De Lorenzo's L'Indispensabile, No. 5

The fifth exercise of L'Indispensabile uses the same five-note pattern as number 4, but it flips the pairs of notes which creates a significant challenge. The biggest challenge for this one at least in the beginning is more of a mental one, of wrapped the brain around the pattern. Once you become comfortable with the pattern the fourths should be carefully minded.
If you are new to this exercise, then it would be very beneficial to spend a little extra time on the printed version in C major before moving on to the other keys. You may even want to start this one at a slower metronome marking than you were using on number 4 and breaking it down into chunks will also be helpful. Throughout your practice, be sure to keep the tension low.

Goals for Quarter 2 (for real this time)

I'm very excited about playing these days! Sunday was my first concert with the SFPWE. They're some really great people, and the concert was a blast. Tomorrow starts tech week rehearsals with the Outre Theater for Wild Party, and I'm definitely looking forward to that as well.
My broad goals for the quarter are below:

Technique
Gilbert Technical Flexibility
Boehm 12 Etudes

Etudes
Karg-Elert 31 Etudes.
Donjon 8 Etudes de Salon

Repertoire
Debussy Syrinx
Varese Density 21.5
Taktakishvili Sonata
Handel Sonata in F
Clarke The Great Train Race
Perilhou Ballade

So far I have been able to play every day, and beyond that, I've really been able to get some good work in most days. I haven't heard back from any other schools in need of faculty, but I'm going to start listing ads in local synagogue bulletins and order new (updated) business cards.

Maybe I should add some orchestral excerpts to this list...I'll have to do that later.

Goals for Quarter 2, First rehearsal tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first rehearsal of Wild Party, and I'm definitely looking forward to it! Turns out I won't have a soprano sax, but I think I'm okay with only playing 4 instruments for now.

One major goal for me is to play (flute) every day. Even if I only get to play for a couple minutes or so, I really don't want to find myself slipping into one, two, or three days in a row without playing. 
I'm working out of Geoffrey Gilbert's Technical Flexibility, Boehm's 12 Etudes, and I'm going to try my hand at the Karg-Elert 31 Etudes.
As far as repertoire goes, I know I'm going to do Debussy Syrinx and Varese Density 21.5, probably the Taktakishvili Sonata, and from there I'm not too sure.

I've sent out more resumes to schools and universities to see if I can get a little more adjunct work, and I'm really going to push for getting some students this quarter.

I've got a busy day tomorrow, can't wait!

Goodbye Quarter 1, Helloooo Quarter 2!

Welp, the first quarter of the year ended yesterday. This post *would* have been up yesterday, but apparently the "Schedule" feature on this website doesn't actually do anything.

 It feels like August 1st was such a long time ago. In the past week or two while the quarter has been coming to a close, I've been thinking a lot about the progress I have (or haven't) made.

I set out with grand ideas of playing every day, revolutionizing my practice routine, doubling and tripling my technical abilities, and conquering new rep and excerpts. That's not how it went down. It would be possible for me to list here every one of my failures, my missed marks, all of it, but why? It doesn't help my cause at all. Actually, when I think about where I am as a player today as compared to where I was on August 1, I'm incredibly proud of myself.

In August, playing the flute was a terrifying experience. I was always afraid for whatever sounds might come out of the instrument. I could barely play in the second and third octaves. I quit my job, packed up my cat and my car, moved over a thousand miles from the beautiful hills of West Virginia that had been my home for the past three years. I arrived in Florida, homeless, damn near broke, no job for (certainly no gigs or teaching positions!). While I've been trying to keep practicing, sometimes it worked better than others. Thankfully, I've managed to land on my feet, and things are looking up!

So, what's in store for this "Balanced Flutist" now?

Well, for starters, it's time to change my technique books, etudes, and repertoire. It's safe to say that in this category, Quarter 1 was a BUST. I've got a couple things picked out, but I'll be sharing more about my selections in the days to come.I intend to get together enough repertoire for one recital (using mostly pieces I've played before, but some new stuff too!). I also hope to record another video for my YouTube channel, maybe one of the etudes I'm working on.

As far as work goes, rehearsals for Wild Party are going to be starting in the next week or so, and I'm going to contact some other theaters as well to try and get some more doubling gigs. I'm also going to start advertising for lessons.

I have some big news to share though....

Starting in January 2013, I will be adjunct faculty at Nova Southeastern University! I've been offered (and have accepted!) my very first college teaching position, and I couldn't be more exciting! I don't know exactly what my course load is just yet, but all in due time. 

:)

Marcel Bitsch (1921 - 2011)

One year ago today, a French composer named Marcel Bitsch passed away. His flute etudes are little known gems amongst the vast amounts of etudes and literature we have at our fingertips; twelve little gems that I plan on introducing you to.

I first stumbled upon his Douze Etudes pour Flute a few years ago.  Now, since I don't remember when and where I bought this collection, and didn't know anything about him at all, it's safe to say that I probably was more entertained by his name than by anything else. Thankfully I have grown up since then, and have begun taking a serious look at these etudes.

As I began working on his etudes recently, I discovered that these are highly developed compositions that can - and ought to - stand alone on the concert stage in addition to the studio. Etude No. 2 - "Pour la souplesse des levres," for example, is not just a tone development study, but an exploration of sound and tonality. It takes a simple, yet disjunct theme and uses it to explore distant keys. It covers the full expressive range of the instrument, low C to high C, piano to forte, calm to agitated. All the while it maintains a striking cohesion and closes with a remarkable statement of both halves of the theme played simultaneously. If these etudes are any indication of other works of Mr. Bitsch (musical and literary), and I think they are, they are most certainly deserving of more attention and perusal than they currently receive from the community.

Since he passed so recently, there isn't much research or established scholarship on his life and work, which makes starting this process more difficult than my thesis was (John Cage and Arnold Schoenberg are a *little* well known, lol).

What I can say about him, looking at the back cover of the Douze Etudes (Leduc), is that he attended and later taught at the Paris Conservatory. While he wasn't an extremely prolific composer, he did write works and/or etudes for flute, bassoon, trumpet and horn, as well as three piano concerti and a handful of symphonic works. He also wrote books on harmony, counterpoint, and analytical editions of many works by Johann Sebastian Bach, which as I understand are generally held in high regard.

I have decided to take these etudes into a detailed study, one that will encompass technique, style, analysis, and a dash of musicology. I hope that this multifaceted research project will lend itself well to several different formats: lecture recitals, individual etudes as part of recitals, analytical presentations. I hope that I'll be able to present this material, at least in part, at various professional conferences.

There is a good portion that I've written for Etude No. 2 of course, but I doubt that I'll be posting much of it here verbatim because once I share it publicly, it'll lose publishability points pretty quickly, methinks. However, I will try to make videos and share short summaries on each one (as possible).

I was actually planning on recording a video for today, but...I had a run in with a meat slicer at work a couple days ago and my right thumb, while intact, is bandaged up and can't really support the weight of the flute (or even piccolo) for very long. It'll be fine soon enough though. In the meantime, more writing and research for me!