I’m back at college again, but part-time this year... although the workload feels like full-time, and I don’t know how the others are managing. For me, the learning is an end itself. Having been a proponent of lifelong learning when I worked in adult learning in Perthshire, it’s thrilling to be a lifelong learner myself, and in theory, this should be enough. I’m too old to be looking towards full-time employment in music, but it amuses me that I’m not too old to still have aspirations and ambitions. I had planned to apply to do a BA in Music, but I’m so enjoying the opportunities at Edinburgh Colleges (Sitehill Campus, formerly Stevenson College), and being part-time gives me a better study / home balance at this stage in my life.
I’m taking a break from playing traditional music in order to focus on improving my Boehm flute playing, and this has caused me to reflect and stress on what I want out of my music, and where I’m going. It seems to be a pattern - I work hard, just get to the point where I’m near the top of my game, and then I decide to start another instrument, or in this case, play a different genre. An old trad flute friend phoned this weekend, someone with whom I have played in sessions and met up with in workshops for over a decade. She’s now playing both Boehm and wooden flutes, as is another acquaintance. Perhaps, for traditional flute players, Boehm flute is the natural progression, being a more optimized instrument with more tone opportunities and a bigger range. Perhaps I really do have a low boredom threshold? Maybe it’s just that music is the journey and there always will be times when it feels right to move on... (one of the most exciting journeys I've ever had was walking on the Great Wall in China recently).
Or perhaps it’s as Peter Marino, the architect said recently: “...go around the middle: go above or below. People who are massively insecure want to be in the middle. It makes them feel safe. It doesn't make me feel safe. I can't breathe” (Peter Marino talks to Vanessa Friedman, Lunch with the FT, 29 September 2012). Right now, playing the Boehm flute feels like a new chance to breathe.
Or perhaps it’s as Peter Marino, the architect said recently: “...go around the middle: go above or below. People who are massively insecure want to be in the middle. It makes them feel safe. It doesn't make me feel safe. I can't breathe” (Peter Marino talks to Vanessa Friedman, Lunch with the FT, 29 September 2012). Right now, playing the Boehm flute feels like a new chance to breathe.
Duncan Chisholm’s concert at the Queen’s Hall last Friday, with the launch of his new cd Affric, is the culmination of a very personal journey of exploration through the ancient Chisholm Clan lands. He played selections from all three of the Strathglass cd trilogy (Farrar, Cannaich and Affric), bringing his unique mastery of beautiful tone, lyrical playing and driving rhythm. A couple of the trad concerts I’ve been to recently have been very “same old” or even past their sell-by date, but I could listen to Duncan Chisholm every week and still be mesmerized by the sheer beauty of his playing. He opens a window into his soul in his slow playing while in his fast playing, he move as easily onto the off-beats as the downbeat, and it gives the music lift and drive. There were times when I could would have liked to get up and dance, and there were times when I could have wept. A great evening to remember.
I’ve booked myself in for the ABRSM Flute 6 exam in November, very scary as I’ve never done an ABRSM practical exam before. I’m looking forward to attending a Syrinx Flutes workshop soon, organized by the SCO’s Lis Dooner, then a chamber music weekend in Birnam at the end of the month. I’m also very excited about playing part of John Rutter’s Suite Antique with the string group, so beautiful...bits bring Peter Warlock to mind. So much to do... so little time.
I’ve booked myself in for the ABRSM Flute 6 exam in November, very scary as I’ve never done an ABRSM practical exam before. I’m looking forward to attending a Syrinx Flutes workshop soon, organized by the SCO’s Lis Dooner, then a chamber music weekend in Birnam at the end of the month. I’m also very excited about playing part of John Rutter’s Suite Antique with the string group, so beautiful...bits bring Peter Warlock to mind. So much to do... so little time.
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