I'm on vacation, yet I still got up this morning to catch a train into the City--one of the same trains I often take when I'm going to work. The reason? The National Flute Association's 37th Annual Convention. For the first time in the 20+ years I've been a member of the NFA, I am attending it's convention.
I planned on doing five things today (other than registering for the conference!): one sight reading session, one workshop, two performances, and time in the Exhibit Hall. I did three. The workshop was cancelled, and I decided to head home before the second performance.
During the Flute Choir Reading Session we read through eight pieces of baroque music under the direction of Linda Kirkpatrick. I have not sight read in an ensemble of any size for a few years, and it has been many years since I've played with a large group. I tend to think I'm not a very good sight reader, but that comes from doing so much sight reading alone. Sight reading in a group is very different. During our read through of a transcription Vivaldi's Spring Concerto for flute choir, I managed to keep up and play with a minimum of glaring errors. What a difference playing with a group makes.
After lunch I attended Rachel Brown's lecture/recital of Joachim Quantz's music. She played excerpts of Quantz sonatas, most of which have probably not been performed in public since the time of Frederick the Great. She played them on a flute "built to the specifications of Quantz's own flute." While I did not learn a great deal about the court of Frederick the Great that I didn't already know, I did learn quite about Quantz and his theories of music and instruments. And, of course, the music was great.
The Exhibit Hall was overwhelming. I don't think I've seen so many flutes an piccolos in one place at one time in my life. And noisy! People trying out flutes everywhere. I can't imagine buying a flute based on how it sounded during a test in an overcrowded hotel ballroom with so many other flutists testing instruments at the same time! It was also crowded. Why did they plan such narrow aisles when they knew that people were going to be stopping to test flutes, look at music, etc.? What a mess!
I did see a couple of books and some music that I've been looking for, but I'm holding off until a little later. The discounts are good, but there might be something else I learn about during convention that I'd like to buy.
After having been at General Convention, it's refreshing to be at a convention where the average age is not 60+. I saw young children, teenagers, college students, and young adults in about the same percentages as adults, middle-aged adults, and seniors. I also observed a child prodigy and his mother. I'm not sure who was the more insufferable individual!
During the afternoon, before I learned that the workshop was cancelled, I took some time to look through the program and plan for the rest of the weekend. While I was at the table another man about my age came up to the other side of the table to do the same thing. He initiated a conversation, and we talked for a bit before a friend of his came to meet him to go to a performance. Before his friend arrived, we made a date for lunch tomorrow. Hmmmmm...
Another early train tomorrow.
Peace,
Jeff
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