., how to do the most good work in the shortest time!) and integrating technical and artistic aspects of interpretation, and how to do all this while HAVING FUN! Many thanks to Professors Paulo Martins, Jorge Nunes and Margarida Quítalo for the chance to go visit Palmela (gorgeous!) and have a terrific weekend of flute-playing. Outside students also welcome!

In February I’ll also be in Paris and in Porto, but that’s another blog entry! Below, a photo of my fantastic colleagues of Musicâmara; we’ve just kicked off the new season with a program around Beethoven in stunning Vila Real, which will later travel to Cascais and Faro and elsewhere—stay tuned (got the pun?)!

Musicâmara musicians—program with Beethoven, Spohr, and Bomtempo

Syrinx : XXII — back at work!

August at the beach? 'Fraid not! August finds me happily rehearsing a fantastic new program with Syrinx : XXII: António Carrilho, recorders and Raj Bhimani, piano. 

We are preparing for our return tour to India in November, taking a program of gorgeous works from four centuries, including Bach, Gluck, Schubert and Mozart, works by living Portuguese composers and the premier of a new trio by Sören Sieg, to boot!

Raj snapped this cool photo of me warming up on the bass flute for the Sieg work—a rollicking fun and beautiful trio that uses the bass flute to perfection—thank you, dear Sören, once again!

Why is the bass flute just so cool?

Powell Brings Philippe Bernold to Tomar

Courtesy of Powell Flutes and its parent company, Buffet Crampon, Professor Philippe Bernold, of the Paris National Conservatory, presented classes, a seminar and a recital at the Summer Flute Academy 2018, in Tomar. 

It was a unique opportunity for all present to observe his work, play for him in classes and hear him perform a stunning recital. Bernold is a Powell Artist, performing on a Handmade 18k gold Powell flute, and along with his position at the Paris Conservatoire, gives master classes worldwide, and is extremely busy as a soloist and conductor. He is also very approachable, generous, and can simplify musical and instrumental issues brilliantly.

He also fell in love with Tomar! Portugal has many "hidden" delights, and the historic city of Tomar—gastronomy included!—is definitely high up on that list! Prof. Bernold—au revoir! See you again soon!

Philippe Bernold in recital with pianist Jonathan Ayerst, at the Summer Flute Academy, Tomar

Coming up for air / Bravo Maria and Simão!

Oops, I've been so busy I haven't been blogging…but time to get back on the saddle, because there is a lot to write about!

To start off, just a sweet photo of two ESART students, Maria Paixão (entering 3rd year) and Simão Francisco (completed Masters in Teaching in 2017), together in Tomar. As Simão was Maria's teacher, at the Canto Firme School of Music, where he is Professor of Flute and also the Director (!), you can sense in the photo the special connection between students and teachers, and a love for music that is what makes me enjoy teaching so much. 

Shortly after this photo was taken, Maria won 1st Prize in the "Sons de Cabral" competition in Belmonte, and Simão was busy directing the flute ensemble and helping organize the 6th Summer Flute Academy in Tomar—congratulations for two jobs extremely well done!

ESART in Tomar—Maria Paixão and Simão Francisco

Welcoming Paolo Taballione to the 5th Summer Flute Academy!

Courtesy of Powell Flutes, we are excited to welcome Powell Artist Paolo Taballione to the 5th Summer Flute Academy! Paolo will give a recital and work with selected students in a masterclass that promises to be a lot of fun!

I met Paolo briefly at the "Hands-On" flute festival at the University of Aveiro earlier this year, and very much enjoyed his entertaining performance, which included two works he himself arranged for flute and piano! We are waiting to see what else he has up his sleeve for us at the Academy, and look forward to his feedback to our fantastic students! Alongside his many solo performances, Paolo is Solo Flute of the Bavarian State Opera, so be prepared for a little "magic flute-ing"!

There is no cost to participants in the Academy for his (or any of the other) class—it's all included in the very accessible price of the Academy, so hurry up and sign up before places all fill up!

Many thanks to Powell Flutes in Boston, USA, for once again supporting the Academy with the presence of an outstanding flutist at our course!

Paolo Taballione, Powell Artist

Head joint upgrades, Part 1!

Are you feeling like your flute is letting you down? Do you feel you are ready for an instrument that can do what you can imagine doing? Are you looking to upgrade to a much better instrument—and yet, you don't have the funds for a whole new flute?

We've all been in this position, and the very best advice I can give you is to UPGRADE YOUR HEAD JOINT! The head joint of a flute is like the bow for a violin or cello—and believe me, our string-player friends spend a lot of time searching for a better bow, since it is so much more affordable than a better fiddle!

As long as the body of your flute is working well—and if it isn't, you should send it to Luthier Tomás Miranda right away!—then you can definitely make a huge positive impact in your performance by upgrading to a better head joint.

Which brings me to Powell and Powell's famous head joints: famous since 1927 for their response, flexibility and projection! I have in stock a wide selection of head joints, both Signature (a more accessible line which is still totally handmade) and Custom, in materials ranging from classic Silver, Grenadilla, Aurumite and Gold. There's literally something for everyone.

If you are interested, just contact me for a no-obligation trial, or attend the 5th Summer Flute Academy, where there will be oodles of stock available to try and buy.

Gorgeous Powell head joints, waiting for you to find yours!