How long have you been Principal Flute with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra? I joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, so have only been living in Detroit for a couple of months, but I love it here! The preliminary and semi-final rounds of the audition took place in April of 2019 and the final round happened in June. Following the final round, I was invited to play a two week trial in November. I played two weeks of concerts, the...
Heather Neuenschwander interviews Melissa Keeling about her book “The Glissando Flute: A Handbook for Composers and Performers”, the Glissando Headjoint and current events.
Over the relaxing Memorial Day holiday weekend, I had the joy of speaking with Detroit Symphony Orchestra Flutist and Piccoloist Jeffery Zook
An Interview with Robert Dick We recently had an opportunity to ask world renowned flutist, performer and composer Robert Dick about his upcoming Contemporary Flute Week. With so many summer masterclasses, workshops, camps and musical opportunities to experience, find out what makes this event stand out from the others. For more information, visit https://www.robertdickcontemporaryfluteweek.com/ FS: What is the focus of the week? RD: New music for flute and how to learn and to teach extended techniques. So often, when flutists discuss the new,...
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Perceptive Flutist, Master Teacher The student stands at the front of the room, playing a Bach sonata. The teacher stands several yards away, eyes closed, listening intently. “You’re holding your ribs,” the teacher says. “Try allowing your ribs to release before you start the note.” The student thinks for a moment and tries again. The sound she makes is instantly bigger, freer, rounder. The setting is the serene Holy Cross Monastery on the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The student is one of many who come to...
An Interview with Jeffery Zook by Heather Neuenschwander On a perfect 75 degree late summer morning in Michigan, I recently had the honor of sitting down with the talented and charming Jeffery Zook, flutist and piccoloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 1992. I looked out upon the beautiful, perfectly manicured garden in the backyard of his home The Cambridge Conservatory, sipped a delicious cup of coffee he had so generously offered me,...
I met up with flutist Amanda Sparfeld at a local trendy restaurant. While eating deliciously messy burgers, we discussed her beginnings in music, her evolution as a flute player, her career at the Michigan Opera Theatre and as a private teacher, and future projects and goals. Below are some highlights from this inspirational afternoon. FS: Tell us how you got started down this path. AS: I grew up in a somewhat musical family. My grandfather had been a trained opera singer from...
