Agnew + McAllister Duo - Updated with concert notes

Patrick and I went to the flute and guitar concert on Friday night, and it was awesome.

If you missed it, I suggest you check out Aisling Agnew and Matthew McAllister's website for their upcoming performances and see if you can make one of them. Beautiful playing.



What I loved in particular about their performance was the amazing partnership. Both are wonderful musicians, but the way they interacted with each other was special. I don't know if they're a couple? But the way he looks at her and she at him, it was romantic. I haven't seen a lot of classical guitarists; I really loved the way he places his head on his guitar. They were wonderful.

In the video above, Aisling is playing a traditional metal flute, but at the concert, she was playing a wooden flute. I got to speak with her a little afterward, and besides being a big old dork (me, of course), I did ask her about it, but first I told her how much I enjoyed her playing. She really is amazingly talented. Anyway, I've seen and heard wooden flutes before but never really fell in love with the sound. She was really easy to talk to and very nice. She told me that her flute is made by The Abell Flute Company, an American flute maker. She said that though the flute isn't as easy to play as some (it has a piccolo-type headjoint, and I guess other wooden flutes have lip plates and things to make it easier; I don't know enough about this to say anything intelligent other than what she told me in the short amount of time we spoke), the sound of it, once she got the hang of it, was most pleasing to her. I should have asked if they'll be at the flute convention.

Here's a video of Aisling and Matthew performing a piece by Poulenc. She's using her wooden flute here.



Totally gorgeous.

So now I have three things to look for at the flute convention in August: Robert Langevin, Aisling Agnew and Matthew McAllister (I'm counting them as one), and Abell Flutes.

Oh, and the concert on Friday was presented by the Long Beach Classical Guitar Society.

Concert notes:

Hamnataing, by Chris Stout (b. 1976)
Agua e Vinho, by Egberto Gismonti (b. 1941)
Suite no. 2, by Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)
Farewell to Stromness, by Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934)
An Chuilin, Irish Traditional
Sonata in G Major, by Pietro Lacatelli (1695-1764)
Suite No. 1 BMW 1007, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Wens, by Veronique Vella (b. 1979)
Histoire du Tango, by Astor Piazzola (1921-1992)

Excerpt from bio section:

Flautist Aisling Agnew and classical guitarist Matthew McAllister met in Glasgow whilst studying at the Royal Scotttish Academy of Music and Drama. Their joint passion for chamber music, interacting with composers and performing new music immediately brought them together. Since giving their debut recital in the "Harty Room" of Queen's University, Belfast in 2001, they have grown in popularilty and perform extensively around the UK and Ireland.

As one of Ireland's finest young flautists, Aisling has given performances in the prestigious "Guildhall Gold" series at the Wigmore Hall and appeared as concerto soloist with the Ulster Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Matthew is widely regarded as one of Scotland's finest classical guitarists. He has appeared on British and Spanish television, recorded for the BBC Artists Index, and co-starred alongside Aled Jones in the 2005 Southwell International Festival.

Concert in Long Beach - Tomorrow Night!

My friend Christopher Hundley is a guitarist. He started out as Patrick's friend, and was the guitarist for Patrick's punk band, Magnolia Thunderpussy. He's an amazing guitarist, and a talented classical player too. We've done a little playing together at some teeny tiny little gigs (a wedding, a library luncheon) but it's been a few years. Recently we've been talking about playing again, and have scheduled a rehearsal/get-together for Sunday afternoon.

When I was searching around for the sheet music for Morceau de Concours by Faure, I saw that a version exists for flute and guitar. I found it at Carolyn Nussbaum. Since Chris is coming over this weekend, I called my local music store, Morey's Music, to see if it might be in stock and something I could pick up soon.

It turned out the guy I spoke to, Michael, is a guitarist who plays (quite a bit, judging by their website!) with a flutist here in Long Beach. Pretty cool. Morey's didn't have the piece I wanted, but Michael told me about a concert tomorrow night in Long Beach that I think Patrick and I will go check out.

(Funny: while Michael and I were talking, he asked if I'm a flutist or a guitarist. I said flutist. He asked who I play with, and I told him Chris's name. He said that he had heard of him. I wonder if they know each other from USC, or if Michael is an MTP fan?)

The performers are a flute and guitar duo from Scotland. I think they just call themselves "Flute & Guitar Duo"? Simple! Anyway, you can check them out here http://www.fluteguitarduo.com/.

The concert will be at St. Luke's Espicopal Church, which is located near the corner of 7th and Atlantic, in Long Beach. Tickets are $10. Maybe we'll see you there.

Oh, and I just ordered the Faure, but I think maybe tomorrow I'll see what else is going on, sheet music-wise, at Morey's. Now I'm curious.

Another flutist, performing Morceau de Concours, by Faure

Pretty!

Robert Langevin

I think you will enjoy this.

Robert Langevin at CSULB

On Friday night, Patrick and I went to Cal State Long Beach for the Robert Langevin (principal flutist for the New York Philharmonic) concert. Another Culver City flute choir member, Michael, was there too, as well as Shozo Ogura, of Ogura Fluteworks. It was nice seeing our friends! The concert was part of two days of master classes and a competition for middle and high school students, but because of my schedule, I couldn't go to either of the master classes. Having now heard Mr. Langevin perform, I regret missing the classes. I'm sure they would have been fun and educational!

I was so impressed by Mr. Langevin's performance! You can visit the New York Philharmonic's website by clicking on the title of today's post. I'll be looking for more opportunities to hear him perform; I really hope he'll be at the flute convention in August, in Anaheim.

His playing was so gorgeous; I was totally blown away. I really loved how his playing was so emotional and lush and beautiful. He completely won me over with the opening piece, Sonate en Concert, by Damase. The second piece was the world premier of Flute Sonata #6 (The Toulouse-Latrec Sonata) based on Circus Illustrations by artist Toulouse-Latrec by Christopher Caliendo. I've seen Mr. Caliendo many times at the flute convention, but I don't think I've ever heard any of his solo compositions. This one was written specifically for Mr. Langevin. My favorite movement was the second - "Danseuse de corde." It was perfectly suited for Mr. Langevin, and totally evocative of the artwork. The program notes state, "All eyes are cast at the circus dancer at the tightrope." It was lovely, and really a special moment in the composition.

There was an intermission, where prizes were given out to the students who participated in the competition. I never did anything like that in middle or high school (and probably wasn't as good of a flutist as these kids are) and I got a huge kick out of seeing the little and not-so-little (one high school-age boy was probably over 6' tall!) kids. Most were still all dressed up in their concert outfits, and they were very cute.

The first piece after intermission was "Sonata in A, op 13" by Faure (I think traditionally this piece is for cello and piano?). I wasn't thrilled with this piece, though of course the execution was perfect.

After that, Mr. Langevin played "Hungarian Fantasy for Two Flutes" by Franz and Karl Doppler, with John Barcellona, the Director of Woodwind Studies and Professor of Flute at CSULB. Their performance was a lot of fun. During the first four bars, I thought, "this could be a fun duet for me and Patty to work on," but then pretty soon I realized that it will take a long, long time for me to be able to play that second flute part, which was killer. They did a great job, and added a bit of comedy (in the middle of the piece, there was a bit with a "waitress," a tray of water glasses, and the bill), which made the whole thing a lot of fun.

For an encore, Mr. Langevin performed Morceau de Concours, by Faure, which was perfectly executed and charming.

Wendy Caldwell, the pianist, was also wonderful. Her playing was as beautiful and captivating as Mr. Langevin's. Daniel Recital Hall at CSULB is a great place to see a concert like this, and I'm glad we got out for a night of flute music.

Concert Photos

Thank you to everyone who made it to last night's Culver City Flute Choir concert! I just wanted to share with you the photos that my friends Todd Young and Brian Frobisher took of us. They did an amazing job! Big, big thanks to Todd and Brian, and also to Lee Miller for his many dedicated years of videography! We appreciate our friends very much.

Our next session starts Thursday, April 22, 2010, so if you're interested in joining us, please check out the Culver City Adult School's website or send me an email for more information.

All the best to you, and I'm looking forward to seeing you in April!

Culver City Adult School Spring/Summer 2010 Catalog
Flute Choir concert photos by Todd Young and Brian Frobisher

"Young@Heart"

Flute Choir member Judy asked me to post about a film she watched this week called "Young@Heart." I haven't seen it myself but this 3 minute clip makes me want to!

Here's a quote from Judy:

Last night I watched the DVD called "Young at Heart." It blew me away, watching these people have fun rehearsing and performing - I thought it was timely. They actually performed a song successfully, after months of falling apart in rehearsal.

The reason she was thinking about rehearsals and performance is because we had our dress rehearsal on Monday for tonight's concert, and as usual, at first we were maybe a little too focused on the (minor) things that were going wrong. Hey, things go wrong! We almost always pull off a great concert! And we have fun, too. Good things to think about, Judy!

Anyway, I hope you'll join us for the concert.

Culver City Flute Choir Concert
Tonight at 8:00 p.m. (Free!)
Farragut Elementary School / Cafeteria
10820 Farragut Drive.
Culver City, CA 90230

See you there!

Concert this week!

Our next concert is this Thursday, March 18, at 8 p.m.

I hope you can join us!

Farragut Elementary School / Cafeteria
10820 Farragut Drive.
Culver City, CA 90230

Refreshments follow concert.


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Meet the flute choir: Michael

When and why did you start playing the flute?
I started playing the flute in the 4th grade; it seemed "everyone" else was doing so when the opportunity to take up an orchestral instrument was offered in elementary school (Baldwin Hills).

When did you join the flute choir? Why?
I joined the Culver City Flute Choir for the Fall Quarter 1992. (51 consecutive concerts since then; my records show that you Irene are the runner up at 50 consecutive concerts.)

[Note from Irene: WOW, Michael! That's a lot of concerts!]

I joined the flute choir as other members have - I received the Culver City Adult School schedule/brochure from one of the community mailings, and thought this would be a good outlet to continue playing the flute.

Have you played in any other flute choirs or ensembles? Where else do (have) you perform(ed)?
As a youth, I participated in the Angels (youth) group of the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles (early 1970s, conductor was Akira Kikukawa). I currently provide accompaniment (solo or with piano) for the congregational singing at my church every Sunday.

Do you play any other instruments?
Besides the C flute and the Alto flute, I do not play any other instruments (I can tinker on the piano, harmonica, recorder/tin whistle). I would love to learn to play the guitar and/or ukulele, and maybe even bagpipes!

Is your family musical?
My family is not musical at this time. One of my brothers took up the trumpet in elementary school/junior high for a couple of years. Likewise, another brother took up the flute (my flute) while I was away at college.

Describe your family's musical interests and abilities.
Besides the anbove, there are no musical abilities in my family.

Who is your biggest fan?
I would have to say my biggest fan is one of my fellow church members who attends most of our concerts.

Which famous musicians do you admire (doesn't have to just be flutists!)? Why?
I admire Christopher Parkening, Harvey Pittel, and Branford Marsalis - they play their instruments (guitar, saxophones respectively) in the classical genre as well as their instruments "native" genre of folk or jazz.

Who was your first teacher? Other teachers?
My first (and only) private teacher was Francis Schaeffer (no, not the Christian theologian). I recall he also taught the flute and other woodwind instruments to my Japanese-American neighbors.

What are your fondest musical memories?
Hmm... when playing the flute in the high school orchestra (Salinas, CA) with the drama club (Peter and the Wolf), and another high school's drama/ballet club (The Nutcracker ballet), and for special occasions (a friend's wedding and Christmas caroling).

Do you get nervous during a performance?
Rarely do I get nervous during a performance. (I do recall one instance though, where "nervousness" was in the air/contagious and affected me also - a student recital at Ogura Flute Works.)

How do you handle mistakes?
I think I unconsciously smile or roll my eyes when I make a mistake. Hopefully, I do as Jean-Pierre Rampal did - recover/continue the music, and try to make it a part of the musical experience.

What advice would you give new flutists?
For new flutists, I would recommend lots of listening - whether of other flutists to hear how you might sound, or of your own (recorded) practicing and lessons to hear how you do sound. Then practicing how you should and want to sound.

What advice would you give new flute choir members?
For new flute choir members, I say relax! Hopefully you will come to enjoy producing good music for family and friends as we all do.

What do you practice? How often?
Practice? (Can I skip to the next question?)

How do you balance your music with other obligations - mate, children, job?
I devote a certain amount of time for music, as music is one of those integral/fundamental parts of life.

Is there anything else you'd like to add about the flute, flute choir...?
I appreciate this opportunity and privilege of playing the flute.

Culver City Flute Choir in the Culver City Observer

The Culver City Observer printed a notice of our concert on the 18th, along with a photo. Congratulations to my friend Paul Rubenstein, who took the gorgeous photo of us! I'm sorry there's no credit for your photo, Paul: I did tell them your name!

(While admittedly it's pretty easy to be mentioned in the Culver City Observer [all I did was ask!], this is still pretty cool to see! Please click on the title of today's post, and you'll be taken to the issue of newspaper. The mention of the concert is on page 9.)

On the same page as the story about us, you might be interested to read a story about Reid Smythe, a former private flute student of Patty's who just earned his "dolphins" and is now a qualified Naval Submariner! I haven't seen Reid in years (not since he was in high school; I'm probably about 10 years older than him?), so it was a surprise to see him all grown up and so accomplished. It's totally cool and a huge coincidence he was on the same page as we are! Too bad they didn't make any mention of his flute playing... I'm sure Patty's tutelage (toot-elage? Oh, that was a horrible pun!) had something to do with his success!

In other news, I received a very kind email the other day from a flutist from Scotland who had heard our performance of "Ashokan Farewell." His group, Dykehead Amateur Flute Band, can be seen here. It's very cool to receive emails from other flutists and flute choirs, and to receive a message all the way from Scotland - super cool. If any other flutists from other countries or cities around the world or the United States are reading this, I'd be very interested in finding out who you are and where you're from!

For a mention in this space, send an email to CCFC.Info@gmail.com!