“FluX: Where the worlds of Baroque and modern flutes, flute playing, and flute music come together.” The first line from the Flute Extremes website is the culmination of a series of brainstorming sessions that resulted in the creation of a new summer workshop for modern and Baroque flute players. Read more about it, including testimonials, here.
I do not remember the initial conversation I had with Molly Barth about collaborating on a summer workshop, but once it started an avalanche of ideas came pouring out and we began simultaneously scribbling notes about the many directions the workshop could take. Once we settled on a concept, the format could be flexible, adapted to the number of participants and the number of people playing modern or Baroque flutes.
The components of FluX are based, in part, on different parts of the definition of flux (fusion; flow, continuous change; or to strip away potentially harmful elements). The fusion of two different performance practices may at first seem confusing, manufactured, or non-existent, but when the players give the music, techniques, and methods used in interpreting the music a close reading, the connections become clear. Another part of the workshop experience is to strip away preconceived ideas about what modern and Baroque music and performance practices are, to help the participants approach the music with a clear vision. It also takes the players out of their respective comfort zones. For Baroque players it means exploring a repertoire that is based on a different tradition, one in which repertoire is built by composers willing to look beyond tonal models and forms, while still presenting music that can be interpreted, presented, and absorbed in a manner similar to the Baroque repertoire. The modern players studying Baroque music are presented with tools that are typically found in the study of classical rhetoric, vocal music, and music theory, and using these tools to help interpret, decipher, and create a piece that is unique to their respective experiences; the process of making each piece their own.
All of the players benefit from seeing how the others go through the process of acquiring new knowledge, techniques, and tools for studying and performing music.The teachers benefit from this environment as well. Each participant brings their own personal history as a musician to the workshop and I am always inspired by what they bring, as well as the wealth of information that my colleague brings to the workshop. The five days of the FluX experience inspire me to push myself and my horizons as far as possible. The effort put forth by the participants is inspiring and provides another level of intellectual and musical stimulation for everyone involved. If you know a flute player, please let them know about this workshop.
Our traditional conclusion to the workshop, a concert featuring the faculty and the participants, is on Sunday, 21 June 2015, at 14:00 on the campus of the University of Oregon, in the Collier House (the headquarters for the UO’s Department of Musicology during the academic year).
Here is our program:
Sunday, June 21, 2:00 PM.
University of Oregon Collier House
ADMISSION FREE
Seating is limited, please plan to arrive early.
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), Duet for two flutes, TWV 40:126
Kim Pineda, Molly Barth
Four Fantasias from 12 Fantasias for Flute without Bass, 1732
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, and Kim Pineda
Benjamin Krause (b. 1985), “Spirals” (2009)
Patricio da Silva (b. 1973), “Recursions,” (2007), movement IV
Kim Pineda, Baroque flute
Bernard Rands (b. 1934), Memo 4 (1997)
Asuncion Ojeda
Juan de Araujo (1646-1712), “Ay andar a tocar a cantar a baylar”
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth, Kim Pineda
INTERMISSION
Michael Fiday (b. 1961), Jim and John (2015)
Ramakrishnan Kumaran
Robert Dick (b. 1950), Lookout (1989)
Angela Froschauer
Lei Liang (b. 1972), Lake (1999/ rev. 2004)
Asuncion Ojeda, Kim Pineda, Baroque flutes
Diego Vega (b. 1968) “Wild Beasts”
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran
David Lang (b. 1957) Thorn (1993)
Marlos Nobre (b. 1939), Solo I (1984)
Molly Barth, flute
James Bean (b. 1989), “this is causing itself” (2013)
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth
Michael Fiday (b. 1961), I. High Dance, from “Five Monochromatic Dances,” (1994/arr. 2004)
Angela Froschauer, Ramakrishnan Kumaran, Asuncion Ojeda, Molly Barth
I conclude with another paragraph from the website:
“FluX, directed by Molly Barth and Kim Pineda, focuses on music from the 18th-, 20th-, and 21st-centuries. Baroque flutists work on the traditional repertoire for the instrument (and in-depth historical performance practices) as well as explore its ever-expanding repertoire of modern music. Modern players focus on the current repertoire for their instrument as well as discover the parallel performance practices in Baroque music.”
The concert program may also be found here.
Hope to see you at the concert.
Kim Pineda, PhD 