This month, I did something I haven’t done in recent memory. I took a vacation. Now, to be fair, I have gone on vacation in the past five years. But it always included work. I brought a computer and flute along, and felt obligated to keep up with email, practicing, reading, writing, and idea generating. …
I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Megan Lanz this week. Megan is a flutist based in Las Vegas, Nevada; she and I met over Twitter, where so many good connections are made. Megan and several friends have recently organized themselves in a group called Whole Musician and have just wrapped up hosting their …
Here is the talk I gave at TEDxBrookings in February, titled “Reinventing Classical Music for a Modern Era.” It includes a performance of a piece by Jay Batzner for glissando flute.
Perennials Albany Records Performed by The Scott/Garrison Duo: Shannon Scott, clarinet; Leonard Garrison, flute and Rajung Yang, piano Perennials for flute, clarinet, and piano (2011) I. Joyous Overture II. Romanza III. Scherzo IV. Winter Prayer V. Spring Awakening Three Romances for flute and clarinet (2007) I. Languid II. Sultry III. Frisky …
I’m really looking forward to performing a brand new work for glissando flute and piano by John Griffin. We first met at the National Flute Association Convention in New Orleans in 2013, where I performed another work using the glissando headjoint. We got the details for a new work ironed out, tweaked it a bit …
A few days ago, I had a lesson with one of my teachers, Christina Smith. I half jokingly mentioned on Twitter later that afternoon that it had “changed my life.” But after some reflection, maybe it did in a small way… Since I am no longer in school, I have to grab lessons whenever my …
The holidays came early to the SDSU flute studio in November. Several of my students wanted to try out new flutes; most were ready to upgrade, and one wanted to get an idea of her options in anticipation of upgrading next year. We had seven brands of flute to try out over the course of …
One of the classes that I teach each fall is Woodwind Pedagogy. Most of the students who take this class are music education majors, and this specific class is one of their degree requirements. The goal is to have each student reasonably proficient on three different woodwind instruments by the end of the semester, which …
A couple of years ago, I made an attempt to learn circular breathing. It was a frustrating process and I didn’t stick with it, so I didn’t become proficient at the technique. It was probably a decent introduction to the idea but I’m not sure how much benefit I got from that initial failed attempt. …
I recently purchased a Glissando headjoint, which is a relatively new piece of flute “gear” invented by Robert Dick. If you aren’t familiar with him, he’s one of the preeminent performers of contemporary music. He’s active as a performer, a composer, and a teacher. This headjoint slides out from its home position to create a …
