Culver City Flute Choir: Meet the flute choir: Julie

When and why did you start playing the flute?
I started playing the flute when I was 10 years old. I already had been taking piano lessons for three years and thought the flute was a cool instrument.

When did you join the flute choir? Why?
I joined the Culver City Flute Choir in the summer of 1995. I randomly got the class catalogue in the mail and it said "have you not played your flute since high school or college?" That sounded exactly like me. I hadn't played for about nine years after college and I wanted to start playing again.

Have you played in any other flute choirs or ensembles? Where else do (have) you perform(ed)?
My flute teacher growing up would have us play ensemble pieces at our annual recital. In college, I played in the UCSB Symphonic Band.

Do you play any other instruments?
I play C flute, piccolo, alto and bass. Growing up, I played piano for nine years.

Is your family musical?
My maternal grandmother was a classical piano teacher. My paternal grandfather was a big band leader for a time. My mom is a singer. My dad played saxophone growing up.

Describe your family's musical interests and abilities.
The abilities are listed above. My parents have always been interested in music. I listened to a lot of classical music growing up thanks to my mom's training. They were, still are, big theater fans so I went to the theater and was a big fan of musical theater and movie musicals from a very early age.

Who is your biggest fan?
Today, probably my six year old daughter. Although my parents have always supported my flute performances and still come to every concert.

Which famous musicians do you admire (doesn't have to be just flutists!)? Why?
There are so many. Billy Joel is a God to me. I think he's such a prolific songwriter and I love hearing him play the piano.

I find I'm really impressed by drummers. They're such great multi-taskers doing so many different things at once. I love listening to drum corps.

I really want to learn to play the cello. I love the sound of it and it's just so beautiful.

Who was your first teacher? Other teachers?
My teacher growing up was Barbara Turner Rivin. Not sure where she is now.

What are your fondest musical memories?
My 11th grade flute recital. That was the year when the Claude Bolling Suite for Jazz Flute and Piano came out and was very popular. I performed the Sentimentale movement with my friend Liz, who played piano. And then she performed the Irlandaise movement and I accompanied her on the piano.

Playing in the orchestra for my high school musicals was a lot of fun too.

Do you get nervous during a performance?
Rarely during a performance unless I'm anticipating a really hard passage that has given me trouble. Sometimes a little bit before but not too often anymore.

How do you handle mistakes?
I try not to roll my eyes.

What advice would you give new flutists?
Is this the place for the famous "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" line? Practice, practice, practice. Okay, seriously, yes practice but enjoy it. The flute is such a beautiful instrument and with a little bit of work, you can sound really good. It doesn't take much time to get a clear tone and that's the key. Speed and technique will come over time but if you sound airy, then it's not pretty to me.

What advice would you give new flute choir members?
We were all the newby once. Most of us hadn't picked up our flute in X number of years before we joined the group either. You get your chops back quicker than you think. We don't bite.

What do you practice? How often?
Oh, I'm so not the person to answer this question. I have always been a horrible practice-r and sadly, the same holds true today. I practice when I really need to, otherwise I learn it every Thursday at flute choir (sorry Patty, don't hate me).

How do you balance your music with other obligations - mate, children, job?
That's the $64,000 question. I a very busy (read: overextended) person. I'm a mom to three girls, I work in freelance TV production, which can be very long hours, and I have lots of other interests so I don't sleep much. But I do my best to clear out my Thursday nights for flute choir. It's my "me" time and generally it's my de-stress time. That was a big bonus for me in college that the four hours a week I played in Symphonic Band was a relaxing time for me and my brain. I just do my best to make flute choir a priority. It works most of the time.

Is there anything else you'd like to add about the flute, flute choir...?
I think I've covered it all but from the moment I found the Culver City Flute Choir, I found a group of people who were nice, fun, creative and inspiring. I've learned so much about the flute and all the things that are associated with flutes and flute playing. I never would have known about the National Flute Association and their annual conventions (I've been to three of them, and looking forward to Anaheim in 2010). I never would have been motivated to buy and learn to play the alto and bass flutes. I never would have known about upgrading to my current model of flute and I dream one day of getting a gold flute. Flute choir has brought all that to me and I love every minute of it.

Check out the music mentioned in this profile:
Claude Bolling, Suite for Jazz Flute and Piano: Sentimentale