October Update

And We're Back!

Leaves are falling and the crisp air is a gentle reminder that the semester is in full swing! Lessons at Smyth Flute Studio are ramping up and I am ready for new discoveries and musical milestones for each of my wonderful students. 

Rehearsals at the Missouri Symphony Conservatory are also underway and the flute sections in both orchestras are quite sizable! I am so pleased with the talent and morale in each of the sections--the first concert is bound to be a treat. It's also very exciting to teach the young flutists the differences of playing in an orchestral setting versus band. Considering I was almost thirty years old before I played in an orchestra myself, I find it so important to show each of the students the ins and outs of sitting in the back of the ensemble. Most of them love the new found "freedom" they have to whisper to one another without the director noticing. :) 

Thank you to all who attended the Pipes and Keys family concert last month--it was a blast! I must say my most favorite moment of the recital was playing a Bach invention with Elysia from Crecelius Flute Studio while Jazz Flute Extraordinaire Justin Cook beat-boxed in the background. A-Maz-ing. I'm sure we were quite the spectacle...but it was a performance I will never forget. Recordings will be coming soon, but to see some recently uploaded videos from our Summer Duo Recital, click HERE and scroll to the Chamber Music section. Enjoy!

Taking a much needed break from the rigors of pro orchestra auditions this year has been bittersweet. I find if I don't have something musically challenging on the horizon I get horribly bored and un-motivated in my flute playing. So--I'm dreaming up a solo recital...hopefully for Spring 2015. I'd like to combine a few older pieces in my rep that I've never performed with some new ones. Here are some considerations...I'd love to know what you think!

Sunday Morning by Ian Clarke
Piece by Jaques Ibert
Bortel--1900 and Cafe 1930 from the History of the Tango by Astor Piazzolla (replacing cello with flute, of course...however in moments like these, I really wish I would've learned classical guitar...)


Happy fluting, everyone!